James Frederick Boeke (September 11, 1938 – September 26, 2014) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

offensive tackle 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 ...

for the Los Angeles Rams,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He played college football at

Heidelberg College Heidelberg University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio. Founded in 1850, it was known as Heidelberg College until 1889 and from 1926 to 2009. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. History Heidelberg University was founded b ...

Early years

Boeke was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

. He attended

Cuyahoga Falls High School Cuyahoga Falls High School (CFHS) is a public high school in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Cuyahoga Falls City School District. It has a current enrollment of around 1,663 students in grades 9–12. The sc ...

where he practiced football and track. He accepted a football scholarship from

, establishing himself as a two-way tackle in football and also

lettering Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to de ...

in track. In 1985, he was inducted as a charter member of the Heidelberg University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Boeke was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round (217th overall) of the

1960 NFL Draft The 1960 National Football League Draft in which NFL teams take turns selecting amateur college American football players and other first-time eligible players, was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on November 30, 1959. Many players, in ...

. He was a backup offensive tackle. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, he also played defensive tackle. On August 19,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for rookie

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Les Josephson Lester Andrew Josephson (July 29, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional football running back in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Augustana College. Early years Josephson's fo ...

Dallas Cowboys

, he was acquired because the team needed

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

depth after a rash of injuries. He started 7 games, including 4 at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

, replacing

Tony Liscio Anthony Liscio (July 2, 1940 – June 18, 2017) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tulsa. Early years Liscio attended Westinghouse ...

who was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. The next year, he became the regular starter at

after Liscio couldn't return from his right knee injury. In 1966, he started 10 games before missing time with a knee injury and being eventually replaced by Liscio. His most famous play occurred near the end of the 1966 NFL Championship Game, with the team trailing the Green Bay Packers by a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

, the Cowboys had a first down on the Packers' 2-yard line, when Boeke was flagged for a false start, Dallas failed to score after

Don Meredith Joseph "Dandy" Don Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator, and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the Nat ...

threw an interception on fourth down. The Packers went on to beat the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

in the inaugural AFL-NFL championship game, now called the first Super Bowl. From

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

until 1966, he registered a streak of 92 consecutive games played. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, he could not regain his starting position and was the backup to Liscio. His last game with the Cowboys was the

1967 NFL Championship Game The 1967 NFL Championship Game was the 35th NFL championship, played on December 31 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It determined the NFL's champion, which met the AFL's champion in Super Bowl II, then formally referred to as the se ...

known as the "Ice Bowl". On August 28,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Jackie Burkett Walter Jackson Burkett (December 16, 1936 – September 1, 2017) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, New Orleans Saints, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Auburn Unive ...

New Orleans Saints

Boeke played in 13 games with the

during the 1968 season. On July 28,

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, he was traded to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a draft choice.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions acquired Boeke to compete for the

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

position that was vacated by the retirement of Charlie Bradshaw. On July 28,

, he was traded to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in exchange for a draft pick.

Washington Redskins

On September 5,

, he was signed by the

. He was released on September 16.

Personal life

In the off-season, he worked as a physical education teacher, and an English teacher at Audubon Middle School in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles. During his playing days in Los Angeles, Boeke worked as a bodyguard for the Nelson family (of Ozzie and Harriet fame), and went on to work for Ricky Nelson. Following his playing days, Boeke utilized his Hollywood connections and appeared in bit parts in TV (Newhart, MASH, Coach and many others) and movies (North Dallas Forty, Forrest Gump et al.) for many years. Boeke continued to live in the Southern California area as a teacher and high school football coach at Westminster High School. On September 26, 2014, he died from

acute leukemia Acute leukemia or acute leukaemia is a family of serious medical conditions relating to an original diagnosis of leukemia. In most cases, these can be classified according to the lineage, myeloid or lymphoid, of the malignant cells that grow unco ...

Filmography

References

External links

Heidelberg University Athletic Hall of Fame bio

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boeke, Jim 1938 births 2014 deaths People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Male actors from Ohio American football offensive tackles Heidelberg Student Princes football players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Cowboys players New Orleans Saints players American male film actors American male television actors