title: Jim Sears
text: # Jim Sears
  
  James Herbert "Jimmy" Sears (March 20, 1931 – January 4, 2002) was a professional American football defensive back/halfback in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL).
  
  ## High school career
  
  Sears prepped at Inglewood High School in Inglewood, California, where he was student body president in spring 1949.
  
  ## College career
  
  Sears played college football at the University of Southern California. He was seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting his senior year. In 1952, he became the second person to receive the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Before playing for the USC Trojans, Sears played at El Camino Junior College in Torrance, California.
  
  ## Professional career
  
  Sears played for the NFL's Chicago Cardinals (1954, 1957–1958), and the AFL's Los Angeles Chargers (1960) and Denver Broncos (1961).
  
  ## Coaching career
  
  Sears was an assistant coach for USC during the 1959 season.
  
  