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. He also taught physical education at St. Patrick’s school in Huntington, NY.
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 history of professional sports. The 19 1⁄2- points underdog American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16–7.
Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 8,466 at the time of the 2020 Census.
Joseph William Namath, nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the New York Jets. Namath played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he won the national championship as a senior, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL draft.
Donald Rogers Maynard was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the American Football League (AFL) and 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(Pronounced: YOU-bank) 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 an American former professional football player who was a running back for the New York Jets of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). 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 the University of Kentucky, where he twice received consensus All-American honors and won two consecutive bowl games.
Winston Cordell Hill was an American professional football offensive tackle who played 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.
Patrick Capper Haden is an American former professional football player and college administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 through 1981. He also played in the World Football League (WFL) for the Southern California Sun in 1975.
Emerson Boozer is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a running back for the New York Jets in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). In the last year of separate drafts by the AFL and the NFL, Boozer signed with the AFL's Jets, rather than with an NFL team. He was a member of the Jets team that defeated the NFL's champion Baltimore Colts, 16–7, in Super Bowl III. Before joining the AFL, Boozer played college football at the Maryland State College, which is now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
Michael Gene Lucci was an American professional football linebacker who played for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Cleveland Browns for three seasons from 1962 to 1964 and nine seasons with the Detroit Lions from 1965 to 1973. Lucci played college football at Pittsburgh before transferring to Tennessee.
James Michael Curtis, nicknamed "Mad Dog" or "the Animal," was an American professional football player for the Baltimore Colts, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Redskins. He played a total of 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), running from 1965 to 1978.
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 National Football League (NFL) over four decades.
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.
James Clark Hudson was a professional American football defensive back. He was one of the first players to ever win a national championship in college and a Super Bowl as a professional. Hudson played for the New York Jets from 1965 to 1970, playing in both the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He started in Super Bowl III for the Jets, and made a key interception just before the end of the first half.
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 (AFL) from 1961–1967, for the San Diego Chargers (1961–1962) and the New York Jets (1963–1967). He was an American Football League All-Star in 1964 and 1966 and a 1st Team All-Pro All-AFL in 1966.
Paul Michael Guidry is a former college and professional American football player. In 1966, Guidry was AFL-drafted by Buffalo Bills. He played on an undefeated team at McNeese State University, and had an eight-year career in the AFL and NFL.
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.
Earl Oliver Christy is a former professional American football player who played cornerback for three seasons for the New York Jets.
Saverio Frank "Sam" DeLuca was an American Professional Football offensive lineman in the American Football League (AFL) and later a radio and television football coverage broadcaster. He played six seasons, three for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and three for the New York Jets. He was a member of the 1969 New York Jet Championship season on IR. After football, he had a long career in sports broadcasting. He was the color commentator on the Jets’ radio broadcasts on WABC and then WOR before working NFL telecasts for NBC Sports and on the Jets’ pre-season games in the 1970s and 1980s. He went to Lafayette High School (Brooklyn) with Sandy Koufax, Larry King and Fred Wilpon.