Lionel "Little Train" James (May 25, 1962 – February 25, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

. Undersized at and , he spent his entire five-year NFL career with the Chargers from 1984 to 1988. His best year as a pro came during the 1985 season, when he set then-NFL season records for receiving yards by a running back and

all-purpose yardage All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a gridiron football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing t ...

. He also led the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) in receptions that year.

High school and college career

James was born in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...

, where he attended Dougherty High School, playing football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and running

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. Because of his small stature of and ,

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

was the only major college to recruit him. He played

for the Tigers, sharing the backfield with

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...

. James was Auburn's leading rusher with 561 yards in 1981, head coach Pat Dye's first year with the team. He ran for over 700 yards in consecutive seasons as a junior and senior. James also led the team in

in 1981 and

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, when he also led the nation in

punt return In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final d ...

s with a 15.8-yard average. He was a

captain 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 ...

in 1983, when the Tigers won the Southeast Conference championship and the 1984 Sugar Bowl. Auburn finished 11–1 and ranked No. 3 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

. James was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Professional career

James was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cen ...

. In 1985, he set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season with 2,535 yards. He also set the record for receiving yards by a running back with 1,027 yards, becoming the first running back with a 1,000-yard receiving season in the league. He led the

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

in receptions with 86, and led the Chargers in yardage from rushing (516), punt returns (213), and kickoff returns (779). On November 10, 1985, James had his best day as a pro versus the Los Angeles Raiders. He gained 345 all-purpose yards including a career best 168 yards receiving and scored the winning

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

in a 40–34 overtime victory. The total yardage was second at the time only to the 373 yards by Billy Cannon in 1961, and remains a Chargers franchise record. He might have broken the record in an earlier game that season against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

except for a Chargers penalty that cost him 89 yards of a 100-yard kickoff return. James finished that game with 316 yards. James missed nine games in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

with an ankle injury. He rebounded the following season to score a team-high six touchdowns, including an 81-yard punt return. However, San Diego limited his opportunities after the ankle injury, playing him at wide receiver and less in the backfield, while also limiting him to punt returns and not kickoffs. James was hampered by a

hip flexor A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when o ...

injury in 1988, although he still managed to catch 36 passes. He was waived during preseason in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, when the Chargers opted for a quicker running back, rookie

Dana Brinson Dana Brinson (born April 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. He played ...

. The

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

claimed James, planning to use him primarily as a wide receiver. They waived him days later after a failed physical examination due to his hip. James ended his career with 1,061 yards rushing and 2,278 receiving yards. He scored 16 career touchdowns, including two on punt returns. He was voted as the kick returner on the Chargers 40th Anniversary Team. His record for receiving yards by a running back was broken by

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

(1,048) in 1999, and his all-purpose yardage record was eclipsed in 2000 by Derrick Mason (2,690 yards).

Coaching career

James began his coaching career with stints at Terrell Middle High in

Dawson, Georgia Dawson is a city in and the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,414 at the 2020 census. Incorporated on December 22, 1857, the city is named for Senator William Crosby Dawson. Dawson is part of ...

; Woodlawn High in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

; and

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Doug ...

. He returned to Auburn to coach

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

s under head coach Terry Bowden from 1996 to 1997. James left in 1998 to become the running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach r ...

of the Birmingham Steeldogs of the arenafootball2 in 2000, and served as the running backs coach for the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL in 2001.

Personal life

James graduated from Auburn with a degree in mathematics in 1989. He was also a math teacher while he was coaching in high school. After his coaching career ended, he returned to teaching high school math in Birmingham. After a long illness, James died in Birmingham on February 25, 2022, at the age of 59.

Notes

References

External links

*
Lionel James College & Pro Football Statistics
at TotalFootballStats.com {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Lionel 1962 births 2022 deaths African-American players of American football Alabama Steeldogs coaches American football running backs Appalachian State Mountaineers football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Auburn Tigers football players Birmingham Thunderbolts coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia