Jim Ambrose was a two sport star in football and basketball at West Hill High School in Montreal. Ambrose then went on to play junior football with the N.D.G. Maple Leafs, winning the QRFU junior title with them in 1949. Ambrose then moved up to the big team with the Montreal Alouettes as a replacement for the retired Ches McCance. Ambrose played two seasons (1950-51)*. Besides playing tackle, Ambrose was also a very good place kicker. In 1953, Ambrose left the Als to concentrate on his business, but kept his hand in football by joining the Lake Shore Flyers of the senior QRFU. Ambrose collapsed during a game between the Flyers and the Ottawa team and died in an Ottawa hospital on September 10, 1953 Doctors who performed the autoposy stated that Ambrose did not die from any football related injury.
Ambrose improving as the game went on in his first game with Als - August 28, 1950
Doctors Doubt Ambrose's Death Caused By Football - September 11, 1953
(Two articles in PDF format - scan poor on first page - from Google News Archive)
Accidents Happen Everywhere - Article on the death of Jim Abrose - September 12, 1953
| Year | Team | GP | ConvA | ConvG | % | Att | Good | FG% | Long | S | MFG | YdsMFG | Avg | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | MON | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951 | MON | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
* Some newspaper articles after his death state that Ambrose played three season for Montreal, but the Montreal Media Guides only list him for 1950 and 1951. There are no official game participation stats prior to 1960 in the East.
