James "Bubby" Robert Braxton (May 23, 1949 – July 28, 1986) 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 ...

fullback 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

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

College career

Jim Braxton started playing

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 ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 1967 and was the team's second leading rusher (272 yards) in his sophomore season in 1968. In his junior season, he rushed for a team best 843 yards and helped the team become

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

champions. He also was talented as a kicker. As a senior, he converted to tight end, catching 27 passes for 565 yards and eight touchdowns and that was good enough for first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n honors.

Professional career

Drafted in the third round by the

in the

1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...

, he was needed not as the leading rusher, but the blocking weapon for star

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 ...

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

. As Simpson remarks, most of his 11,236 career rushing yards were due to Braxton. Braxton's career took off in 1972, his sophomore season in the league, when he rushed for 453 yards on 116 attempts with five touchdowns and caught 24 receptions for 232 yards and a score. In 1973, Braxton rushed for 494 yards on 108 attempts with four touchdowns despite only playing in six games (starting four) due to being deactivated for the first eight games with a back injury. In 1974, Braxton became a premier runner alongside Simpson, rushing for 543 yards on 146 carries with four touchdowns. During the 1975 season, Braxton rushed for 823 yards and nine touchdowns, which he considered his best season. He also caught 26 passes for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns. His nine rushing touchdowns ranked eighth in the league, and his 13 all-purpose scores finished fifth. Braxton's 1976 season ended with a knee injury, and he rushed for 372 yards and a touchdown during the 1977 season. He played half of the 1978 season with the Bills, rushing for 73 yards, and then finished out his

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

career in the second half of the 1978 season with the

, rushing for 48 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, Braxton rushed for 2,890 yards on 741 attempts with 25 touchdowns. His receiving totals were 1,473 yards on 144 receptions with 6 touchdowns, for 31 career all-purpose touchdowns. Upon Braxton's death, Ed Abramoski, Buffalo's lead athletic trainer during the entirety of Braxton's tenure, said "Jimmy Braxton was one of the smartest players I've ever seen. He really knew how the game worked."

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal

While Braxton and his eventual wife, Pam, were dating in college, she became pregnant, and the couple decided it was best they gave their child up for

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

. In 1997, Pam met their biological daughter, who was then a professor at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. Jim Braxton died on July 28, 1986, due to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

, at the age of 37. He died at

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. Th ...

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

where he was undergoing treatment. He is survived by his wife, Pam, and two sons. His nephew,

Landon Turner Landon Turner (born May 15, 1993) is an American former professional football guard. He played college football at North Carolina. His uncle Jim Braxton played for the Bills and Dolphins in the 1970s. Early life Turner was a four-year starte ...

, played offensive lineman for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

offered these goodbye words to Braxton: "I've lost a teammate; I've lost a dear friend. Bubby was my protector on the field, my companion off it. What he meant to my career is impossible to calculate, but I know many of the things I achieved wouldn't have been possible without him."

References

External links

Jim Braxton
at ''Pro-Football-Reference.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Braxton, Jim 1949 births 1986 deaths American football fullbacks Players of American football from Fayette County, Pennsylvania West Virginia Mountaineers football players Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)