Jim Ritcher
No. 51
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1958-05-21) May 21, 1958
Berea, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:273 lb (124 kg)
Career information
High school:Highland
(Medina, Ohio)
College:NC State (1976–1979)
NFL Draft:1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:218
Games started:167
Fumble recoveries:3
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

James Alexander Ritcher (born May 21, 1958)[1] is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons.[1] Ritcher played college football for the NC State Wolfpack, where he received All-American honors. He was drafted in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft, and played for the Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.[2]

Early years

Ritcher was born in Berea, Ohio. He attended Highland High School in Medina, Ohio, where he wrestled and played high school football.[3]

College career

He attended North Carolina State University, and played for the NC State Wolfpack football team from 1976 to 1979. As a senior in 1979, he was a consensus first-team was an All-American and won the Outland Trophy as the nation's best college interior lineman.[4]

Professional career

In the National Football League, Ritcher was moved to guard from center by the Buffalo Bills, for whom he played 14 seasons. He started in all four Super Bowl appearances of the Bills (Super Bowl XXV, Super Bowl XXVI, Super Bowl XXVII, and Super Bowl XXVIII) and was selected to two Pro Bowls. He finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons.[5]

Life after football

In 1998, he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 2012 he was inducted as a member of the inaugural class of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame[6] He is currently working as a commercial pilot, flying for American Airlines.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Jim Ritcher Stats". pro-football-reference.com. Sports-Reference, LLC. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Jim Ritcher". buffalosportshalloffame.com. Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Kaipust, Rich (9 January 2014). "Outland Trophy throwback winner Ritcher rolled with the punches, excelled". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Jim Ritcher (2012)". gopack.com. NC State University Athletics. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Brady, Erik. "Ex-Bills lineman Jim Ritcher's career takes off after football". buffalonews.com. The Buffalo News. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  6. ↑ WRAL (2012-10-05). "NC State inaugurates Hall of Fame :". WRALSportsFan.com. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  7. ↑ Brady, Erik (January 29, 2020). "Ex-Bills lineman Jim Ritcher's career takes off after football". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.


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