Sport: Golf
Born: March 9, 1941
Town: Elizabeth, New Jersey
James Joseph Colbert was born March 9, 1941 in Elizabeth, NJ. His family moved to Kansas City when Jim was a boy. There he was introduced to his two favorite sports, football and golf. Jim was the star of the Bishop Miege High School football team. During his senior year, he married the school’s homecoming queen. Jim and Marcia celebrated their 50th anniversary back in 2009.
Jim earned a football scholarship to Kansas State in 1960. After limited success on the gridiron he turned his attention to golf and, by his senior season, he was one of the nation’s best college golfers. Jim finished second in the NCAA championships in 1964.
Jim went to Qualifying School in 1965 with hopes of making it onto the PGA Tour. He barely made the cut, and struggled as a rookie to stay on the tour. Jim won his first PGA event in 1969, at the age of 28. He won seven more tournaments over the next 14 seasons, including two in 1983. Jim’s best finish in a major was a third-place finish in the 1971 US Open. He also finished fourth in the 1974 Masters.
After earning around $2 million as a touring pro, Jim joined the Senior Tour in 1991 and was named Rookie of the Year. He began winning tournaments right and left, and banked another $9 million over the next two decades. Jim won nine events in 1995 and 1996 alone.
In 1993, he won his one and only Champions Tour major, the Ford Senior Players Championship, defeating Raymond Floyd by one stroke. In 1998, Jim underwent surgery for colon cancer and returned to the links in time to win the Transamerica Championship in dramatic fashion. He was named Senior Tour Comeback Player of the Year.
Jim worked as an analyst for CNN and designed and managed golf courses. He is still easy to spot, with his trademark bucket hat and upturned collar.