Joseph James (13 January 1910 – January 1993) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played in the Football League for Brentford as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. In 2013, James placed third in a Football League 125th Anniversary poll of Brentford's best ever

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame and made over 250 appearances for the club.

Career

Early years

Born in Battersea, James began playing football as a youth for local club Battersea Church.

Brentford

James appeared in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

for

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

club Brentford in August 1928 and impressed manager Harry Curtis. Though not awarded a contract, James became the assistant

groundsman Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

at the club's Griffin Park stadium. In August 1929, James was offered a contract and turned professional. Beginning life in the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, he was a part of the team which won the

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

title in the 1931–32 and 1932–33 seasons. Consistently behind

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo ...

in the pecking order, James made his debut for the club on 21 November 1931 in a 2–1 away win for the Bees over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. He made a further six appearances during the 1931–32 season and another five the following year. With the Bees playing

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

football for the 1933–34 season, James finally broke into the team, making 35 appearances and scoring his first goal for the club in a 4–1 away win over

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

on 14 October 1933. James made 40 appearances and scored one goal during the 1934–35 season, a campaign in which the Bees won the Second Division championship (securing a place in the top-flight for the first time in the club's history) and the

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16- ...

. James averaged just over 41 appearances a season in the First Division (many of them as captain) and was part of the team which finished fifth in 1935–36 (Brentford's highest-ever finish in the

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

) and which topped the table for nearly half of the 1937–38 season. James' final professional appearance for the Bees came on 19 August 1939, in a 5–1 Football League Jubilee Fund defeat to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in September 1939 saw competitive football suspended for the duration of hostilities. James remained with Brentford during the war and captained the team to the 1941–42 London War Cup, winning the trophy at the second time of asking. James played on until February 1944, when he retired after suffering a broken wrist in a 5–3 defeat to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. He made 165 appearances for the Bees during the war. In a Football League 125th anniversary poll, James was ranked by the Bees supporters as the club's third best-ever captain and was one of the first inductees to the Brentford Hall of Fame in 1991.

Colchester United

After the war, James, now in his mid-thirties, signed for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

of the Southern League. He made his debut on 17 November 1945 in a 3–1 away defeat to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

and played his last game for the club on 2 February 1946, an 8–0 defeat at the hands of

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

. He made a total of 9 appearances for Colchester.

Personal life

James died in January 1993.

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford *

: 1931–32, 1932–33 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1934–35 *

: 1934–35 * London War Cup: 1941–42 Individual * Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Joe 1910 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Battersea English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Men's association football central defenders