Glenn Robert James OAM is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. James umpired the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

VFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

s and is recognised as the only

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

to umpire VFL or

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

football.

Early life

James was the tenth child in a family of 14. His father, an Indigenous Australian of the

Yorta Yorta people The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

, worked in the Ardmona Cannery in

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

. The young James attended school at Gowrie Street School in Shepparton. In 1968, James was drafted into the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

and spent a year in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. James is one of two VFL umpires to have served in Vietnam, the other being goal umpire Trevor Pescud.

Football career

Playing career

With his brothers, James played for

Wunghnu Wunghnu ( ) is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Moira local government area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. The local railway station was opened on the Goulburn ...

in the

Picola & District Football League The Picola & District Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the AFL Victoria Country. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria, Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales f ...

. After a broken jaw ended his playing career, James turned to umpiring.

Umpiring career

After starting his umpiring career in country football, James umpired 166 VFL matches between 1977 and 1985, including the

and

s, and was the umpire selected in the

Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century (Australian rules football) was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the eth ...

. As an umpire, James faced abuse from spectators on the basis of his racial background. In 1978, as a result of the nature of the abuse of James, lawyer Greg Lyons studied the legality of this abuse. In 1985, James was President of the Victorian Football League Umpires Association. James has the distinction of umpiring an AFL exhibition match for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

vs.

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

, the only time Australian rules football has been exhibited at either Commonwealth or

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Games.

Post-football career

Umpire coach

Immediately after retiring from VFL umpiring, James was appointed in 1986 as Umpiring Careers Advisor with the

Victorian Country Football League AFL Victoria Country is an Australian rules football governing body with jurisdiction over the state of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often ar ...

. Between 1994 and 1996, James was AFL Assistant Umpires Coach.

Teaching

He has a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

degree as well as a Diploma of Technical Teaching. James was a lecturer at

Swinburne University Swinburne University of Technology (often simply called Swinburne) is a public research university based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College by George Swinburne to serve those without access t ...

for many years. Glenn James taught graphic arts at Box Hill Technical College from the 1970s–1980s. James currently works for the

Worawa Aboriginal College Worawa Aboriginal College is a private boarding school for Aboriginal girls in Healesville, Victoria, Australia. History The school was established by Hyllus Maris in 1983. It was shut down in December 2007 for failing to meet minimum registr ...

as a student ambassador, providing support for Aboriginal students.

Media

James commentates

matches for the

National Indigenous Radio Service The National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) is a satellite program feed available in Australia to Indigenous and non-Indigenous community radio stations. NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia's Aboriginal and T ...

. He also is a panellist for ''

The Marngrook Footy Show ''The Marngrook Footy Show'' was a sport panel show broadcast in Australia focusing on Australian rules football and aimed at Indigenous viewers. Debuting on television in 2007 after 10 years on radio, the show first aired on NITV and on Channel ...

'' on

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

Music

In 2008, James—with former umpires

Peter Cameron Peter Cameron is the name of: * Peter Cameron (entomologist) (1847–1912), English entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera * Peter Cameron (minister) (born 1945), Scottish-born Church of Scotland minister convicted of heresy by the Presbyteria ...

, John Sutcliffe and

Andrew Coates Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

, as well as then-current AFL umpires

Scott McLaren Scott McLaren (born 11 April 1968) is a former Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL). He umpired 328 career games in the AFL. McLaren was awarded the All-Australian Umpire award in 2001, as well as hi ...

, Mathew James and Ray Chamberlain—recorded a song entitled "The Man In White".

Koori Court

As of 2008, James worked for the

Koori Court A Koori Court is a separate division of the Magistrates', County and Children's Courts of Victoria, Australia. The Koori Court (Magistrates), Children's Koori Court, and County Koori Court hear selected cases, where Indigenous Australians have ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

as a cultural advisor.

Honours

* Victorian Aborigine of the Year: 1984 *Life Member of the Victorian Football League Umpires Association: 1984 *

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

: 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Glenn Australian Football League umpires Members of the Order of Australia Indigenous Australian people Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian rules football commentators Living people Year of birth missing (living people)