Jim Ostendarp

James E. Ostendarp (February 15, 1923 – December 15, 2005) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played professional football for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1950 to 1951 and the Montreal Alouettes of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union—a forerunner of the Canadian Football League (CFL)—in 1952. Ostendarp was the head football coach at Amherst College for 33 years, from 1959 to 1991, compiling a record of 168–91–5. He also served as president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1982.

Early years Ostendarp was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1923. He began playing football at age eight and later recalled his early years playing the game as follows:

I grew up in Baltimore and all the kids play football in that city. On a Sunday afternoon there must be 50 kids' games going on there. They're all neighborhood teams. I started playing first for a team that was formed by the kids on the street I lived on. We played against kids from the nearby streets. When I was 10 I played for a club team. I mean we just got together and formed a club and gave it a name. We sold fruit and held raffles to get the money to buy uniforms.

Ostendarp later attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, where coaches told him he was too small to play high school football. Refusing to accept their decision, Ostendarp established his ability by playing semi-professional football on Sundays. He made the Polytechnic high school football team as a senior and earned All-State honors. Ostendarp transferred to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1948, where he set the football team's rushing record in 1949 with an average of 6.9 yards per carry. He played as a halfback for the Giants during the 1950 and 1951 NFL seasons. The Giants were 19–4–1 in 1950 and 1951, with Ostendarp serving as a backup to the team's leading rushers Eddie Price and Choo Choo Roberts. Ostendarp appeared in seven games for the 1950 Giants and scored two touchdowns, including one against his hometown Baltimore Colts on November 19, 1950. He also rushed for 144 yards in 1950, including a career-long 55-yard run against the New York Yankees on December 3, 1950. Ostendarp also returned nine punts for 117 yards and four kickoffs for 83 yards. In an interview with The Montreal Gazette, Ostendarp discussed the process of adjusting to Canadian rules:

When I first came up here and learned that you only had three downs in which to make 10 yards. I wondered if a team ever moved the sticks. All I could think of is how difficult it is in American football where there are four downs. But I soon saw that it could be done. In fact, I think three downs makes it a better game for the crowd.

Following the 1952 season, Ostendarp was reported to have had a contract disagreement with Montreal's team management. In early June 1953, The Montreal Gazette reported that Ostendarp had agreed to salary terms with the Alouettes, but Ostendarp announced a short time later that he had accepted a coaching position at Bucknell University and would not be returning to the Alouettes.

Amherst College

Coaching and awards In March 1959, Ostendarp was hired as the head football coach at Amherst College. He held that position for 33 years from 1959 to 1991. He led the Amherst Lord Jeffs to undefeated, untied seasons in 1964 and 1984. He also led his teams to 13 Little Three (Amherst, Williams and Wesleyan) championships and nine one-loss seasons. In his 33 years as head coach, Ostendarp compiled an overall record of 168–91–5 and a .646 winning percentage. Four of Ostendarp's Amherst players went on to play in the NFL: Sean Clancy '78, Doug Swift '70, Jean Fugett '72 and Freddie Scott '74.

Ostendarp was also one of the first football coaches to use computerized statistics to develop his game strategy for opposing teams. In the early 1960s, some of Ostendarp's players used a computer at the University of Massachusetts to compile opponents' statistics to help their coach plan for upcoming games.

Influence on players Ostendarp also served on Amherst's faculty as a professor of physical education. He became known for the influence he had on players beyond the football field.

One of Ostendarp's former players noted, "He was a professor who happened to teach football."

Joe Schell, who played for Ostendarp in the late 1960s, recalled that Ostendarp made sure his players were good students and good citizens. Schell, who went on to become an investment banker, recalled, "For me, next to my father, he was the most influential man in my life." When some Amherst alumni protested his decision, Ostendarp said he couldn't care less, adding, "I've got tenure. I'm a full professor." Ostendarp's decision drew national media coverage. The Boston Globe called it "A Glorious Blackout" and added: "When the Man-of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year awards are considered, every list should contain the name of Jim Ostendarp. The football coach of Amherst College represents values that have almost disappeared."

Family Ostendarp married Shirley Reidinger in 1953. They lived in Sunderland, Massachusetts, and had three sons, Jim, Jan, and Carl, and four daughters, Teresa, Anne, Beth, and Heidi. In December 2005, Ostendarp died at the Soldier's Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Head coaching record Football