The legendary Jim Carter of the Packers and former Gophers passed away at age 75.

Jim Carter, a no-nonsense, hard-driving linebacker for the Green Bay Packers’ only division championship team of the 1970s, died of cancer on Thanksgiving at age 75. Carter is the second prominent member of the 1972 team to die this year.

A fullback and hockey player in college, Jim Carter became a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL.

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

Jim Carter, a standout fullback who helped the Gophers win the 1967 Big Ten football championship and also played hockey, died Thursday at age 75 after battling cancer.

A South St. Paul native, Carter went on to play nine seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, shifting to defense to become a Pro Bowl linebacker.

Carter, a 2013 inductee into the university’s M Club Hall of Fame, played football for the Gophers from 1967 to ’69 and hockey in 1967-68. He led the Gophers in rushing with 519 yards in 1967 and served as a team captain two years later. In his Minnesota career, he rushed 359 times for 1,457 yards.

Randy Johnson covers University of Minnesota football and college football for the Star Tribune, along with serving as a producer for Puck Drop, the Star Tribune’s enhanced online hockey coverage.