Doug James

Doug James (born July 17, 1962 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former American football player for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1980-1984) under coach Bo Schembechler. Since 1985 he has worked as a football color commentator on radio and television and in radio sales and management.

Football Player

James was an all state football player at DeSales High School in Louisville in 1979. After graduating in 1980, James joined former high school teammate William "Bubba" Paris at Michigan, where Paris went on to earn All American honors before winning three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. At Michigan James wore jersey number 73, and played multiple positions on both offense and defense at Michigan. He was a starter at three different positions including middle guard on defense, offensive guard^[1] and offensive tackle.^[2] He was honorable mention All Big Ten at offensive tackle in 1983 and second team All Big Ten in at offensive guard in 1984. In 1984 he was elected Michigan’s co-captain and was named most valuable lineman, and hustler of the year.^[3] During his career James earned 4 varsity letters while Michigan won two Big Ten Championships and played in five bowl games, including the Rose Bowl, in 1981 and 1983, the Sugar Bowl, Bluebonnet Bowl and Holiday Bowl.

Considered an over achiever, Bo Schembechler told James he had “the worst body in the history of Michigan Football“. James once asked Schembechler if he had such a terrible body, why was he able to play so much, to which Schembechler responded, “because I’m a heck of a coach.” ^[4] On November 17, 2006, Bo Schembechler passed away. It was on the eve of the showdown between Michigan and Ohio State which pitted the top ranked Buckeyes against the second ranked Wolverines. James recounted some of his favorite memories of his old coach in an ESPN.com article by Pat Forde, ending with a poignant quote. "It's disappointing he's not going to be here for the game," James said. "But I guess he's going to have a better seat than all the rest of us." ^[5]

Broadcasting Career

After graduating from Michigan in December of 1984 he worked briefly as a graduate assistant for Coach Schembechler. He started his radio career in 1985 in Flint, Michigan as a color commentator for Michigan Football on WTRX-AM. In 1986 he began his career in radio sales at the same station. James returned to his hometown in 1988 and in 1990 started working for Clear Channel radio as a sales person for WAMZ radio. He joined the University of Louisville football radio broadcast team on sister station WHAS-AM radio in 1990 when the Cardinals finished with a record of 10-1-1 under coach Howard Schnellenberger and won the Fiesta Bowl over Alabama.

James advanced his career in sales and management at Clear Channel, ultimately earning the title of Vice President and General manager for three of that company’s stations, WQMF, WTFX and WQSH. He continued to broadcast Louisville football, and co-hosted a popular weekly football talk show on WHAS radio with Tony Cruise. During the 2000 football season, James left Clear Channel to work for Blue Chip Broadcasting in sales management. During the 2000 season, James began working as the color commentator for University of Louisville football on WDRB Fox 41 TV with Don Russell doing play by play. In his 21st year covering the Cardinals, James continues working as a commentator on WHAS 11 television^[6], an ABC affiliate, broadcasting with Drew Deener handling the play by play duties in 2011.

James served as Director of Sales and National Sales Manager for Main Line Broadcasting in Louisville, which owns five radio stations including WDJX, WGZB, WMJM, WLRS and WXMA. He currently serves as Director of Sales at WBLS and WLIB Radio for Inner City Broadcasting Corporation in New York, New York.^[7]

Personal

James has been very active in the Louisville community serving on the Board of Trustees for Jewish Hospital and St Mary’s Healthcare, DeSales High School Foundation, and Holy Rosary Foundation. He is also a member of the Advertising Federation, The Louisville Radio Broadcasters Association and The Kentucky Colonels.^[7]

He has received a number of awards including: DeSales High School Hall of Honors 1991 ^[8], AWRT Lifetime Service Award 2001, Mayor of Louisville Distinguished Citizen 2008, and Catholic Education Foundation Distinguished Alumni 2008^[9].

References

1. ^ "1984 Football Team", Bentley Hisorical Library: University of Michigan Athletics History, 31 March 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
2. ^ "1983 Football Team", Bentley Hisorical Library: University of Michigan Athletics History, 31 March 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
3. ^ "University of Michigan Football Co-Captain", Bentley Hisorical Library: University of Michigan Athletics History, 18 February 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
4. ^ Cnockaert, Jim. Michigan: Where Have You Gone?. Sports Publishing LLC, 2004, pp. 100-103.
5. ^ Forde, Pat. "Schembechler left lasting legacy at Michigan", ESPN Commentary, 18 November 2006. Retrieved on 4 November 2011.
6. ^ Hughes, Mike. "New voices for U of L TV coverage", Inside The Ville, 16 August 2005. Retrieved on 4 November 2011.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Doug James | LinkedIn", LinkedIn. Retrieved on 4 November 2011.
8. ^ DeSales Hall of Honors, St. Francis DeSales High School. Retrieved on 4 November 2011.
9. ^ "Alumni Salute", Catholic Education Foundation Louisville. Retrieved on 5 November 2011.