Jim Druckenmiller
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James David Druckenmiller, Jr. (born September 19, 1972) 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 with ...
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 ...
. In his career, Druckenmiller played for the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
, and
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
of 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 ...
, as well as the
Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home games were played ...
of the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
and the
Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...
of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
.


College career

After attending high school at
Northampton Area High School Northampton Area High School is a public high school in the Northampton Area School District and located in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had 1 ...
in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, Druckenmiller prepped at
Fork Union Military Academy Fork Union Military Academy (abbreviated as FUMA) is a private, all-male, college preparatory military boarding school located in Fork Union, Virginia. Founded in 1898, Fork Union is considered one of the premier military boarding academies in th ...
in Fork Union, Virginia, before committing to
Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
. Druckenmiller started two years at quarterback for the
Virginia Tech Hokies football The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...
team. As a senior, he won all-
Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
accolades. Druckenmiller's Hokies won the Big East Conference championship in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, they defeated 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 ...
in the
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
. In December 1996, Druckenmiller graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in
physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
. *1995: 151/294 for 2,103 yards with 14 touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions, ran for 57 yards *1996: 142/250 for 2,071 yards with 17 touchdowns vs. 5 interceptions, ran for 205 yards


Professional career


National Football League

Druckenmiller was drafted in the first round (26th overall) of the
1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...
by the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, which intended to groom him as
Steve Young Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...
's successor; after the draft, 49ers coach
Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...
commented about Druckenmiller: "I would like to think he's our quarterback of the future." Because Young had a concussion, Mariucci decided to start Druckenmiller for the week 2 game (September 7, 1997) against the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...
. Although the 49ers won 15–12, Druckenmiller completed only 10 of his 28 attempted passes for 102 yards with one
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 Ameri ...
pass and three
interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
s. In the fourth quarter, Druckenmiller was 0-for-5 with one interception and two near-interceptions. Druckenmiller played in three more games: first in week 3 backing up Steve Young in the 49ers' 33–7 win over the
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 ...
. In that game, Druckenmiller completed 4 of 6 pass attempts for 41 yards, was sacked once for 9 yards, and lost one yard on a rush attempt. The following week, the 49ers beat the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
34–7. Druckenmiller was 2-for-7 for 32 yards and a 6-yard sack, and -3 yards rushing. Druckenmiller's next game action was in the 49ers' final 1997 regular season game, a 38–9 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in which Druckenmiller was 5-for-11 for 64 yards, one interception, one sack, and one rushing yard. He finished the 1997 season 21-for-52 with one touchdown pass and four interceptions. In the 1998 season, Druckenmiller played only two games: week 2 against 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 ...
and week 6 against the New Orleans Saints. After the season, General Manager Bill Walsh belittled his football skills and implied that Druckenmiller would have been released but for salary-cap ramifications. On September 6, 1999, the 49ers traded Druckenmiller to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
for a conditional draft choice. Druckenmiller did not play a down in 1999. In a preseason game on August 9, 2000, Druckenmiller completed 13 of 21 pass attempts in the Dolphins' 13–10 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
for 141 yards including the 78-yard first touchdown drive. The Dolphins cut Druckenmiller on August 16. In 2008,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
named him the 11th-biggest bust since the AFL-NFL merger.


Later career

In 2001, he had limited action as a backup with the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...
. He also played for the
Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home games were played ...
of the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
in 2001. The XFL used the
angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two Ray (geometry), rays, called the ''Side (plane geometry), sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex (geometry), vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two ...
of Druckenmiller's history and his unusually strong arm and passing range to promote Maniax games. He ranked 13th in the league in rushing yards (208, leading all quarterbacks) and fourth in
passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...
, with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was one of only three of the league's eight Opening Day starting quarterbacks to survive the entire ten-week XFL season as starter without being injured or losing his starting position. In 2003, just as Druckenmiller was offered a job as a sales manager for a
Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...
-based
cargo trailer A trailer is an unpowered vehicle towed by a powered vehicle. It is commonly used for the transport of goods and materials. Sometimes recreational vehicles, travel trailers, or mobile homes with limited living facilities where people can cam ...
company, the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
offered Druckenmiller a tryout to be
Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
's third-string backup, but the Colts ultimately signed
Jim Kubiak James Kubiak (born May 12, 1972) is a former professional football player and coach. He is currently the director of the WNY Quarterback Academy, and he was most recently the head football coach at Hilbert College for their first season in 2022. ...
.


Legal troubles


Malicious wounding

In 1996, Druckenmiller was charged with malicious wounding in connection with a bar brawl. One witness quoted Druckenmiller as saying to him, "Did you see me kick that guy's butt?" The judge held that the evidence against Druckenmiller was not sufficient to convict him and threw out the charge.


Rape allegations

On April 24, 1999, police in Blacksburg, Virginia, reported that Druckenmiller had been charged with rape, stemming from an incident in a house between 3 and 4 a.m. on March 4 of that year. According to Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Curtis "Skip" Schwab, Druckenmiller "went downstairs to have sex with a woman who had vomited twice and fallen on a couch," and that Druckenmiller did not know the woman's correct first or last name. The accuser testified that she vaguely remembered a friend putting her to bed after a night of drinking. She passed out and awoke to find Druckenmiller on top of her. When asked what he was doing by a Montgomery County assistant commonwealth's attorney, the accuser responded, "Having sex. It took me a while to realize what was going on. I was disoriented. I had no idea where I was." According to Druckenmiller, he had carried the woman to a bed after she vomited for the second time that night and slumped on a couch, and stated he went to check on her a few minutes later and asked how she was. When she told him she was drunk but doing fine, he asked her if she was going to make good on a promise she made to him earlier in the evening to have sex. On July 22, 1999, Druckenmiller was acquitted.


After-football career

Since 2004, Druckenmiller has lived in Memphis and worked in various sales, business management, and information technology positions with companies including
ChoicePoint LexisNexis Risk Solutions is a global data and analytics company that provides data and technology services, analytics, predictive insights and fraud prevention for a wide range of industries. It is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia (part of ...
,
LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...
, and A.S. Barboro.Jim Druckenmiller
on
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. Accessed July 9, 2012.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Druckenmiller, Jim 1972 births Living people American football quarterbacks Memphis Maniax players Miami Dolphins players Northampton Area High School alumni Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee Players of American football from Pennsylvania San Francisco 49ers players Los Angeles Avengers players Virginia Tech Hokies football players Businesspeople from Tennessee