Jim Duncan

Who was Jim Duncan?

James Howard Duncan was an American football player and coach.

After playing for the Duke Blue Devils under Wallace William Wade in 1946, Duncan spent three seasons as a standout defensive lineman for Peahead Walker's Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He was an All-Southern Conference player all three years at Wake Forest and was the team MVP in 1949.

Duncan was a Linebacker and defensive end for the New York Giants from 1950 to 1955. He was named Giants co-captain, along with Kyle Rote in 1954. He missed the entire season due to an injury and was cut by the team the following season.

Duncan was the 13th head football coach for the Appalachian State Mountaineers located in the town of Boone in Watauga County, North Carolina, from 1960 to 1964. He had a 31–15–2 as the Mountaineers head coach. On December 4, 1964, Duncan resigned as head football coach at Appalachian State.

In 1965, Duncan joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an assistant under head coach Eagle Keys. He was with the team when they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 54th Grey Cup and when the team lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 55th Grey Cup.

Duncan became head coach of the Calgary Stampeders in 1969, replacing Jerry Williams who left the team to join the Philadelphia Eagles. Duncan's stint with the Stamps resulted in two Grey Cup appearances; one win and one loss. Duncan was fired in 1973 after back to back 6–10 seasons. His overall record with Calgary was 39–40–1.