30 Facts About Jim Ostendarp

James E Ostendarp was an American gridiron football player and coach.

Jim Ostendarp served as president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1982.

Jim Ostendarp began playing football at age eight and later recalled his early years playing the game as follows:.

Jim Ostendarp later attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, where coaches told him he was too small to play high school football.

Jim Ostendarp made the Polytechnic high school football team as a senior and earned All-State honors.

Jim Ostendarp received a scholarship to the University of Maryland and played one year of football there.

Jim Ostendarp fought in the European Theater of Operations and played football with the 7th Army team.

Jim Ostendarp transferred to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1948, where he set the football team's rushing record in 1949 with an average of 6.9 yards per carry.

Jim Ostendarp played as a halfback for the Giants during the 1950 and 1951 NFL seasons.

Jim Ostendarp appeared in seven games for the 1950 Giants and scored two touchdowns, including one against his hometown Baltimore Colts on November 19,1950.

Jim Ostendarp rushed for 144 yards in 1950, including a career-long 55-yard run against the New York Yankees on December 3,1950.

Jim Ostendarp returned nine punts for 117 yards and four kickoffs for 83 yards.

Jim Ostendarp made the adjustment to Canadian rules, led the Big Four in rushing yards, and received the Lord Calvert Trophy as the Most Valuable Player on the 1952 Alouettes team.

In early June 1953, The Montreal Gazette reported that Jim Ostendarp had agreed to salary terms with the Alouettes, but Jim Ostendarp announced a short time later that he had accepted a coaching position at Bucknell University and would not be returning to the Alouettes.

Jim Ostendarp began an informal coaching career in 1952 while playing for the Montreal Alouettes.

Jim Ostendarp began his formal coaching career as an assistant football coach at Bucknell from 1953 to 1954.

Jim Ostendarp later served as an assistant coach at Williams College and Cornell University.

In March 1959, Jim Ostendarp was hired as the head football coach at Amherst College.

Jim Ostendarp held that position for 33 years from 1959 to 1991.

Jim Ostendarp led the Amherst Lord Jeffs to undefeated, untied seasons in 1964 and 1984.

Jim Ostendarp led his teams to 13 Little Three championships and nine one-loss seasons.

Jim Ostendarp received the Kodak AFCA New England Coach of the Year award in 1961 and 1964; the UPI Small College Coach of the Year award in 1964; the New England Football Writers' Division II and III Coach of the Year award in 1984; and the Gridiron Club of Boston's New England Division II and III Coach of the Year award in 1984.

Jim Ostendarp was one of the first football coaches to use computerized statistics to develop his game strategy for opposing teams.

Jim Ostendarp announced his resignation as Amherst's head coach in March 1992 at age 68.

Jim Ostendarp served on Amherst's faculty as a professor of physical education.

Jim Ostendarp became known for the influence he had on players beyond the football field.

Regardless of the weather, Jim Ostendarp always wore his dark three-piece suit and Fedora.

When ESPN sought to televise the 100th annual game between Amherst and Williams College, Jim Ostendarp refused to accommodate the network's demand to change the kickoff.

In December 2005, Jim Ostendarp died at the Soldier's Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

On October 20,2007, at Amherst's homecoming football game, Amherst President Anthony W Marx and former Amherst players spoke about Ostendarp and unveiled a bronze plaque dedicated in his honor.