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 James (right) playing for the Patriots in 1985 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 32 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1961-01-02)January 2, 1961 (age 64) Jacksonville, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Stratford (Houston, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | SMU (1979–1982) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1983: 7th round, 187th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Jesse Craig James (born January 2, 1961) is an American former professionalfootball player andsports commentator. He was arunning back for theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League (NFL) and for theWashington Federals of theUnited States Football League (USFL). He then became a commentator for theABC andESPN television networks. James ran for a seat in theU.S. Senate inTexas in2012,[1] but lost in the first round of theRepublicanprimary.[2]
James was born inJacksonville, Texas, in 1961 and grew up in theHouston area.[3] When he was in the first grade, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother and brother (formerMajor League Baseball playerChris James) toPasadena, Texas.[4] James has talked about growing up witnessing his mother being abused and struggling financially to support her sons.[4]
James attendedStratford High School in Houston, where he was a starrunning back on their 1978 Texas class 4A championship football team, setting the single-season Texas 4A rushing record with 2,411 yards gained in 15 games. James also played on his high school baseball team and was offered a contract by theNew York Yankees out of high school to play first base in the minor leagues, but chose to pursue a football career instead.[5]
James was heavily recruited out of high school and decided to attendSouthern Methodist University inDallas,Texas. James stated that he decided on SMU because his girlfriend at the time (and future wife), Marilyn, was already a freshman student there.[6]Parade's national high school running back of the year,Eric Dickerson, as well as a large number of blue-chip recruits, also signed with SMU in 1979. The star running-back tandem was known as "The Pony Express", and the tandem would alternate possessions throughout their four-year careers at SMU.[6]
In his freshman year in 1979, James proved more reliable than Dickerson, outgaining him 761 yards to 477, and was named theSouthwest Conference's Offensive Newcomer of the Year.[6] In the 1980Holiday Bowl (later known as the "Miracle Bowl"), James ran for 225 rushing yards and 9.9 yards/carry in a losing effort, records that stood for 13 and 15 years respectively.[7]
Though the pair continued to alternate possessions at tailback, by 1982 Dickerson had established himself as the featured back, as he carried 232 times for 1,617 yards while James carried 197 times for 938 yards. James took over punting duties midway through the season after the regular punter was injured, and finished sixth in the nation in punting.[6] That year, he also scored on a 96-yardtouchdown reception to set a record as the longest scoring play inSouthwest Conference history.[8]
James played on the 1981 SMU team that won the Southwest Conference title while being on NCAA probation as a result of recruiting violations dating back to the mid-1970s. In later years, SMU was further caught up in theSouthern Methodist University football scandal, which involved payments to players in the 1983 recruiting class, with such payments improperly continuing while SMU was again on probation in 1985 and 1986. As a result of the repeated violations, SMU received the"death penalty" from the NCAA, shutting down the program in 1987 and 1988. Neither James' recruitment nor his participation in the SMU football program was cited by the NCAA in levying sanctions against SMU.
In 2012, James admitted to having received what he called "an insignificant amount" of improper gifts while playing at SMU.[9] He has always denied that improper financial inducements had anything to do with his decision to attend SMU.
After his senior season, James was drafted by theWashington Federals of theUSFL with the fourth overall pick in the spring league's inaugural draft in 1983. James signed with the Federals for a series of four guaranteed one-year deals. He stated that he decided to join the USFL rather than theNFL because of a desire to be a "pioneer" in a new league, similar to what he and Dickerson did at SMU.[10] Despite already having been signed to the Federals, theNew England Patriots, who were coached by James' former SMU coachRon Meyer, drafted the rights to James in the seventh round of the1983 NFL draft.
James' first pro season in Washington saw the Federals struggle to a 4–10 record. He started all 14 games and rushed for 823 yards and four touchdowns,[5] and caught 40 passes out of the backfield. The following year, James suffered a knee injury on March 4, 1984, in a home game against thePhiladelphia Stars. He was placed on injured reserve later that week. James was released by the cash-strapped Federals a month later, allowing him to join the Patriots for their training camp in August.[11]
In James' first year with the Patriots in the1984 season, he was initially a backup toTony Collins under his old coach Meyer. When Meyer was fired after a 5–3 start to the season, new coachRaymond Berry made James the starting running back, and James finished the year as the Patriots' leading rusher with 790 yards.[12]
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In the1985 season, James started at running back all season, rushing for 1,227 yards, and was selected for thePro Bowl. He was the last white player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season untilPeyton Hillis reached that mark in2010.[13] In Week 2 against theChicago Bears, he caught a 90-yard touchdown pass fromTony Eason, which was the longest touchdown from scrimmage in Patriots history at the time. He was a major factor in the Patriots' 31–14 upset win over theMiami Dolphins in the AFC title game, rushing for a career postseason high of 105 yards. However, he was dominated by theChicago Bears' defense inSuper Bowl XX, which held him to only one yard on five carries.[14]
James struggled to continue his Pro Bowl form in the1986 season, finishing with just 427 yards on 154 carries. At the end of the year, he had surgery to repair his right shoulder after suffering from recurrent dislocations during the year.[15] James returned for the start of the1987 season, but got just three carries in the first two games before being shut down with another shoulder injury.[16]
After gaining 15 yards on four carries and 14 catches for 171 yards in the first six games of the1988 season, James suffered from posterior shoulder dislocations and underwent surgery in October, missing the remainder of the season.[17] He retired from the NFL after the 1988 season, having rushed for 2,469 yards and eleven touchdowns in his five seasons with the Patriots. He also had 819 receiving yards and two touchdown catches, and completed three of six pass attempts, with all three completions going for touchdowns.
