Jim Young
Encyclopedia
James Norman "Dirty Thirty" Young (born June 6, 1943 in Hamilton, Ontario
) is a former professional American football
and Canadian football
player. Young played running back
and wide receiver
for the NFL
's Minnesota Vikings
for one season (1965-66), and the CFL
's BC Lions
for twelve seasons (1967-79). Young is a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
, the BC Sports Hall of Fame
, and the Queen's University
Football Hall of Fame. Young's #30 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the BC Lions. In 2003, Young was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club’s 50 year anniversary celebration. In 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
.
Young was nicknamed "Dirty Thirty", for his aggressive style and jersey number. Sports journalist Jim Taylor would write a football biography of Young featuring the same name.
player, playing for Queens University, drafted into the National Football League
in 1965. He played Running back
/halfback
for the Minnesota Vikings
in the 1965
and 1966 seasons
(playing 6 games, rushing 3 times for 4 yards, and returning 6 punts).
Young ended up signing with the Canadian Football League's BC Lions in a multi-player "trade" between the NFL and the CFL
teams, one of the very few transactions to ever occur between the two leagues.
Young wanted to return to Canada, and the BC Lions
were very interested in acquiring him, however the Toronto Argonauts
had his CFL rights.
The Minnesota Vikings were very interested in signing BC Lions quarterback
Joe Kapp
.
The Minnesota Vikings general manager
at the time was Jim Finks
, who had brought Kapp to Canada back in the 1959 CFL season
, and their head coach was Bud Grant
who had faced Kapp while coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
. Both Finks and Grant, wanted to sign Joe Kapp to replace Fran Tarkenton
who had been traded to the New York Giants
.
To make this transaction possible, the BC Lions traded all-star defensive lineman Dick Fouts
, and future Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back Bill Symons
to the Argonauts for the CFL rights to Jim Young. They then managed getting Kapp waived out of the Canadian Football League.
The Minnesota Vikings managed getting Jim Young waived out of the NFL. The expansion New Orleans Saints
wanted Young and it took some work from Finks to keep them from claiming Young.
Young, now waived from the NFL, signed with the BC Lions and Joe Kapp, who was waived from the CFL, was free to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, who had previously claimed his NFL playing rights from the Washington Redskins
.
to 1979 season
with the BC Lions (for 197 games,) primarily as a wide receiver. Young was named a CFL All-Star at wide receiver for the 1972 season, and was a two-time Western Conference
All Star at two positions (running back in 1969, wide receiver in 1972). Young was awarded the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
in the 1970 and 1972 seasons.
He gained a reputation for his hard nosed play, hence the nickname "Dirty 30". His style of play forced defensive backs to watch out for him.
Young previously held several BC Lions team records, including most receptions, 552, most receiving yards, 9248, and most receiving touchdowns, with 65. These now are all held by Geroy Simon
.He is one of only two Lions to surpass the 10,000 yard mark overall and he dominated the Lions offense for many years despite playing with 23 different quarterbacks. He saw action in five playoff seasons for B.C. and still ranks as the fifth all-time leading scorer in club history at 410 points.
Young's #30 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the Lions.
.
In 1991, Young was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame
. In 2002, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
. In November, 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
.
In 2011 he was an inaugral inductee in the BC Football Hall of Fame.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
) is a former professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
player. Young played running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
and wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
for one season (1965-66), and the CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
for twelve seasons (1967-79). Young is a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
, the BC Sports Hall of Fame
BC Sports Hall of Fame
For over 40 years, the community has entrusted the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum with the responsibility to collect, preserve, study, and interpret materials that relate to British Columbia’s rich sport history...
, and the Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
Football Hall of Fame. Young's #30 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the BC Lions. In 2003, Young was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club’s 50 year anniversary celebration. In 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
Young was nicknamed "Dirty Thirty", for his aggressive style and jersey number. Sports journalist Jim Taylor would write a football biography of Young featuring the same name.
