Jim Collins (linebacker)
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 11, 1958 Orange, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | West Morris Mendham (Mendham Borough, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College: | Syracuse | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1981 / round: 2 / pick: 43 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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James Brian Collins (born June 11, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange. He played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1985. He also played for the San Diego Chargers.
Early life
[edit]Collins graduated from West Morris Mendham High School in the Class of 1976, where, as a senior, he helped lead his high school football team to a still standing club record eight shutouts and its only state championship victory to date. He subsequently attended Syracuse University on a full athletic scholarship at linebacker. In 1980, Collins was an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. He was later named to the Syracuse all-century team.[1]
Professional career
[edit]Collins was selected in the second round (43rd overall pick) of the 1981 NFL draft as a linebacker by the Los Angeles Rams. He was considered a leader of the Rams' defense of the mid-1980s.[2] He made one appearance in the Pro Bowl, with the Rams in 1985,[3] and was a Pro Bowl alternate in 1984. Due to a shoulder injury, Collins spent the 1986 season on the injured reserve list.[4] Overall, he played in the NFL for seven seasons with the Rams (1981–1985, 1987–1988), and then spent one season with the San Diego Chargers (1989).
Collins also appeared in the 1986 Rams promotional video, Let's Ram It,[5] where he goes by the nickname "Babyface" and refers to himself as a "tacklin' fool on the football field."[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "James Collins, Football, 1976, 1978-80", Syracuse University Athletics (accessed 2014-02-05).
- ^ "Overlooked Collins leads Ram defense", Associated Press in Star-News, January 2, 1986.
- ^ Rich Roberts, "Jim Collins Can Only Watch . . . and Wait: Injured Ram Linebacker Realizes His Career May Be in Jeopardy", Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1986.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (November 16, 1986). "Waiting game". Daily Record. Morristown, New Jersey. p. 40. Retrieved April 19, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rams". Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1986. p. 129. Retrieved April 18, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ram IT (NFL Rams Football Team) Song". Retrieved April 17, 2018 – via YouTube.
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- 1958 births
- American football linebackers
- Living people
- Los Angeles Rams players
- National Conference Pro Bowl players
- Players of American football from Morris County, New Jersey
- Sportspeople from Orange, New Jersey
- Players of American football from Essex County, New Jersey
- San Diego Chargers players
- Syracuse Orange football players
- West Morris Mendham High School alumni
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American football linebacker, 1950s birth stubs