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Jim Mitchell (tight end)

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Jim Mitchell
refer to caption
Mitchell in 1972
No. 86
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born:(1947-10-19)October 19, 1947
Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:October 20, 2007(2007-10-20) (aged 60)
Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school:Harris (TN)
College:Prairie View A&M
NFL draft:1969 / Round: 4 / Pick: 81
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:155
Starts:155
Receptions:305
Receiving yards:4,358
Touchdowns:28
Player stats at PFR

James Robert Mitchell (October 19, 1947 – October 20, 2007) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL).[1] He was selected as a member of the Pro Bowl following his 1969 rookie season and again in 1972.

Biography

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Jim Mitchell was born October 19, 1947, in Shelbyville, Texas.

Mitchell attended Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, where he was a two sport athlete. An all-conference split end on the football team, Mitchell also pitched and played first base for the school baseball team.[2]

Mitchell was drafted in the 4th round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, who made him the 81st pick of the draft. During his rookie season the big tight end caught 22 passes for 339 yards, scoring 4 touchdowns — sufficient to win him a place on the 1969 Pro Bowl team.[3]

He nearly doubled his production during his second season with the team, catching 44 balls for 650 yards and 6 touchdowns.[2] Although the Falcons were a poor team in these years, Mitchell emerged as an offensive star and team leader and he was named captain of the Falcons offense in 1971.[2]

Mitchell was again named to the NFL Pro Bowl team in 1972.[2]

After leaving the NFL, Mitchell coached football at Morehouse College and Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, supporting the tradition of football at historically black colleges and universities.

Mitchell died on October 20, 2007, in Shelbyville, Tennessee, at the age of 60.[4]

Personal life

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Jim Mitchell has three sons and a daughter: Damian Mitchell, Brandon Hodges, a football player at Bethune-Cookman University who has a major in Pre-med Chemistry, and Chanee Lee, a N.C Central graduate with a masters in Business. And two grandchildren: Justin Mitchell who is a scholar at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, GA. And Jordan Mitchell.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Jim Mitchell NFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Tom Bennett, 1972 Atlanta Falcons (media guide). Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Falcons Football Club, 1972; p. 34.
  3. ^ "1969 NFL Pro Bowlers," Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com/
  4. ^ "Jim Mitchell, 60; former Atlanta Falcon tight end on Pro Bowl teams twice, passes away". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
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