James Allen Bertelsen (February 26, 1950 – May 7, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

and was a highly regarded

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

player in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

out of

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

. As a sophomore at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1969, he helped lead the Longhorns to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the

wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wish ...

option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on ru ...

, alongside James Street,

Steve Worster Stephen Clark Worster (July 8, 1949 – August 13, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Following his prep career in Texas, he played college f ...

, and

Ted Koy Ted Koy (born September 15, 1947 in Bellville, Texas) is an American football former tight end for the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Raiders in the 1970 N ...

. As a senior in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, Bertlesen was the team's lead ground gainer. In his career at Texas (1969–1971), he rushed for 2,510 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry and 33 touchdowns, and also had nine 100-yard rushing games. Bertelsen was selected in the second round of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

by the

with the 30th overall pick. He averaged four yards per carry as a pro, and rushed for 854 yards in 1973. After his NFL career, Bertelsen returned to the

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

area. He died on May 7, 2021. He was divorced at the time of this death, he had a son, a daughter and a granddaughter.

References

External links

* 1950 births 2021 deaths American football running backs Los Angeles Rams players Texas Longhorns football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Hudson, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin {{runningback-1950s-stub