Claudis Ray James (November 7, 1943 – February 25, 2013) was a
wide receiver and
halfback in the
National Football League (NFL).
Biography
James was born on November 7, 1943, in
Columbia, Mississippi.
He was the youngest of 11 children of Paul and Dora James. After retiring from football, he founded the first Dixie Youth Baseball League in Columbia and worked for the Mississippi School Supply Company. He was a member of Praise Baptist Church in
Jackson, Mississippi. He and his wife Emma James were married for 44 years. He died on February 25, 2013, at the age of 69. At the time of his death from a long illness, James was one of over 4000 former NFL players involved in a lawsuit against the NFL over issues related to concussions.
Career
He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Jackson State University.
James was drafted in the 14th round of the
1967 NFL Draft
The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966.
This draft was delayed as new gui ...
by the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
and played with the team for two seasons. While there, he was a member of the
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super Bowl II) was an American football game played on January 14, 1968, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The National Football League (NFL)'s defending champion Green Bay P ...
champion Packers. On July 7, 1969, the Packers traded James to the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
for an undisclosed draft choice, but the trade was voided later that month when James failed a physical exam with the Rams. The Packers then placed him on injured reserve.
[Packers History.net website, "The 1969 Green Bay Packers - 8-6 (3rd-Central Division)"Available online: http://www.packershistory.net/1969PACKERS.html . Retrieved June 17, 2020.] He sat out the 1969 season because of a knee injury, and was released by the Packers on August 10, 1970.
See also
*
List of Green Bay Packers players
References
1943 births
2013 deaths
American football halfbacks
American football wide receivers
Green Bay Packers players
Jackson State Tigers football players
People from Columbia, Mississippi
Players of American football from Mississippi
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