Jim Carter (American Football)
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James Charles Carter (October 18, 1948 – November 23, 2023) 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
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
for the
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) from 1970 through 1978. He attended South Saint Paul High School and 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
Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...
. Carter was a 10 letterman in high school and played hockey, football, and baseball, gaining All-America recognition in football and hockey. At the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, Carter was a fullback on the 1967 Golden Gophers team that was Co-Big Ten Champion; he captained the 1969 Gopher team and led the team in scoring. In addition to being a 3-year starter in football, Carter played two years of varsity hockey for the Golden Gophers and was later drafted by the St. Paul Fighting Saints. He decided to pursue a football career rather than hockey and he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Green Bay Packers in the 1970 NFL draft. Although he played only on offense in college, the Packers drafted Jim to play linebacker. He signed with Green Bay and played 9 seasons for the Packers and was defensive captain from 1973 through 1976. He was selected to play middle linebacker for the NFC in the Pro Bowl after the 1973 season. Jim Carter is in the University of Minnesota Hall of Fame, the South St. Paul Sports Hall of Fame, the Mancini’s (St. Paul) Hall of Fame, and the Minnesota Old Timer’s Football Association Hall of Fame. After retiring from the Packers, Carter bought a struggling Ford dealership in Eau Claire, WI. He commenced operating Jim Carter Ford in February 1980. After building the dealership back to profitability and respectability, Carter went on to acquire numerous other automotive businesses around Wisconsin: Bob Johnson Chevrolet-Mazda in Wausau, Car City Honda in Chippewa Falls, Borum-Dyer Volkswagen-Audi in Eau Claire, and Ken Loesch Cadillac-Pontiac-Oldsmobile in Chippewa Falls. He branded them all with his name and operated award-winning dealerships for 25+ years. He was named the Greater Eau Claire Area Small Businessman of the Year in 1987 by the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce; he was named Wisconsin Dealer of the Year in 1988 by the Wisconsin Auto and Truck Dealer’s Association; he was one of the five national finalists for the Time Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year in 1988. Carter sold all the dealership operations to his long time manager (and protege), Keith Kocourek, in 2005. While operating his businesses, Carter was active in his communities. He served on the board of directors of the Greater Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and was president of the organization in 1990; he served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Auto and Truck Dealers Association; he served on the board of directors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Chicago, IL.; he also served on the board of directors of the environmental organization, Clean Wisconsin. Carter was a finalist for a position on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents when issue was made of a publicized incident of
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
during his NFL playing days in 1976.Josh Verges
Ex-Packer, finalist for UMN board of regents, admits ‘bad behavior’ toward woman in 1976
''Pioneer Press'', January 12, 2017, accessed February 18, 2017.
While admitting it was "bad behavior" that led to a lawsuit by the victim, Carter accused university leaders of waging a smear campaign against him; Carter had been critical of the University's strict punishment of players accused of sexual assault. "Carter said he does not condone sexual assault but simply backed the players' call for changes in how the university investigates assault allegations."Mila Koumpilova
Regent finalist Jim Carter accuses U of M leaders of smear campaign
''Star Tribune'', January 14, 2017, accessed February 18, 2017.
Carter was very active in his addiction Recovery community. He was a regular at many recovery meetings and sponsored many fellow addicts. Carter died at his home on November 23, 2023, at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife, Victoria.Jim Carter was an unappreciated but hard-nosed middle linebacker
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jim 1948 births 2023 deaths American football linebackers Green Bay Packers players Minnesota Golden Gophers football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota