| No. 33 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1944-09-09)September 9, 1944 (age 80) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Taft (Chicago) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Illinois | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1966: 1st round, 9th pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1966: 1st round, 1st pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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James Grabowski (born September 9, 1944) is an American formerfootball player and broadcaster.He played as arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL), primarily with theGreen Bay Packers.
Grabowski playedcollege football for theIllinois Fighting Illini, earning consensusAll-American honors in 1965. He was selected in the first round of the1966 NFL draft with the ninth overall pick. Grabowski played in the NFL for Green Bay and theChicago Bears, winning twoSuper Bowls with the Packers. He was an analyst on Illinois football radio broadcasts for nearly 30 years, retiring after the 2006 season.
Grabowski entered the University of Illinois in 1962, out ofTaft High School inChicago. At Illinois, Grabowski was a starrunning back, and was namedAssociated PressAll-American in both1964 and1965. As a sophomore in1963, Grabowski was named Most Valuable Player of theRose Bowl, after leading theFighting Illini to a 17–7 comeback victory over theWashington Huskies.[1] Grabowski received many awards and recognitions after his senior season in 1965, including finishing third in theHeisman Trophy voting, being namedThe Sporting News co-player of the year and Back of the Year by the Washington Touchdown Club, and receiving theChicago Tribune Silver Football as theBig Ten Conference Most Valuable Player. He finished as the all-time leader in rushing yards in Big Ten history. Grabowski was also an outstanding student at the University of Illinois, having been named GTE Academic All-American in 1964 and 1965, and graduated with a degree in finance in 1966.
Grabowski is a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1995. He was also inducted into the GTE Academic All-American Hall of Fame and theRose Bowl Hall of Fame. Additionally, Grabowski was named to the University of Illinois "All-Century" team, and is a member of theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Grabowski was selected in the first round of the1966 NFL draft by theGreen Bay Packers, with the ninth overall selection, held on November 27, 1965, only a week after his college playing career ended. (Grabowski was also taken as the first overall pick in theAFL draft, by the expansionMiami Dolphins.)[3] Grabowski played five seasons for the Packers, and was known as one of Green Bay's "Gold Dust Twins" (along with fellow rookie running backDonny Anderson) in the late Sixties.[4][5]
After he gained the starting position in1967, a series of injuries hampered his career. He was the Packers' leading rusher in 1967 with 466 yards, while also catching 12 passes for 171 more, but a late-season injury forced him to miss the postseason, including their win inSuper Bowl II. With a new head coach in1971, Grabowski was waived by Green Bay in August,[6][7] picked up by theChicago Bears for the season, and retired in training camp in September1972.[8] Over his six seasons in the NFL, Grabowski rushed for 1,731 yards and scored 12touchdowns: eight rushing, three receiving, and one after a fumble byMel Renfro, which he returned for an 18-yard score in the1966 NFL Championship Game versus the Dallas Cowboys.