James Michael Montgomery (born July 10, 1949 in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

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 San Diego Chargers,

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

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

. He played college football at Kansas State University.

Early years

Montgomery attended Dodge City High School, where he played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, before being switched to

as senior. He contributed to the team's 1966 undefeated season, although it resulted only in a league championship title, because at the time there was no playoff system or state championship game. He accepted a football scholarship from Kansas State University, where he played as a

and wide receiver. In 1969, he posted 408 rushing yards (second on the team), 217 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. As a senior, he registered 436 rushing yards (second on the team), 386 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Montgomery was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the third round (65th overall) of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

. Because of his versatility he was used at running back (60 carries for 226 yards and one touchdown), wide receiver (28 receptions for 361 yards and 2 touchdowns), quarterback (3 of 6 attempts for 80 yards and one touchdown) and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

(2 fumble recoveries). On August 1,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, he was traded along with wide receiver

Billy Parks William James Parks (January 1, 1948 – July 22, 2009) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Oilers. He played college football at Long Beach State ...

to the

in exchange for running back

Duane Thomas Duane Julius Thomas (born June 21, 1947) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at West Texas State University. Early yea ...

, who was a player the Chargers coveted.

Dallas Cowboys

, he was a backup

. Playing against his former team the San Diego Chargers, he returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown on

. He registered 8 receptions for 131 yards, 3 receiving touchdowns, 35 rushes for 81 yards and one rushing touchdown. In

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, he was moved to wide receiver during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. He replaced Otto Stowe in the starting lineup after he suffered a broken ankle in the seventh game of the season against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, but Montgomery would also fell to injury in the next game and open the door for third-string rookie Drew Pearson to take over and never relinquish the position. He finished the season with 14 receptions for 164 yards and 3 touchdowns. On July 5, 1974, he was traded to the

, after he signed a contract for the 1975 season with the

Birmingham Americans The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in th ...

of the World Football League. The Cowboys received a fourth round draft choice (#90- Pat Donovan).

Houston Oilers

On October 24, 1974, he suffered a serious knee injury against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He later had a blood clot from complications from the surgery. He appeared in 5 games and made 9 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown. Montgomery spent the next year 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 ...

. On August 24,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, he was released after not being able to fully recover from his previous injury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Mike 1949 births Living people People from Dodge City, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football running backs Kansas State Wildcats football players San Diego Chargers players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Oilers players