James Finn Jr. (born December 9, 1976) 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 ...

fullback. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears as the final pick of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

High school career

Finn was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

and grew up in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and a bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 34,940, which constituted a 7.7% increase from 32, ...

. He attended

Bergen Catholic High School Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Coll ...

in Oradell, New Jersey, where he was involved in both football and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. An All-State pick in both sports, he was the 189-pound class state champion and posted a 33–2 record as a senior. Because no

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

recruiters were seeking him, Finn sought a

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

program and committed with the

College career

Finn was a four-year letterman while playing college football at the

, where he accumulated 2,277 rushing yards, which ranks as the fourth-highest total in school history. He also scored 180 points for fifth on the all-time list. He was an All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

player as a senior and junior. In his senior season, Finn set school records for yards, rushing attempts, and rushing touchdowns. Penn first experimented with having Finn play both offense and defense on October 18, 1997, against Columbia. In that game, Finn ran for 138 yards on 24 carries including one touchdown for 15 yards but fumbled on Columbia's 3-yard line on a 50-yard run. With the 24–7 win, Penn beat Columbia for the first time since 1994. In addition to being named an All-Ivy Team member, Finn was named Player of the Year. He also holds school records for most rushing attempts, rushing yards, and touchdowns in a game. Before being converted permanently into a fullback, Finn briefly played as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

, even starting a few games as a sophomore. While at Penn, Finn became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity. Finn also attended the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

at Penn and graduated with a degree in finance in 1999.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Playing history

Finn was drafted as the final pick of the 1999 NFL Draft (nicknamed Mr. Irrelevant) by the Chicago Bears. He was waived and spent time on their practice squad. Finn signed with the Indianapolis Colts in early 2000 where he ran for 44 yards in six rushing attempts and 10 receptions over three seasons. In 2003, Finn signed with the New York Giants. "To have a career, Finn beat the odds. He was a lightly regarded player at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, N.J. He moved to fullback at Penn, giving him a better chance to become a pro." In his Giants career, Finn had 21 rushing yards from five attempts. He saw more action as a receiver out of the backfield, with 325 receiving yards and 42 receptions. In 2005, Finn played in all 16 regular season games with 13 starts including the NFC

National Football League playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...

wild card game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

. His blocks for

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia ...

helped Barber rush for a franchise-record 1,860 yards. Finn was primarily a blocking fullback for the Giants. Finn missed the entire

2007 New York Giants season The 2007 season was the New York Giants' 83rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 32nd playing their home games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and their fourth under head coach Tom Coughlin. The Giants finished the ...

after being placed on injured reserve. That year, he became a Super Bowl champion when the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. After the season, Finn was cut due to nagging injuries and the emergence of

Madison Hedgecock Madison Smith Hedgecock (born August 27, 1981) is a former American football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the University of North Carolina. He was drafted by ...

. Finn and

Brandon Stokley Brandon Ray Stokley (born June 23, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver and current radio personality. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at University of L ...

are the only players in NFL history to have caught an offensive pass from both Eli Manning and Peyton Manning. Many players caught interceptions from both brothers.

Personal life

He is the son of James and Jane Finn. Finn married actress Rosa Blasi on February 14, 2004, in Maui. They had one child and divorced in 2008. Finn is a resident in Los Angeles County, California. He has also lived in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Finn was a named plaintiff in one of the lawsuits filed by former NFL players against the league, alleging that the NFL had failed to warn its players about the risk of long term damage from repeated concussions incurred from playing football.Lisa Rose
"Former NFL players say they didn't know Toradol hid concussions"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', December 6, 2011.

References

External links

*
Pro-Football-Reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Jim 1976 births Living people American football fullbacks Bergen Catholic High School alumni Chicago Bears players Indianapolis Colts players New York Giants players Penn Quakers football players People from Fair Lawn, New Jersey People from Hermosa Beach, California People from Teaneck, New Jersey Players of American football from California Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Hackensack, New Jersey Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni