James Allen Bertelsen (February 26, 1950 – May 7, 2021) 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 who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for five seasons 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) with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. He played

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

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was selected by the Rams in the second round of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

College career

As a sophomore at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

he, James Street,

Steve Worster Steven Clark Worster (July 8, 1949 – August 13, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Following his prep career in Texas, he played college fo ...

, and

Ted Koy Ted Koy (born September 15, 1947) is an American football former tight end for the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Raiders in the 1970 NFL draft. He ...

led the Longhorns to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

using the wishbone

option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on Rus ...

. He was named a 3rd-string All-American that year. In 1970 he again helped lead Texas to the National Championship, though they lost the Cotton Bowl, as he was named all-conference. As a senior and a team captain in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, Bertlesen was the team's lead ground gainer, leading them to a 3rd straight Southwest Conference Championship and making the All-Conference team again. In his career at Texas (1969–1971), he rushed for 2,510 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry and 33 touchdowns, and also had nine 100-yard rushing games. He led the team in rushing in 1969 and 1971, in scoring in 1969 and in total offense in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In a 1969 game against SMU he tied the then school record, set by Bobby Layne, of 4 touchdowns in a single game. In that same game he,

and James Street became the school's only foursome to rush for 100-yards in a single game. After his senior year, he played in the College All-Star Football Game in Chicago and the 1972

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He was named to the Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1995.

Professional career

Bertelsen was selected in the second round of the

by the

with the 30th overall pick. For the Rams he was also a kick and punt returner. He averaged four yards per carry as a pro, and rushed for 854 yards in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. In 1974 he had 1395 all-purpose yards and 5 TDs earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl and he was the Rams leading rusher in the 1974 NFC Championship game. He played in another NFC Championship game with the Rams in 1976. He was released by the Rams a few days before the start of the 1977 regular season due to an injury. Later that season, the Colts considered him as a free agent replacement for the injured Roosevelt Leaks.

Later life

After his NFL career, Bertelsen returned to the

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

area where he owned and trained racehorses, owned and operated a bar and then moved into sales positions in the construction field and then the oil business where he worked until his retirement in 2013. He died on May 7, 2021. He was divorced at the time of his death. He had a son, a daughter and a granddaughter.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelsen, Jim 1950 births 2021 deaths American football running backs Los Angeles Rams players Texas Longhorns football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Hudson, Wisconsin Sportspeople from St. Croix County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin 20th-century American sportsmen