7/21/2022 football Edit

Former Notre Dame All-America linebacker Jim Lynch dies at 76

Lynch was born on Aug. 28, 1945, and from Lima, Ohio. (Notre Dame Athletics)

Kyle Kelly • InsideNDSports

Recruiting Writer

Notre Dame football recruiting writer with past experience covering Ohio State football recruiting for cleveland.com. Current Northwestern University graduate student and John Carroll University grad.

Former Notre Dame football linebacker Jim Lynch died at age 76.

The former Irish star was a College Football Hall of Famer and the captain of the 1966 national championship Irish team. That year, he became the fourth Notre Dame player to win the Maxwell Award, presented to the college football player of the year.

Lynch played for Notre Dame from 1964-66. Freshmen weren't eligible to play when he enrolled in 1963. That season, the team went 2-7, leading to the eventual hiring of legendary coach Ara Parseghian. The following season, Lynch missed part of it due to injury.

As a junior, he registered 108 tackles. That Irish team recorded a 7-2-1 record and finished No. 9 in the AP Poll. In his last season at ND, he was named a consensus first-team All-American, leading the Irish defense with 106 tackles. They finished 9-0-1, their only hiccup coming as a 10-10 tie against Michigan State.

While in South Bend, Lynch was also a star off the field.

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He was a recipient of the Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation. In 1964, Lynch spent the summer in Peru working with natives as a student group volunteer. He was also recognized as an Academic All-American.

After his time at Notre Dame, Lynch was drafted by the Chiefs at No. 47 overall. He played 11 seasons in Kansas City, starting in 142 of 151 games. In 1968 he was named an AFL All-Star; he won a Super Bowl his next season. Twenty-three years after he called it a football career, Lynch was inducted into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame two years later.

A native of Lima, Ohio, Lynch was born on Aug. 28, 1945. He attended Lima Central Catholic before enrolling at Notre Dame.

Lynch is survived by his wife, Georgia, daughters Megan and Kara, son Jake and nine grandchildren.

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