Athlete.
Born at Regina, Saskatchewan on 22 October 1934, son of Eddie “Dynamite” James (?-?) and Moira McLean (?-?), in his youth he moved to Winnipeg with his family. He played football, hockey, baseball, soccer, track and field, and basketball.
While attending Runnymede Collegiate at Toronto, Ontario in 1953, he joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, playing from 1952 to 1962, and winning the Grey Cup four times (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962). He later played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1964). While playing football, he played hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1954 to 1960. He was the only athlete to compete for the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup in the same sporting season (1959-1960). After playing with the Winnipeg Warriors (1963-1964), he coached at Davos, Switzerland (1964). He moved his family to Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1965 where he was active in the hockey programs at Yorkton, Melville, Estevan, and Moose Jaw until 1989.
His sporting prowess was recognized with Canadian Football League's 1954 Schenley Award for the most outstanding Canadian player. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1982), Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame (2013), Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hall of Fame (1984), Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame, and Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame.
He and wife Marg had five children. The couple moved to Nanoose Bay, British Columbia in 1997 where he coached Pee Wee hockey teams and floor hockey teams, delivered for Meals on Wheels, and worked at a Salvation Army food kitchen.
He died at Nanaimo, British Columbia on 13 February 2024.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 2024.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 February 2024
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