Jim Carter, a standout fullback who helped the Gophers win the 1967 Big Ten football championship and also played hockey, died Thursday at age 75 after battling cancer.
Former Gophers, Packers great Jim Carter dead at 75
A fullback and hockey player in college, Jim Carter became a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL.
November 27, 2023 at 12:41AM
A South St. Paul native, Carter went on to play nine seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, shifting to defense to become a Pro Bowl linebacker.
Carter, a 2013 inductee into the university's M Club Hall of Fame, played football for the Gophers from 1967 to '69 and hockey in 1967-68. He led the Gophers in rushing with 519 yards in 1967 and served as a team captain two years later. In his Minnesota career, he rushed 359 times for 1,457 yards.
A third-round draft pick of the Packers in 1970, Carter replaced legendary middle linebacker Ray Nitschke in 1971 and went on to earn a spot in the Pro Bowl in 1973.
A hockey defenseman, Carter played in 25 games for the Gophers in 1967-68. He scored three goals, assisted on two and amassed 54 penalty minutes.
Carter played football, hockey and baseball for South St. Paul High School, earning All-America honors in football and hockey.
The Gophers men’s hockey team can trace Sam Rinzel’s improvement this past offseason down to the second, and he’ll be a focal point in this weekend’s series against No. 3 Michigan State.
