Harry James (American football)
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John Henry James (June 20, 1881 - October 16, 1947) was an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and manufacturer. He was the starting quarterback for Michigan's undefeated, national championship 1903 "Point-a-Minute" football team that outscored opponents 565 to 6. James later went into the manufacturing business. He was the founder of The Motor Foundry Co., a manufacturer of automobile parts in Detroit, and the James Motor Valve Company, which developed the innovative "James Valve" in the mid-1920s. He also served as the general manager of the Monarch Steel Castings Co., an innovator in the
Solvay process The Solvay process or ammonia-soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. ...
.


Early years

James was born in Ohio in 1881. He was raised in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and attended the
Detroit University School Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...
. He was the captain of the school's football team during the 1900–1901 academic year. He was also captain of the track team during the 1899-1900 and 1900–1901 academic years.


University of Michigan

He enrolled at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in the fall of 1901. He was captain of the All-Freshman football team in 1901 and of the reserve football team in 1902. In 1903, and despite weighing only 142 pounds, James took over as the Wolverines' starting quarterback. At the start of the 1903 season, expectations were low, as the team had lost most of its starters, including the two leading scorers and starting quarterback
Boss Weeks Harrison Samuel "Boss" Weeks Jr. (April 3, 1879 – February 25, 1906) was an American football player and coach. He played quarterback for the University of Michigan from 1900 to 1902 and served as head football coach at the University of Kansas ...
. With only eight veterans returning, team captain
Curtis Redden Curtis Gerald "Cap" Redden (February 8, 1881 – January 16, 1919) was an American football player. He was the starting left end for the University of Michigan's football team from 1901 to 1904. He played for Michigan's "Point-a-Minute" teams a ...
wrote that " season in the history of Michigan football has opened with a gloomier outlook" than that of 1903.1904 Michiganensian
p. 138
Despite the low expectations, James led the 1903 team to an 11-0-1 record while outscoring opponents 565 to 6. The 1903 team was the third of
Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...
's legendary "Point-a-Minute" teams and has been recognized retrospectively as a
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
team for 1903 by the National Championship Foundation. The season was not without its challenges for James. Before a key game against Wisconsin, rumors spread that Yost was considering replacing James with
Fred Norcross Fred Stephenson "Norky" Norcross Jr. (July 14, 1884 – April 4, 1965) was an American football player and coach and mining engineer. He was the quarterback for the University of Michigan from 1903 to 1905, leading the team to a 33–1–1 record ...
. At a rally the night before the Wisconsin game, Yost was asked directly whether he would keep James, whose wrist was bound in a splint, at quarterback. Yost replied succinctly, "Yes. He is the better player." Michigan defeated Wisconsin 16–0, but the team had difficulty reaching Wisconsin's goal and relied on
Tom Hammond Thomas Taylor Hammond (born May 10, 1944) is an American sportscaster. Hammond is primarily known for his work with NBC Sports from 1984 to the present. Hammond is one of the network's staple on-air presenters, along with Bob Costas and Dan Hic ...
to kick two field goals. On Hammond's first kick, the snap to James was high, but he was credited with pulling it in and placing it accurately to allow Hammond to convert the kick for a 5–0 lead. Before the final game of the season, the Thanksgiving Day rivalry game with
Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...
's
Chicago Maroons The Chicago Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon. Team colors are maroon and gray, and the Phoenix is their mascot. They now compete in the NCAA Division III, mostly as ...
, rumors returned that Yost might replace James with Norcross. The night before the game, Yost revealed that James had won the quarterback job over Norcross. James started and played the entire Chicago game, leading the team to a 28–0 victory. After the game, Yost said the team's play against Chicago was "the best he had ever seen by a Michigan team during his three years here." The ''Detroit Free Press'' called it "the most severe drubbing ever administered to the Maroons in the history of football of that institution." The Wolverines compiled a perfect record with James at quarterback. The team's sole setback during the 1903 season was a 6–6 tie on the road against Minnesota. James did not appear in the Minnesota game, as Yost played Norcross at quarterback for the entire game. In its overview of the 1903 season, ''The Michigan Alumnus'' praised James:
James's work at quarter merits praise. It was a difficult task to set any man -- that of filling the key position in the team acceptable to those who were demanding another Weeks. James kept pluckily at his work, unmindful of adverse criticism, and in the culmination of the season, his generalship and backfield tackling were first-rate.
James graduated from Michigan in 1905 with an engineering degree. While attending the university, he was a member of the Vulcans, the Friars,
Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...
fraternity, and the Wrinkle Board and a member of the Executive Committee of the
Michigan Union The Michigan Union is a student union at the University of Michigan. It is located at the intersection of South State Street and South University Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The building was built in 1917 and is one of several unions at the U ...
.1905 Michiganensian
page 77


Family and later years

James married Mary Jane Brown on November 20, 1907, in Detroit. His father-in-law, Robert H. Brown, was one of the principals of Brown Brothers Tobacco Company. In 1910, James and his wife had a daughter, Jane Elizabeth. At time of the 1910 Census, he was living with his wife Mary, his mother-in-law, infant daughter Jane E. (5 months), and a servant at the Brown house at 709 Cass Avenue in Detroit. James was employed in 1910 as the manager at a foundry. In 1911, James founded The Motor Foundry Co. in Detroit to manufacture iron and steel castings. He incorporated with two partners and capital of $35,000. The company built a large foundry in Detroit at a cost of $18,000. The company specialized in manufacturing gray iron automobile parts. By April 1913, the company increased its capital to $100,000 and announced plans to expand its plant and erect additional buildings. The company employed 265 men and did casting business of 40-50 tons a day. With the expansion, capacity was to be raised to 80 tons a day. In a draft registration card completed in September 1918, James indicated that he was living with his wife, Mary Brown James, at 69 Taylor Street in Detroit. He was employed at the time as the general manager of the Monarch Steel Castings Co. at 316 Solvay in Detroit. At the time of the 1920 Census was still living at 69 Taylor Street in Detroit with his wife, Mary, daughter Betty (age 9), son Dick (age 5), his mother-in-law and a servant. He was then employed as a foundry manager.Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1920;Census Place: Detroit Ward 2, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_802; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 86; Image: 673. In the early 1920s, James founded the James Motor Valve Company in Detroit. In 1926, his company gained notoriety for its development of an innovative valve, known as the James Valve, that was immune to heat, warping, burning or pitting as a result of its hollow-head construction. The valve was first tested in 1923. James later moved his company to
Marine City, Michigan Marine City is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the west bank of the St. Clair River, it is one of the cities in the River District north of Detroit and south of Lake Huron. In the late 19th century, it was a m ...
, and established his residence at
St. Clair, Michigan St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the eastern "Thumb" of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,485 at the 2010 census. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township. Geography *Ac ...
. He remained the president of the James Motor Valve Company until his death. In October 1947, James died at his home in St. Clair at age 66. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Harry 1947 deaths 1881 births People from St. Clair, Michigan Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Players of American football from Detroit American football quarterbacks Michigan Wolverines football players