Tommy James

Thomas Laverne James Jr. (September 16, 1923 – February 7, 2007) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back and punter in the National Football League (NFL) and All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1947 to 1956, primarily for the Cleveland Browns. He was born in Canton, Ohio, and attended Massillon Washington High School, where he played as a back on the football team under head coach Paul Brown. James was a key part of a Massillon team that went undefeated in 1940. After graduating, he followed Brown to play college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and played there as a halfback. Ohio State won its first national championship in 1942 when James was on the team.

After a three-year stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, James returned to play a final season at Ohio State in 1946. He then signed with the Detroit Lions of the NFL, where he stayed for a year before rejoining Brown, who had become head coach of the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC. James spent eight seasons in Cleveland, playing as a defensive halfback on five championship teams, including two in the AAFC in the late 1940s and three in the NFL in the 1950s. He left football after playing briefly for the Baltimore Colts in 1956. Later in life, he worked as a salesman at a trucking company. He died in 2007.

High school and college

James grew up in Genoa, a small community in between Canton, Ohio, and Massillon, Ohio. The oldest of five children, one of his younger brothers included Don James, a Hall of Fame coach for Kent State and the University of Washington. He attended grammar school there through the eighth grade, but the town did not have a high school and students could choose to attend either Massillon Washington High School or the rival Canton McKinley High School. He played on the freshman team in his first year, moving to the varsity team in 1942.

Professional career

James signed with the National Football League's (NFL) Detroit Lions in 1947. He was still eligible to play in college at the time, but wartime rules allowed him to skip to the professional ranks and play for the Lions, who had selected him in the 1947 NFL draft. Detroit did not renew his contract, and the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), a team coached by Paul Brown, picked him up. The team finished the season with a 10–2 record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship. James made an interception in the game. He also held the ball for placekicker Lou Groza on the game-winning field goal with under a minute to play. The Browns went on to win the NFL championship again in 1954 and 1955. James was moved from defensive halfback to safety in 1955 later in his career and was hampered by injuries.

Brown released the 33-year-old James on waivers before the 1956 season, which allowed other teams to pick up his contract. Brown said it was "one of the toughest things I've had to do in football" because of the effort James put out. James had worked in the offseason as a sporting goods salesman and had an offer to join a trucking firm, but said he wanted to continue his football career for one more year. He ended his NFL career with 34 interceptions, all with the Browns, tying him for eighth place in team history.