In 2009, James was included in theNew England Patriots All-1980s team that was selected by local media and team figures to commemorate the team's 50th anniversary.[18]
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | A/G | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | R/G | Y/G | ||
| 1984 | NE | 15 | 7 | 160 | 790 | 4.9 | 73 | 1 | 10.7 | 52.7 | 22 | 159 | 7.2 | 16 | 0 | 1.5 | 10.6 |
| 1985 | NE | 16 | 14 | 263 | 1,227 | 4.7 | 65 | 5 | 16.4 | 76.7 | 27 | 360 | 13.3 | 90 | 2 | 1.7 | 22.5 |
| 1986 | NE | 13 | 12 | 154 | 427 | 2.8 | 16 | 4 | 11.8 | 32.8 | 18 | 129 | 7.2 | 17 | 0 | 1.4 | 9.9 |
| 1987 | NE | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 1988 | NE | 6 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 8 | 1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 14 | 171 | 12.2 | 32 | 0 | 2.3 | 28.5 |
| Career | 52 | 33 | 585 | 2,469 | 4.2 | 73 | 11 | 11.3 | 47.5 | 81 | 819 | 10.1 | 90 | 2 | 1.6 | 15.8 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | A/G | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | R/G | Y/G | ||
| 1985 | NE | 4 | 4 | 72 | 259 | 3.6 | 16 | 1 | 18.0 | 64.8 | 6 | 90 | 15.0 | 24 | 0 | 1.5 | 22.5 |
| 1986 | NE | 1 | 0 | 10 | 31 | 3.1 | 17 | 0 | 10.0 | 31.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career | 5 | 4 | 82 | 290 | 3.5 | 17 | 1 | 16.4 | 58.0 | 6 | 90 | 15.0 | 24 | 0 | 1.5 | 22.5 | |
After his retirement from play in 1989, James went on to become a radio analyst for SMU college football games, then was the sports anchor forKDFW-TV. During this time, he also appeared onESPN as astudio analyst on theCollege GameDay andCollege Football Scoreboard programs. James worked withLee Corso, who gave him the nickname "Mustang Breath". In 1996, James joinedCBS, where he served as a studio analyst onCollege Football Today as well asThe NFL Today programs before becoming a game analyst onNFL on CBS. During his CBS stint, he served as a reporter during theNCAA men's basketball championship as well as the1998 Winter Olympics. In 2003, James moved toABC. He served as a studio analyst on the network'scollege football coverage through the 2008 season. James also appeared as an analyst on ESPN'sThursday-night package as well as othercollege football programs such asCollege Football Live. He then teamed withMike Patrick and sideline reporterHeather Cox as game analyst for the 2009 season, workingESPN on ABC Saturday afternoon broadcasts, while still working the Thursday-night package. On December 19, 2011, James announced that he was leaving ESPN to run for theUnited States Senate.[19]
James operates his own broadcasting school, the Craig James School of Broadcasting.
James said in 1998 that theWisconsin Badgers were "the worst team to ever play in theRose Bowl," but Wisconsin went on to defeat #6UCLA 38–31 in the1999 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Badgers coachBarry Alvarez fired back: "Well, I know we're at least the second worst."[20][21]
James is a voter in theAP college football poll, and has received some attention and criticism for his reported tendency to award low votes to teams from outside thePower Five conferences, such asBoise State andTCU.[22][23]
On August 30, 2013,Fox Sports Southwest announced that it had hired James as a college football analyst and co-host of the network's college football studio show.[24] On September 2, after only one appearance, the network abruptly cut ties with James before he had formally signed a contract. Reportedly, Fox Sports officials were displeased that James' hire had not been vetted.[25] Additionally,The Dallas Morning News reported that Fox Sports officials were upset with statements against same-sex marriage that James had made during his Senate run.[26] On February 25, 2014, theFirst Liberty Institute filed suit on James' behalf against Fox, claiming that he was fired for his religious beliefs.[27] Also in 2014, James joined theFamily Research Council as assistant to presidentTony Perkins, intending to "fight the kind of 'religious bigotry' [James] blames for his firing by Fox."[28]
James' son Adam was the center of a controversy that resulted in Texas Tech suspending, and later firing, head football coachMike Leach shortly before the2010 Alamo Bowl. Leach had allegedly forced Adam to stand in a shed for two hours during practice on two occasions. In response, Adam went to university chancellorKent Hance and members of the board of trustees with his accusations. In light of the allegations, ESPN removed Craig James from announcing the Alamo Bowl, replacing him withBob Davie.[29][30][31][32][33] In a lawsuit filed by Leach against Texas Tech, he alleges that Adam "voluntarily placed himself into the electrical closet and apparently took pictures with his phone camera." In response, James stated, "Since the James family is not a party to the lawsuit, we deem it inappropriate to discuss it."[34]
Leach later filed suit against James and others for defamation and wrongful termination related to the publicity surrounding the incident.[35] In August 2013, Leach's claims were dismissed onsummary judgment.[36]
In an interview withWFAA-TV in Dallas, James revealed that he was interested in getting involved in politics as a member of theRepublican Party. James is a self-described conservative and stated that government intervention in business and health care were his main concerns. He founded a political group called Texans for a Better America.[37]
On December 19, 2011, James announced that he would run for theUnited States Senate as a Republican in2012 for the seat being vacated byKay Bailey Hutchison.[1]Public Policy Polling found during the race that "as Craig James has become better known he's just gotten more and more unpopular."[38] During a 2012 debate, James upbraided former Dallas mayorTom Leppert for attending a gay pride parade, and declared that gays would eventually "answer to the Lord for their actions."[39] Those and other controversial statements subsequently cost him his job at Fox Sports Southwest.[26] On May 29, 2012, he finished a distant fourth out of nine candidates in the Republican primary with 3.6% of the vote.[2][40]
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