Syracuse Football Top 25 Players of All-Time: No. 24 Jim Nance

Syracuse Football has had a long history of success. We look back at some of the best players to play at Syracuse University. Up next, No. 24: Jim Nance.

Syracuse Football great Jim Nance may not be a name that immediately jumps to mind when you think of Syracuse legends, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t dominant in his own right. Like many athletes at that time, he was a multi-sport athlete who also was very good at wrestling. Jim Nance attended Syracuse from 1962-1965.

In wrestling, Jim “Bo” Nance was a star. He was a two-time NCAA champion, as well as one of six EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) three-time heavyweight winners during his career at SU, according to EIWAwrestling.org. Amazingly, “Bo” only lost once while at Syracuse and was 43-1 overall in his three seasons playing for the Orangemen. His only loss was on a controversial fleeing the mat call.

In addition to wrestling, Nance also played football at Syracuse from 1962-1964; for which he is better known. As a running back/fullback, he only rushed 84 times for 417 yards in 1962, and 51 times for 237 yards in 1963, according to Sports-Reference.com, but had his breakthrough season in 1964. In that 1964 season, he broke multiple previous football records. He led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 205 times for 1021 yards on a team that also included future Orange great/freshman Floyd Little, according to OrangeFizz.net.

In addition, he rushed for 13 touchdowns, tying the all-time Syracuse Football record (at that time) with Jim Brown, and passing Ernie Davis (12). He would also score a touchdown in 10 straight games that season, according to Cuse.com, which is no easy feat!

After that great 1964 season, Nance decided to turn pro and was selected in two different pro drafts. He was selected in the fourth round with the 45th overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 1965 NFL Draft, and was also selected 151st overall in the 19th round by the Boston Patriots (later renamed the New England Patriots) in the 1965 AFL Draft, according to Pro-Football Reference.com. He ultimately chose to sign with the Patriots, and would go on to have a decent career with them.

AFL/NFL Career

His rookie season in the AFL was sort of a wash, but in his second season, 1966, he would rush for 1,458 yards and 11 touchdowns and earn AFL MVP honors, according to PatriotsHallofFame.com. His 1,458 yards rushing made him the only player in AFL history to ever rush for 1,400+ yards. In addition, he would also lead the league in rushing in 1967 as well with 1,216 yards. That would make him the first running back in AFL history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in rushing in consecutive seasons.

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After 1971, Nance was traded by the newly renamed New England Patriots to the Philadelphia Eagles, but refused to play for them, so he retired for the 1972 season. He would end up coming back to play in the NFL in 1973, his last season in the league, with the New York Jets. In that final season in the NFL, he only played in seven games- starting once, and rushing 18 times for 78 yards and no touchdowns, according to Pro-FootballReference.com. In other words, it was not really a great comeback and probably one he wished he could forget. Sure enough, in 1974 he would indeed have a bounce-back season in the WFL.

WFL Career

The next year in 1974, Nance signed on with the Houston Texans of the WFL (World Football League) and had a much better year. He rushed 300 times for 1,240 yards and eight touchdowns to pair with 14 receptions for 84 yards, according to ProFootbalArchives.com.

When the WFL struggled in 1975 it moved the Houston Texans to Shreveport, Louisiana and was renamed the Shreveport Steamer. With the Steamers, Nance rushed 190 times for 767 yards and seven touchdowns to pair with 24 receptions for 206 yards and one receiving touchdown.

He would go on to finish his NFL/AFL career (eight years) with 1,341 carries for 5,401 yards rushing, (4.0 average) and 45 rushing touchdowns. Nance also recorded 133 receptions for 870 yards and one touchdown. He would later be inducted in the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2009, the first running back in the program’s history to receive the honor. He would also finish his WFL career with 490 rushes for 2,007 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

Though Nance’s numbers may not be eye-popping by today’s standards, to that era of football it was pretty darn good. As such, he more than deserves his place among Syracuse Football’s Top 25 players of All-Time.