Hall of Fame
Position: Linebacker
Years: 1964-1966
Place of Birth: Lima, OH
Date of Birth: Aug 28, 1945
Place of Death: Kansas City, Missouri
Date of Death: July 21, 2022
Jersey Number: 61
Height: 6-1
Weight: 225
High School: Central Catholic (Lima, Ohio)
Jim Lynch put together a stellar senior campaign in 1966. On the field, the team captain was named a unanimous First Team All-America linebacker while leading Notre Dame to the national championship. He led the 1966 Irish with 106 tackles and earned the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding college football player.
A well-rounded college football star, Lynch was also a 1966 Academic All-American and NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
The anchor of two Notre Dame defenses (1965 and 1966) that rank among the most dominating in program history, Lynch also led the Fighting Irish in tackles in 1965 with 108.
Lynch would move on to play 11 years in the NFL for the Kanas City Chiefs (1967-77), helping them to a Super Bowl championship in 1969. He was named to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1990.
While still playing in the NFL in 1973, Lynch helped found D. Thomas and Associates, a food brokerage company specializing in packaging technology, where he remained for the rest of his professional career.
