James Troy Archer (January 16, 1955 – June 22, 1979) 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

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for three seasons with 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 ...

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). He began playing football at age six after his father forged his

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...

to show he was eight years old. He played football at California High School in Whittier, California where he was smaller in stature than would be expected from a professional football player. After high school, he grew significantly while 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 ...

at Rio Hondo College and the University of Colorado, Boulder. A resident of

Guttenberg, New Jersey Guttenberg ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In the 2020 Census, it was the List of United States cities by population d ...

,Staff
"TROY ARCHER DIES; LINEMAN FOR GIANTS; Former Defensive End at Colorado Is Killed in Crash of a Truck in North Bergen, N.J."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 23, 1979. Accessed April 17, 2016. Archer was killed in an auto accident during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

References

1955 births 1979 deaths Players of American football from Glendale, California People from Guttenberg, New Jersey American football defensive tackles Colorado Buffaloes football players New York Giants players Road incident deaths in New Jersey Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park 20th-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey {{defensive-lineman-1950s-stub