[2]Ostendarp later attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute,[3][4] where coaches told him he was too small to play high school football.

Refusing to accept their decision, Ostendarp established his ability by playing semi-professional football on Sundays.

[6] After the war, in 1946, Ostendarp enrolled and participated in football, baseball, basketball, and track at Drexel University.

[7] Ostendarp transferred to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1948, where he set the football team's rushing record in 1949 with an average of 6.9 yards per carry.

[10][11] Ostendarp appeared in seven games for the 1950 Giants and scored two touchdowns, including one against his hometown Baltimore Colts on November 19, 1950.

[14][15] In an interview with The Montreal Gazette, Ostendarp discussed the process of adjusting to Canadian rules: When I first came up here and learned that you only had three downs in which to make 10 yards.

[2]Ostendarp made the adjustment to Canadian rules, led the Big Four in rushing yards, and received the Lord Calvert Trophy as the Most Valuable Player on the 1952 Alouettes team.

While walking near the campus of McGill University, he was approached by a group of ten- to twelve-year-olds who were playing football.

He recalled his introduction to coaching as follows: I showed them a few fundamental things like how to carry the ball and how to hold it for a kick or a pass.

I taught them one formation and gave them a few plays -- a smash off tackle, an end sweep and a couple of pass patterns.

[22] Four of Ostendarp's Amherst players went on to play in the NFL: Sean Clancy '78, Doug Swift '70, Jean Fugett '72 and Freddie Scott '74.

In the early 1960s, some of Ostendarp's players used a computer at the University of Massachusetts to compile opponents' statistics to help their coach plan for upcoming games.

"[6] According to a tribute published by Amherst College following Ostendarp's death, his attire at football games was legendary: "It was easy to spot him on the sidelines.

"[6] When ESPN sought to televise the 100th annual game between Amherst and Williams College, Ostendarp refused to accommodate the network's demand to change the kickoff.

[6] The national broadcast would have generated substantial revenue for the school, but Ostendarp held firm, telling The Wall Street Journal, "We're in education.

[28][29] The Boston Globe called it "A Glorious Blackout" and added: "When the Man-of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year awards are considered, every list should contain the name of Jim Ostendarp.

They lived in Sunderland, Massachusetts, and had three sons, Jim, Jan, and Carl, and four daughters, Teresa, Anne, Beth, and Heidi.