James Frederick Thrower (born November 6, 1947) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive back. In 2022 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. Thrower was born in

Camden, Arkansas Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County, Arkansas, Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state portals, U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlo ...

, in 1947. He attended Lincoln High School and played college football at Texas A&M–Commerce. He also exceled at track and field and basketball, and was inducted into the university's athletic hall of fame. Thrower played professional football as a defensive back in 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) 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 ...

from 1970 to 1972. He was fired by the Eagles in November 1972. He next played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

during the 1973 and 1974 seasons. While with the Lions, he was a backup to cornerback

Lem Barney Lemuel Jackson Barney (born September 8, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1967 to 1977, playing occasionally as ...

and also served as captain of the special team unit. He was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During the 1975, was placed on the injured reserve list. The ''Detroit Free Press'' called him the captain of the injured reserve list. In three years in the NFL, Thrower appeared in a total of 46 NFL games, four of them as a starter. After retiring from football, Thrower worked for the Stroh Brewery Co. and later Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. He was also a leading fundraiser for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrower, Jim 1947 births Living people American football defensive backs Philadelphia Eagles players Detroit Lions players East Texas A&M Lions football players Players of American football from Arkansas People from Camden, Arkansas