Jim Ostendarp James Elmore " Jim " Ostendarp ( February 15 , 1923 – December 15 , 2005 ) was an American football player and coach . He played professional football for the New York Giants from 1950 to 1951 and the Montreal Alouettes in 1952 . He was the head football coach at Amherst College for 33 years from 1959 to 1991 . 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 . He received a scholarship to the University of Maryland and played one year of football there . With the outbreak of World War II , he joined the U . S . Army and served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division . He fought in the European Theater of Operations and played football with the 7th Army team . After the war , Ostendarp enrolled at Bucknell University in Lewisburg , Pennsylvania . He played football at Bucknell and set a team rushing record in 1949 with an average of 6 . 9 yards per carry . Professional football . In July 1950 , Osetendarp signed with the New York Giants of the National Football League . He played as a halfback for the Giants during the 1950 and 1951 NFL season s . 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 , 1951 . 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 . During the 1952 season , Ostendarp played halfback for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League . 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 . " Ostendarp made the adjustment to Canadian rules , led the Big Four in rushing yards , and received the Lord Calvert Trophy as the Most Valuable Player on the 1952 Alouettes team . 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 . Early coaching career . Ostendarp began an informal coaching career in 1952 while playing for the Montreal Alouettes . While walking near the campus of McGill University , he was approached by a group of ten - to twelve - year - olds who were playing football . He recalled his introduction to coaching as follows : " I showed them a few fundamental things like how to carry the ball and how to hold it for a kick or a pass . A few days later I was up there again and they said they were going to form a team and would I coach them . I taught them one formation and gave them a few plays - - a smash off tackle , an end sweep and a couple of pass patterns . A couple of Sundays later they waited for me after the game at the stadium to tell me they ' d won their first game . " He began his formal coaching career as an assistant football coach at Bucknell from 1953 to 1954 . He later served as an assistant coach at Williams College ( 1955 – 57 ) and Cornell University ( 1958 ) . 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 1960 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 received the Kodak AFCA New England Coach of the Year award in 1961 and 1964 ; the UPI Small College Coach of the Year award in 1964 ; the New England Football Writers ' Division II and III Coach of the Year award in 1984 ; and the Gridiron Club of Boston ' s New England Division II and III Coach of the Year award in 1984 . 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 . Ostendarp announced his resignation as Amherst ' s head coach in March 1992 at age 68 . 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 . Asked by a reporter whether he was interested in coaching at a bigger school , Ostendarp replied , " Where would you go after Amherst ? " His players referred to him affectionately as " the Darp " and considered him " one part football coach and one part professor . " According to a tribute published by Amherst College following Ostendarp ' s death , his attire at football games was legendary : " It was easy to spot him on the sidelines . Regardless of the weather , Jim always wore his dark three - piece suit and Fedora . " One of Ostendarp ' s former players noted , " He was a professor who happened to teach football . " He emphasized balance and making time for family . One of his former players recalled that Coach Ostendarp " made a point of introducing his players to classical music and art , sometimes taking them to the Mead Art Museum during afternoon practice time . " The " Boston Globe " cited the following incident as an example of Ostendarp ' s balanced approach to athletics : " During a practice session one afternoon in the 1980s , Amherst College football coach James E . Ostendarp stopped his players ' drills so they could pause and appreciate the beauty of a sunset over the Berkshires . The moment was indicative of Mr . Ostendarp ' s approach to the game , his former players said , as he instructed them to appreciate more than just football in their lives . " 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 . " ESPN controversy . When ESPN sought to televise the 100th annual game between Amherst and Williams College , Ostendarp refused to accommodate the network ' s demand to change the kickoff . The national broadcast would have generated substantial revenue for the school , but Ostendarp held firm , telling " The Wall Street Journal " , " We ' re in education . We aren ' t in the entertainment business . . . . We don ' t have the stadiums , the crowds , the bands , the cheerleaders or the teams to play on television . We ' re No . 1 in the country in small academics . To put us on TV and say , ' This is Amherst , ' well , it just doesn ' t measure up . " 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 1981 , Ostendarp ' s son , Jan Ostendarp , returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown against Williams to lead Amherst to its first Little Three championship since 1968 . In December 2005 , Ostendarp died at the Soldier ' s Home in Holyoke , Massachusetts , of complications from Alzheimer ' s disease . On October 20 , 2007 , at Amherst ' s homecoming football game , Amherst President Anthony W . Marx and former Amherst players spoke about Ostendarp and unveiled a bronze plaque " ( pictured above ) " dedicated in his honor .