Garth Jax

Garth Jax

No. 53
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1963-09-16) September 16, 1963
Place of birth:	Houston, Texas
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Houston (TX) Strake Jesuit
College:	Florida State
NFL draft:	1986 / Round: 11 / Pick: 296
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (1986–1988) Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (1989–1995)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Retired
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

James Garth Jax (born September 16, 1963) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League, who played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals. He attended Florida State University.

Early years

Jax studied at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory before accepting a scholarship from Florida State University.

He became a starter at outside linebacker in the last game of his freshman year. As a junior, he suffered serious kidney and spleen injuries during a 38-26 loss against the University of South Carolina. In his final college season, he recorded a team-high 6 quarterback sacks.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Jax was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Although he was released on September first, he was later re-signed and emerged as one of the special teams leaders. In 1988, he led the team in special teams tackles with 24.

Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals

After spending three seasons with the Cowboys, he signed with the Phoenix Cardinals as a Plan B free agent in 1989. The next year he became a starter at inside linebacker after the team switched to a 3-4 defense and finished with career-highs in tackles (70), sacks (3) and interceptions (2).

On November 22, 1991, he was placed on the injured reserve list, ending the year with 52 tackles. In 1993, besides playing defense and special teams, he was also used as blocking back on short-yardage situations.

Jax may be best known amongst Cardinals fans for tackling a drunk fan who ran onto the field at Sun Devil Stadium in 1994.

In 1995, he started four games and registered 48 tackles. He was waived on August 25, 1996.

Personal life

After his retirement from football, he served as the Arizona Cardinals coordinator of NFL programs and community outreach for three years. He left the Cardinals organization to help start the Sunrise Bank.

In 2000, he was named football coach at Valley Lutheran High School. He also was the Vice President of Public Relations at Cayenne Entertainment.