John Brian James (24 October 1948 – February 2021) was an English

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 le ...

who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He played in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Tranmere Rovers, making 381 appearances in the process, and also played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

for the Chicago Sting. He won promotions out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

with Port Vale, Chester and Tranmere.

Career

Port Vale

James began his career in his native

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

with

, turning professional in April 1966. He made his senior debut on 12 April 1966, in a 3–0 win over Newport County at Vale Park. He would help the youth-team to reach the quarter-finals of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 1966–67. Initially a defender, manager Gordon Lee converted him into a

. He became a first-team regular from September 1967 and went on to make more than 200 league appearances for Vale, including 43 in the club's promotion season from the

in 1969–70. His goals were crucial to the club, top scorer in both 1969–70 and 1970–71 with 17 and 15 goals respectively. He missed much of the 1971–72 campaign due to a

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

injury requiring two separate operations. After returning to the squad in February 1972 he was much less effective and lost his first team spot.

Chester

In February 1973, James moved to

for £5,000, playing his first game alongside fellow home debutant

Reg Matthewson Reg Matthewson (6 August 1939 – 29 August 2016) was an English professional footballer. He played as a defender in The Football League for three clubs, making 394 appearances in the process. Playing career Matthewson began his professional ca ...

in a 5–0 win over

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, that saw James amongst the scorers. The following season saw James net 21 league goals, the highest tally by a Chester player since

Gary Talbot Gary Talbot (15 December 1937 – 22 December 2019) was a professional footballer in the 1960s with Chester City F.C., Chester, where he set a record as the second highest Football League goalscorer, and Crewe Alexandra F.C., Crewe Alexandra. He ...

in 1968–69, but his most memorable campaign would follow in 1974–75. James struck 13 times as Chester won promotion from the Fourth Division, but he was to enjoy national fame thanks to his goalscoring exploits in the League Cup during the same season. After wins over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, Chester were drawn at home to First Division champions Leeds United. On a momentous night, Chester recorded a shock 3–0 win, with James scoring twice. He followed it up by scoring the winning goal in the quarter-finals against another top-flight side,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, to set up a semi–final tie with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. James found the net in the second leg to level the aggregate score at 4–4, only for

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

to grab a late Villa winner and break Chester's hearts.

Tranmere Rovers

Despite his contribution to Chester's success, James played just two first–team games for Chester after promotion and joined neighbours Tranmere Rovers in part-exchange for Paul Crossley in September 1975. Once more promotion from the Fourth Division was enjoyed, with James netting 19 times in 38 league games. After a spell playing for Chicago Sting in the

, he returned to

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a large outdoor seated association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers, as well as Liverpool's women and reserves teams. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent o ...

and remained at the club before joining non–league

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

in 1978.

Style of play

Speaking in 2016, a Port Vale supporter who remembered seeing James play compared him to a

Duracell Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, rechargeables and smart power systems, owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben and Philip Mallory, ...

battery due to his high stamina levels. Fans nicknamed him "Jesse" after the famous outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

Later life

James later moved to

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

to run a newsagents with his wife. He died in February 2021, aged 72, following battles with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, leaving his wife of 53 years, Tricia.

Career statistics

Honours

Port Vale *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

promotion (4th place): 1969–70 Chester *

promotion (4th place): 1974–75 Tranmere Rovers *

promotion (4th place): 1975–76

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, John 1948 births 2021 deaths People from Stone, Staffordshire English footballers English expatriate footballers Association football forwards Port Vale F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Stafford Rangers F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Northern Premier League players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Place of death missing