James Douglas "Jim" Jensen was born November 28, 1953, in Waterloo, IA and later moved to Davenport, IA where he attended Davenport Central High School. He was a multiple state champion in track and field winning the indoor high and low hurdles, the pentathlon, outdoor high hurdles and was a member of the state champion mile medley relay team.
He earned 8 varsity letters at the University of Iowa, 4 in football and 4 in track & field. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1976 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys and in 1977 became expendable when Tony Dorsett was drafted in the 1st round. He was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1977 and played in Super Bowl XII that year against his former teammates.
Jim was 6' 4", weighed 230 lbs. and ran a 4.4 40 yard dash in college. He was a versatile running back and led the Broncos in rushing and number of receptions in 1980. In 1981 he signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers and played there for two seasons. Bart Starr was his coach at Green Bay and in 1982 the Packers made their first appearance in the play offs after a 10 year drought.
Following his retirement from the National Football League, Jensen made his home in Colorado and entered the advertising/marketing/public relations field. He has three children: Jessica, Cody and Jack, and one brother Andy. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Quad Cities Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He currently lives in Minnesota at Rose Lake near Vergas, and is a consultant for advertising, public relations, communications, marketing and special events projects. He also is a corporate motivational speaker and paints, writes and pursues life adventures in his spare time.
Jim is an avid motorcyclist and enjoys traveling into MX and to other off-the-beaten-path places. He also enjoys fishing, upland bird hunting, archery and running. He created the annual Run 'Round the Rose 12 Mile Run for Diabetes in Vergas, MN in honor of his mother, Lois, who had adult onset diabetes for her entire adult life. He has competed in this race since its inception and finished third in the Masters category in 2009. He also is an accomplished, and published, photographer, columnist and artist. He has written for the Rocky Mountain News, Greeley Tribune, WindsorNOW! and Thunder Press magazine.
Jim credits a lot of his accomplishments in life to the influence of several key people: his father, John, a WWII veteran and son of a Danish immigrant, his high school coaches Jim Fox and Ira Dunsworth, Broncos Head Coach Red Miller and assistant coach Paul Roach, and Bill Reichardt, Univ. of Iowa Big Ten MVP running back in 1951.