Jim Lindsey obit

Jim Lindsey, Arkansas football icon and member of 1964 national champion team, has died

 He was not on the list.

Arkansas football legend Jim Lindsey, who helped lead the Razorbacks to the program’s only national championship in 1964 and later was an influential philanthropist for the program, died Sunday evening following a lengthy illness. He was 81.

Lindsey was born on Nov. 24, 1944, in Caldwell, Arkansas, and attended Forrest City High School, where he was a star football player and signed with Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks in 1962.

“I helped recruit him, and I was his position coach,” said Barry Switzer, who was a former player and assistant coach at Arkansas before winning multiple national championships at Oklahoma and a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. “He was a natural leader for our team and was a good player for us. We were close. I kept up with him during his time with the [Minnesota] Vikings. I just kept writing him letters of encouragement. I just told him if he played with the same effort as he gave us, he'd play a long time and his investments would pay off.”

At Arkansas, Lindsey rose to the ranks of captain and team leader in the heyday of Razorback football under Broyles. Lindsey played on teams that had a combined record of 26-6 from 1963-65 and won 22 straight games at one point, the longest winning streak for a college football program in the 1960s.

In 1964, the Razorbacks went 11-0 and defeated arch-rival and defending national champion Texas 14-13. Lindsey playing a key role in the win over the No. 1 Longhorns. He threw a key block on All-America linebacker Tommy Nobis that sprung Ken Hatfield free on his legendary 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The Razorbacks capped the perfect season with a 10-7 win against Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl, with Lindsey making two crucial catches on the game-winning 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.

His 10-yard reception to the Nebraska 43 converted a third down, then he caught a 28-yard pass to the Cornhuskers' 5 that set up Bobby Burnett's go-ahead touchdown on the following play.

The Razorbacks went 10-0 in the 1965 regular season before falling 14-7 to LSU at the Cotton Bowl.

Ironically, the game that launched the 22-game win streak almost wasn’t played. It was the regular season finale against Texas Tech in Fayetteville one day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in downtown Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. The two teams played the game as a somber crowd watched Arkansas claim a 27-20 win. The Razorbacks did not lose again until the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1966.

Lindsey was drafted by both the Vikings in the NFL and the Buffalo Bills in the AFL. He spent seven seasons with the Vikings as a running back under Bud Grant, including the 1969 season when the Vikings lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Lindsey’s playing career at Arkansas left a lasting legacy, he’s probably far better known as one of Northwest Arkansas’ top business leaders. He turned his NFL signing bonus into a real estate empire that has spanned more than 50 years.

"I recall him going to lunch with E.J. Ball,” Switzer said. “He was told to take his $75,000 signing bonus and buy the land between Fayetteville and Springdale. He did it. That was as good a use for a signing bonus as anyone has ever made."

He also launched a bid to become Arkansas' governor in 1976 and lost to incumbent David Pryor in the Democratic primary.

Lindsey was a noted philanthropist helping untold thousands of people in their times of need.

"The number of people he helped might have been in the thousands,” former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. “He might take care of someone's funeral costs. He might send a pile of hundreds to someone — anonymously. He might send someone 20 pies from Neal's Cafe. He had the most giving heart of anyone I knew."

Jim Watson, a close friend of Lindsey’s, echoed Nutt’s sentiment about Lindsey’s giving heart to those in need.

“I'm told by Jim's secretary that there is no end to the gifts he gave to others that she knew about and there would probably be many more she didn't know about,” Watson said. “He always was a giver, even when he was just getting started in business as an NFL football player. But as he made more money, he gave more. He was always on the lookout for someone to help."

Lindsey's Celebration of Life will be held on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at University Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

As a 21-year-old, Lindsey used his $75,000 NFL signing bonus to purchase a tract of land in Northwest Arkansas, his starting point in buying and selling real estate, an occupation he pursued during his off-seasons, and which became his main occupation after retirement from football. As of 2013, Lindsey's company owned more than 37,000 apartment units and 42 golf courses.

Lindsey Golf courses are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Courses range from 9-18 holes, with many of them featuring a links style design. These courses tend to fill a niche for affordable public golf courses, but that are maintained at country-club level standards.

In 2011, production began on a documentary film covering Lindsey's life. Narrated by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, "The Jim Lindsey Story" details Lindsey's youth in the Arkansas Delta, role during the 1964 championship season, time in the National Football League, and rise in real estate. The film features interviews with College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles, former Arkansas head coach Ken Hatfield, former NFL players Fred Cox and Dave Osborn, and Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant. Executive produced by Emmy Award winners Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter, the documentary is presented by the University of Arkansas's Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism. "The Jim Lindsey Story" is scheduled for release in fall of 2013.

 

Personal information

Born    November 24, 1944

Caldwell, Arkansas, U.S.

Died    July 19, 2026 (aged 81)

Listed height   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

Listed weight  210 lb (95 kg)

Career information

High school     Forrest City (Forrest City, Arkansas)

College            Arkansas

NFL draft        1966: 2nd round, 27th overall pick

AFL draft        1966: 2nd round, 17th overall pick

Career history

Minnesota Vikings (1966–1972)

Awards and highlights

NFL champion (1969)

National champion (1964)

Second-team All-SWC (1964)

Career NFL statistics

Rushing yards 566

Rushing average          3.2

Receptions       56

Receiving yards          632

Total touchdowns        11