National Football League - Minnesota Vikings
Young was the first CIS footballCIS football
Twenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec...
player, playing for Queens University, drafted into the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in 1965. He played Running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
/halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the 1965
1965 NFL season
The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League.Because the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts ended up tied in the Western Conference standings after the regular season ended, a conference playoff game was held in Green Bay. Although the Packers had defeated the...
and 1966 seasons
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
(playing 6 games, rushing 3 times for 4 yards, and returning 6 punts).
Young ended up signing with the Canadian Football League's BC Lions in a multi-player "trade" between the NFL and the CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
teams, one of the very few transactions to ever occur between the two leagues.
Young wanted to return to Canada, and the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
were very interested in acquiring him, however the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
had his CFL rights.
The Minnesota Vikings were very interested in signing BC Lions quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Joe Kapp
Joe Kapp
Joseph Robert Kapp is a former professional American and Canadian football quarterback. He is also a former college football head coach of the University of California, and a former general manager of the CFL's BC Lions. Kapp played primarily with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the CFL's BC Lions...
.
The Minnesota Vikings general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
at the time was Jim Finks
Jim Finks
James Edward Finks was an American sports executive, primarily for American Professional Football.-Biography:...
, who had brought Kapp to Canada back in the 1959 CFL season
1959 CFL season
The 1959 CFL season was the sixth season in modern Canadian professional football, although officially it was the second season of the Canadian Football League.-Final regular season standings:...
, and their head coach was Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
who had faced Kapp while coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
. Both Finks and Grant, wanted to sign Joe Kapp to replace Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....
who had been traded to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
To make this transaction possible, the BC Lions traded all-star defensive lineman Dick Fouts
Dick Fouts
Richard Lee Fouts is a former professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts and the BC Lions. After playing college football at the University of Missouri, where he was an All-American, Fouts spent his entire 13 year CFL career as an defensive lineman...
, and future Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back Bill Symons
Bill Symons
Bill Symons, born in Nucla, Colorado, is a former professional Canadian football running back with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.- College football career :Symons played for the University of Colorado Buffaloes between 1962 and 1964...
to the Argonauts for the CFL rights to Jim Young. They then managed getting Kapp waived out of the Canadian Football League.
The Minnesota Vikings managed getting Jim Young waived out of the NFL. The expansion New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
wanted Young and it took some work from Finks to keep them from claiming Young.
Young, now waived from the NFL, signed with the BC Lions and Joe Kapp, who was waived from the CFL, was free to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, who had previously claimed his NFL playing rights from the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
.
Canadian Football League - BC Lions
Young played from the 19671967 CFL season
The 1967 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 14th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 10th Canadian Football League season.-CFL news in 1967:...
to 1979 season
1979 CFL season
The 1979 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 26th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 22nd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1979:...
with the BC Lions (for 197 games,) primarily as a wide receiver. Young was named a CFL All-Star at wide receiver for the 1972 season, and was a two-time Western Conference
Canadian Football League West Division
The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...
All Star at two positions (running back in 1969, wide receiver in 1972). Young was awarded the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually rewarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. This is the second-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted. The two nominees...
in the 1970 and 1972 seasons.
He gained a reputation for his hard nosed play, hence the nickname "Dirty 30". His style of play forced defensive backs to watch out for him.
Young previously held several BC Lions team records, including most receptions, 552, most receiving yards, 9248, and most receiving touchdowns, with 65. These now are all held by Geroy Simon
Geroy Simon
Geroy Simon is a professional Canadian football slotback with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League...
.He is one of only two Lions to surpass the 10,000 yard mark overall and he dominated the Lions offense for many years despite playing with 23 different quarterbacks. He saw action in five playoff seasons for B.C. and still ranks as the fifth all-time leading scorer in club history at 410 points.
Young's #30 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the Lions.
Post football playing career and awards
Young joined the BC Lions team management after his retirement, and briefly coached the Lions on an interim basis during the 1990 CFL season1990 CFL season
The 1990 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1990:J...
.
In 1991, Young was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame
BC Sports Hall of Fame
For over 40 years, the community has entrusted the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum with the responsibility to collect, preserve, study, and interpret materials that relate to British Columbia’s rich sport history...
. In 2002, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
. In November, 2006, Young was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
In 2011 he was an inaugral inductee in the BC Football Hall of Fame.