James Norman Young (born June 6, 1943)
is a former professional
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 ...
and
Canadian football
Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
player. Young played
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 ...
and
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
for the
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 ...
's
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
for two seasons (1965–66), and the
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
's
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions playe ...
for thirteen seasons (1967–79). Young is a member of
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...
, the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...
, the
BC Sports Hall of Fame
The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...
, and the
Queen's University Football Hall of Fame. Young's #30 jersey is one of ten numbers
retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
by the BC Lions.
In 2003, Young was voted a member of the
BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebration.
In 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network
TSN.
Young was nicknamed "''Dirty Thirty''", for his aggressive style and jersey number.
Sports journalist
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...
Jim Taylor wrote a football biography of Young featuring the same name.
National Football League – Minnesota Vikings
Young was the first
CIS football
U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athlet ...
player, playing for
Queen's University, drafted into 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 ...
in 1965. He played
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 ...
/
halfback for the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in the
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
and
1966 seasons (playing 6 games, rushing 3 times for 4 yards, and returning 6 punts and 9 kickoffs).
Young ended up signing with the Canadian Football League's BC Lions in a multi-player "trade" between the NFL and the
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
teams, one of the very few transactions to ever occur between the two leagues.
Young wanted to return to Canada, and the
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions playe ...
were very interested in acquiring him, however the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...
had his CFL rights.
The Minnesota Vikings were very interested in signing BC Lions
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Joe Kapp
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp (March 19, 1938 – May 8, 2023) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Footbal ...
.
The Minnesota Vikings
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
at the time was
Jim Finks
James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American professional football player, coach, and executive.
Early life and playing career
Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and attended ...
, who had brought Kapp to Canada back in the
1959 CFL season
The 1959 CFL season was the sixth season in modern-day Canadian football, although officially it was the second season of the Canadian Football League. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers played the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the third straight time in the ...
, and their head coach was
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (May 20, 1927 – March 11, 2023) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Grant was head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Viki ...
who had faced Kapp while coaching the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...
. Both Finks and Grant, wanted to sign Joe Kapp to replace
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...
who had been traded to the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
.
To make this transaction possible, the BC Lions traded all-star defensive lineman
Dick Fouts, and future Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back
Bill Symons
Bill Symons (born June 14, 1943) is an American former professional football running back with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
College career
Symons played for the University of Colorado Buffaloes between 1962 ...
to the Argonauts for the CFL rights to Young. They then managed getting Kapp waived out of the Canadian Football League.
The Minnesota Vikings managed getting Young waived out of the NFL. The expansion
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
wanted Young and it took some work from Finks to keep them from claiming Young.
Young, now waived from the NFL, signed with the BC Lions and Joe Kapp, who was waived from the CFL, was free to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, who had previously claimed his NFL playing rights from the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
.
Canadian Football League – BC Lions
Young played from the
1967
Events January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
to
1979 season with the BC Lions for 197 games, primarily as a wide receiver. Young was named a CFL All-Star at wide receiver for the
1972 season, and was a two-time
Western Conference All Star at two positions (running back in 1969, wide receiver in 1972). Young was awarded the
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winne ...
in the
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
and
1972 seasons.
He gained a reputation for his hard nosed play, hence the nickname "Dirty 30". His style of play forced defensive backs to watch out for him.
Young previously held several BC Lions team records, including most receptions, 552, most receiving yards, 9248, and most receiving
touchdowns
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 ...
, with 65. These are now all held by
Geroy Simon. He is one of only two Lions to surpass the 10,000 yard mark overall and he dominated the Lions offence for many years despite playing with 23 different quarterbacks. He saw action in five playoff seasons for B.C. and still ranks as the fifth all-time leading scorer in club history at 410 points.
Young's #30 jersey is one of ten numbers
retired by the Lions.
Post football playing career and awards
Young joined the BC Lions team management after his retirement, and coached the Lions on an interim basis during the
1990 CFL season
The 1990 CFL season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season.
CFL news in 1990
J. Donald Crump was appointed as the eighth CFL Commissioner on ...
for one game, a 32–13 loss to the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...
.
In 1991, Young was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was inducted into the
BC Sports Hall of Fame
The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...
. In 2002, he was inducted into
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...
. In November, 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network
TSN.
In 2011, he was an inaugural inductee in the BC Football Hall of Fame.
References
External links
Jim Youngat JustSportsStats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Jim
1943 births
Living people
Canadian football wide receivers
BC Lions coaches
BC Lions general managers
BC Lions players
Minnesota Vikings players
Queen's Golden Gaels football players
Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario
Players of Canadian football from Ontario
Canadian players of American football
First overall CFL draft picks