James Jarrett Lankas (August 26, 1918 – August 9, 1978) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He was a fullback in

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the St. Mary's Gaels and later for three seasons professionally. He played for the Paterson Panthers,

Jersey City Giants {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Jersey City Giants , founded = 1937 , city = Jersey City, New Jersey , misc = , logo = , uniformlogo = , class level = , past ...

and

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

of the American Association (AA), and for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was also a member of the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Early life

Lankas was born on August 26, 1918, in

Stratton, Nebraska Stratton is a village in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 310 at the 2020 census. History Stratton sprang up ''circa'' 1881 as a depot on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It was named for Mary Stratton ...

, and was of Czechslovakian and Polish descent. He attended Atwood High School in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and then

Holy Cross Abbey Holy Cross Abbey ''(Mainistir na Croise Naofa)'' was a Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy Rood. History A supposed f ...

Cañon City, Colorado Cañon City ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city p ...

. He played

as a fullback and was known as "Jarring Jim". A

triple-threat man In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player. Triple-threat men were the norm in the early da ...

, Lankas was an all-section selection at Atwood and was among the state's leading scorers in 1936 with 122 points. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

at Abbey in 1937, he scored 126 points and his coach said that Lankas "is the best all-around back I had ever coached." He finished his high school football career having appeared in 51 games, scoring 531 points in those games for an average of 10.4 points per game. He recorded over 7,000 scrimmage yards. While in high school, Lankas also competed as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, being considered the top

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

in southwestern Nebraska, according to '' The Stratton News''.

College career

After high school, Lankas enrolled at

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

on a four-year

football scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United States and ...

in 1938, being regarded as "the greatest prospect ever to enter the school", according to the ''

Times-Standard The ''Times-Standard'' is the only major local daily newspaper covering the far North Coast of California. Headquartered in Eureka, the paper provides coverage of international, national, state and local news in addition to entertainment, sport ...

''. He played for St. Mary's

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

football team that year and was considered the fastest member of the team. One newspaper described him as "all muscle and very fast", as well as being "mean, very mean, very mean, when he tackles and blocks." He missed part of the season after suffering a knee injury. He then made the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 1939, playing as the third-string fullback. He played his last season for St. Mary's in 1940 and played alongside his brother, George, a fullback. He was used as a halfback during the 1940 season.

Professional career

Lankas turned professional in 1941, signing with the Paterson Panthers of the American Association (AA), turning down an offer from 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

(NFL). He appeared in four games, one as a starter, before being released in October 1941; he then joined the

Jersey City Giants {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Jersey City Giants , founded = 1937 , city = Jersey City, New Jersey , misc = , logo = , uniformlogo = , class level = , past ...

. After appearing in two games, scoring one

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

, Lankas was released by the Giants, and then signed to the

. He played two games for the Bears that same season. In 1942, Lankas signed with the

of the NFL. He did not appear in any games for the Dodgers and was traded to the

in November 1942. He appeared in two games as a backup, recording no statistics for the Eagles. He returned to the Eagles, which became the

Steagles The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The tw ...

, in 1943, and was described as their top fullback prospect by ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''. However, he appeared in no games and was purchased by the

in October 1943. He played three NFL games for the Packers and ran twice for two yards. He also played in their 62–14 exhibition win over the New London Diesels and scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and an extra point. He concluded his NFL career having appeared in five games, none as a starter. After his stint with the Packers, Lankas began

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. According to ''

The Wichita Beacon ''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Originating in the early 1870s, shortly after the city's founding, it is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surr ...

'', he started wrestling there after "a wrestler failed to show up ... and he entered the ring as a sub". He continued wrestling and began competing as a professional boxer in Wichita in 1947. He purchased a farm in

Rawlins County, Kansas Rawlins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Atwood. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,561. It was named after John Rawlins, a general in the American Civil War. His ...

, in 1948, and retired from wrestling and boxing.

Later life and death

Lankas later served as a boxing referee and promoter. He was a Democratic Party candidate for Rawlins County sheriff in 1948 and later owned a cafe in

Trenton, Nebraska Trenton is a village in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Hitchcock County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 516 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Hitchcock County. History Trenton was platted in 1885 ...

. He died on August 9, 1978, in Edison, Kansas, at the age of 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lankas, Jim 1918 births 1978 deaths Players of American football from Nebraska Philadelphia Eagles players Green Bay Packers players Saint Mary's Gaels football players People from Hitchcock County, Nebraska 20th-century American sportsmen American people of Czechoslovak descent American people of Polish descent