James A. McKinstry (born April 12, 1942) is a former professor at LIU Post, a tenured Special Education teacher in the New York City Department of Education and previously worked in aeronautical engineering. He was on the Taxi Squad on the New York Jets 1963 football team and was included in a Life magazine photograph of the team.
McKinstry's athletic career started at S.U.N.Y. Farmingdale. He was honored twice as a Junior College All-American. He then signed with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League in 1961. While playing for the Grand Rapids Blazers football team in the United Football League, McKinstry was scouted by the New York Jets as a free agent. He also had interest from other teams, such as the New York Giants. McKinstry played as a tight end with the Jets from 1963 to 1965. [1] His time with the Jets was interrupted when he voluntarily went into the Army at the beginning of the Vietnam War.
During his time with the Jets, McKinstry worked full-time on the off season for Grumman Aerospace Corporation in Bethpage on the project management team. He coordinated activities for the Lunar Excursion Module (L.E.M.) and was appointed Night Director for the F-14 Tomcat production. McKinstry worked on the proposal plan for the X-29, which was placed in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
While working nights at Grumman, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education at LIU Post in 1976, graduating with the designation of cum laude. After completing a Masters of Science degree in education, with New York State certifications in special education and adapted physical education at LIU Post in 1978, he was appointed to a faculty position in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.
Expanding on his graduate thesis in speed development, McKinstry launched his own business, Nu Tek Athletic Consulting Ltd, in 1986. Nu Tek Athletic Consulting Ltd specialized in speed training for professional, college, and high school athletes. McKinstry lectured at various institutions such as LIU Post, Yale, and the Joe Namath Football Camp.
In 1994, with the merger of Northrop Corporation and Grumman Corporation, McKinstry began working for the New York City Department of Education. During his four years he taught SIE VII special education students, earning a tenured teacher appointment.
McKinstry worked at St. John's University as an administrator from 1998 to 2014.
McKinstry now volunteers at various organizations, such as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, teaching young children about the benefits of education while pursuing their interest in sports. [2] He also supports head injury awareness, speaking at the Head Injury Association Sports Forum. [3]
His son, also called James, was a scholarship tennis player at St. John's University as well as walk on football player. [4] His daughter Kelly was a scholarship basketball player at Molloy College and his other daughter, Erin, was a scholarship tennis player at Fordham University.
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Super Bowl". Super Bowl III is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in both American football history and in the recorded history of sports. The 19½-point underdog American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16–7.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers Conference, and was temporarily named the Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference in 1956 before being named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in 1964. The conference is currently composed of 17 full-time members within Pennsylvania and 1 in West Virginia. The conference headquarters are located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and staffed by a commissioner, two assistant commissioners, and a director of media relations.
Joseph William Namath is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at Alabama, where he won the national championship as a senior, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL Draft. During his five AFL seasons, he was a two-time MVP and twice led the league in passing yards, while leading the Jets to win one AFL championship and one Super Bowl. Both victories remain the Jets' only championships. Following the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, Namath joined the NFL with the Jets, where he was the league's passing yards and touchdowns leader during the 1972 season. He played in New York for seven more seasons, with his final year spent as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
Donald Rogers Maynard was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals; and the Shreveport Steamer of the World Football League (WFL).
Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank was an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in January 1969. He is the only coach to win a championship in both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL).
Matthews Snell is a retired professional football player who played for the New York Jets. He was Jets' owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath. A powerful fullback out of Ohio State University, Snell's 1964 signing jolted the crosstown Giants, who didn't draft Snell until the fourth round, and offered him a fraction of what the Jets gave him as their first-round choice.
Vito "Babe" Parilli was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and 10 in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Kentucky, where he twice received consensus All-American honors and won two consecutive bowl games.
Winston Cordell Hill was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football for the Texas Southern Tigers.
Houston J. Antwine was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Illinois. He was selected by the AFL's Houston Oilers, then traded to the Boston Patriots in 1961. He is in the Southern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Patriots Hall of Fame. A former NAIA wrestling champion, as a defensive tackle, the stocky "Twine" was nearly impossible to move out of the middle.
Emerson Boozer is a former running back in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League (NFL). In the last year of separate drafts by the AFL and the NFL, Boozer signed with the AFL's New York Jets, rather than with an NFL team. He played his entire professional career with the Jets. Boozer was a member of the Jets team that defeated the NFL's champion Baltimore Colts, 16–7, in Super Bowl III. Before joining the American Football League, Boozer played college football at the Maryland State College, which is now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
John Dockery is an American sportscaster and former American football defensive back who played for the New York Jets and later the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1968 to 1973. He graduated from Brooklyn Preparatory a Jesuit High School where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jets out of Harvard. He spent the last two years of his playing career with the Steelers.
Malcolm Richard Wood was an American football quarterback and coach who played college football at Auburn and professionally in the American Football League (AFL). After his player career ended, Wood served as an assistant coach in college football and the NFL over four decades.
Frank Alley Woodall is a retired American football player. He played college football at Duke where he was an All-American. He played several seasons with the Jets in the AFL and NFL. He started several games in 1970, 1971, and 1973, subbing for an injured Joe Namath. Woodall retired after spending the 1975 season on injured reserve with torn knee ligaments.
The history of the New York Jets American football team began in 1959 with the founding of the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League (AFL); they began actual play the following year. The team had little success in its early years. After playing three seasons at the Polo Grounds, the team changed its name to the New York Jets, and moved into newly built Shea Stadium in 1964. In January 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a then-record contract. The team showed gradual improvement in the late 1960s, posting its first winning record in 1967 and winning its only American Football League championship in 1968. By winning the title, New York earned the right to play in Super Bowl III against the champions of the National Football League (NFL), the Baltimore Colts. The Jets defeated the Colts in the game; in the aftermath of the upset, the AFL was deemed a worthy partner to the NFL as the two leagues merged.
David Jon Herman was an American professional football player who played offensive guard for ten seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the New York Jets from 1964 to 1973, having earlier played college football for Michigan State University.
Huey L. Richardson, Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the 1990s. Richardson played college football for the Florida Gators and earned All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and the New York Jets.
Sherman Eugene Plunkett was an American football offensive tackle. Over a ten-year career he played in the National Football League (NFL), for the Baltimore Colts, and in the American Football League from 1961–1967, for the San Diego Chargers (1961–62) and the New York Jets (1963–67). He was an American Football League All-Star in 1964 and 1966 and a 1st Team All-Pro All-AFL in 1966.
Lawrence Clayton "Larry" Elkins is a former American football player. He was a two-time All-American flanker at Baylor and later for the AFL's Houston Oilers.
Hagood Clarke, III is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the American Football League (AFL) for five seasons during the 1960s. Clarke played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Buffalo Bills of the AFL.
The LIU Post Pioneers were the athletic teams that represented the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, located in Brookville, New York, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports through the 2018–19 school year. The Pioneers most recently competed as members of the East Coast Conference for most sports; the football team was an affiliate of the Northeast-10 Conference. LIU Post had been a member of the ECC since 1989, when the league was established as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference.