Gerry James

For those of a similar name, see Jerry James (disambiguation), Gerald James (disambiguation), and Gerard James (disambiguation).

Gerry James

Date of birth:	October 22, 1934 (1934-10-22)
Place of birth:	Regina, Saskatchewan
Career information
Status:	Retired
CFL status:	Non-import
Position(s):	Running back/Forward (ice hockey)
High school:	Kelvin High School
Organizations
As player:
1952–1962 1964 1954–1960	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
Career highlights and awards
CFL West All-Star:	1955, 1957
Awards:	CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian (1954 and 1957)
Honours:	Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1982)
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1981

Gerald Edwin James (born October 22, 1934) is a former professional Canadian football running back and professional ice hockey player. He played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.

Football career

A graduate of Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, he started his career in 1952. James became the youngest player ever to play in the CFL at only 17 years old. As a member of the Bombers' powerful run by committee system, and as a kicker, he helped the team to six Grey Cup appearances (1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1962), earning four victories (1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962). This committee system over the years included Lorne Benson, Tom Casey, Leo Lewis, and Charlie Shepard. During his career, James won the league's Most Outstanding Canadian award in 1954 and 1957.

It was in the 1957 season that he scored 19 touchdowns, one short of the year-old league record set by Pat Abbruzzi of the Montreal Alouettes. Eighteen of those TD's came on the ground when carried the ball 197 times for 1,192 yards. He played with the Blue Bombers until 1963 (and played in 1964 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders). When he retired from the CFL, he was the second all-time leading Canadian running back with totals of 994 carries for 5,554 yards and 57 touchdowns, behind only Normie Kwong.

James was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1981 and into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1982. He was also selected as one of the Blue Bombers All-Time Greats. His father Eddie James also played for the Blue Bombers and also is inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Hockey career

James was also a professional ice hockey right winger who played 174 games in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs over 6 seasons in the late 50s (1954-55 to 1959-60), playing in 174 regular season and playoff games, finishing with 41 career points (15 goals and 26 assists).

At the age of sixteen, James played for the Winnipeg Monarchs hockey team in the 1952 Memorial Cup competition. The Toronto Maple Leafs (who owned his hockey rights) were so impressed that they moved him to Toronto to play for their top junior team – the Marlboros. James’s exceptional play led him to turn professional with the Leafs in 1960 and he went on to play in the Stanley Cup final that same season. James is the only player in Canadian history to have played in Grey Cup and Stanley Cup finals.

After his professional career, James played for the Winnipeg Warriors in the old WHL before returning to Saskatchewan to play for the Yorkton Terriers. When his playing days were over, James moved behind the bench with the Melville Millionaires, Yorkton Terriers and Estevan Bruins, all of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). His career SJHL numbers: 249 wins, 191 losses and 14 ties (0.622 winning percentage). Interestingly, his only sub-.500 season was 1979-80 when his Melville Millionaires finished 29–30–1. James also coached one season with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League (24–72–3).

Awards and achievements

• Memorial Cup Championship (1955)
• CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian (1954 and 1957)

Games Played and Rushing Year Team GP TC Yds Avg TD Long

1952 WPG 10 93 9.3 2

1953 WPG 25 120 4.8 1

1954 WPG 106 576 5.4 4 71

1955 WPG 89 1205 6.4 7 60

1956 WPG 0 0 0 0 0

1957 WPG 197 1192 6.1 18 74

1958 WPG 64 372 5.8 2 21

1959 WPG 49 261 5.3 6 44

1960 WPG 165 872 5.3 9 28

1961 WPG 102 505 5 4 26

1962 WPG 84 345 4.1 5 15

1963 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0

1964 SASK 10 4 13 3.3 0 7

External links

Gerry James's biography at Legends of Hockey

• Gerry James’s biography at Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Bibliography

The definitive authorized biography of Gerry James, Kid Dynamite: The Gerry James Story was published in 2011 by Oolichan Books