- Craig James (American football)
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Craig James Date of birth: January 2, 1961 Place of birth: Jacksonville, Texas Career information Position(s): RB College: Southern Methodist NFL Draft: 1983 / Round: 7 / Pick 187 Organizations As player: 1983-1984
1984-1988Washington Federals (USFL)
New England PatriotsCareer highlights and awards Pro Bowls: 1986 Playing stats at NFL.com Jesse Craig "Pony" James (born January 2, 1961) is an American sports commentator for games on the ABC and ESPN television networks. Prior to becoming a sportscaster, James was a professional football player for the New England Patriots of the National Football League and for the Washington Federals of the United States Football League.
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Football
James attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas, where he was a star on Stratford's 1978 Texas class 4A championship football team, setting the single-season Texas 4A rushing record with 2,411 yards gained in 15 games. James, a running back, also attended Southern Methodist University where he and teammate Eric Dickerson formed what was known as the "Pony Express" backfield (SMU's mascot is the mustang). In the 1980 Holiday Bowl (known as the Miracle Bowl), James' offensive production of 225 rushing yards and 9.9 yards/carry were not enough as SMU lost the Holiday Bowl while he set records that stood for 13 and 15 years respectively.[1] In 1982, he scored on a 96-yard touchdown reception to set a new record as the longest scoring play in Southwest Conference history.[2]
After his senior season in 1982, James was drafted by the Washington Federals of the USFL with the 4th overall pick in the spring league's inaugural draft. James subsequently signed with the Federals a week after being drafted.
His first pro season in Washington saw James and the Feds struggle to a 4–14 record. He rushed for 823 yards and 4 TDs in 14 games (starting 14). He also caught 40 passes out of the backfield that season.
The following year, 1984, James suffered a knee injury on Sunday, March 4, in a game at RFK against the Philadelphia Stars. He was placed on injured reserve later that week. He was subsequently released by the cash-strapped Federals a month later, allowing him to join the Patriots for their training camp in August that year.
According to James, speaking on an ESPN broadcast of the Florida State Seminoles vs. North Carolina Tar Heels, the first player to tackle him in the NFL was Lawrence Taylor.
With the Patriots, he was named Offensive Player of the Year by the Vince Lombardi Committee in 1985 and started in both the 1985 Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XX.
In the 1985–86 season, James rushed for 1,227 yards, becoming the last white player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, until Peyton Hillis reached that mark in 2010. This achievement has garnered him the nickname "The Great White Hope".[3] He was a major factor in the Patriots' 31–14 upset win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC title game, rushing for a career postseason high of 105 yards. However, he was dominated by the Chicago Bears' defense in Super Bowl XX, which held him to only 1 yard on 5 carries.
James 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 yards receiving and two touchdown catches.
Radio and television
After his retirement from playing in 1989, James went on to become a radio analyst for SMU college football games and then the sports anchor for KDFW-TV. During this time, he also appeared on ESPN as a studio analyst on the College GameDay and College Football Scoreboard programs. Craig worked the Game Day Desk with Lee Corso and would pick up the nickname Mustang Breath from Lee in the 'Not So Fast' segment on their pick 'em segment. In 1996, he joined CBS where he served as a studio analyst on their College Football Today as well as The NFL Today programs before becoming a game analyst on NFL on CBS with Kevin Harlan. During his CBS stint, he also served as a reporter during the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship as well as the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 2003, James moved to ABC. He served as a studio analyst on their college football coverage through the 2008 season. He also appears as an analyst on ESPN's Thursday night package as well as other college football programs such as College Football Live. He is now teamed with Mike Patrick and sideline reporter Heather Cox as game analyst for the 2009 season, working ESPN on ABC Saturday afternoon broadcasts, while still working the Thursday night package.
James also operates his own broadcasting school, eponymously called the Craig James School of Broadcasting.
James said in 1998 that the Wisconsin Badgers were "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl." Wisconsin went on to defeat #6 UCLA 38–31 in the 1999 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Badger coach Barry Alvarez fired back, "Well, I know we're at least the second worst."[4][5]
Family
He now lives in Celina, Texas with his wife Marilyn and their four children. His brother Chris was a Major League Baseball player from 1986 through 1995. His son Adam is a redshirt Junior receiver for Texas Tech.
Texas Tech controversy
James' son, Adam, was the center of the controversy that resulted in Texas Tech suspending, and later firing, head football coach Mike Leach shortly before the 2010 Alamo Bowl. Leach allegedly had Adam twice stand in a shed for two hours during practice. In light of the allegations, ESPN removed James from announcing the Alamo Bowl, replacing him with Bob Davie.[6][7][8][9][10] 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."[11]
Leach later filed suit against James and others for defamation related to the publicity surrounding this incident.[12]
Politics
In an interview with WFAA-TV in Dallas, James revealed that he is interested in getting involved in politics as a member of the Republican Party. James is a self-described "conservative" and states that government intervention in business and health care are his main concerns. He has founded a political group called Texans for a Better America.[13] James has said that he would not rule out running for the United States Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2012. [14]
External links
- Craig James ESPN Bio
- Craig James bio on ABC Medianet
- Craig James bio on CBS SportsLine
- Craig James statistics on Pro Football Reference
- Craig James articles on ESPN.com
- Article on 1978 Stratford Spartans football team, Houston Chronicle
Footnotes
- ^ "Holiday Bowl individual rushing records". Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Archived from the original on 2005-12-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20051220112941/http://www.holidaybowl.com/records11.htm. Retrieved 2006-01-05.
- ^ "No. 82 in the 90 Greatest Moments in SMU Football History". SMU Athletics. http://smumustangs.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/greatest-moments-82.html. Retrieved 2006-01-05.
- ^ Hill, Jemele (September 26, 2008). "Whatever happened to the white tailback?". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080926. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ Howard-cooper, Scott (January 2, 1999). "After Dayne Runs Them Over, They Beat Themselves Up - UCLA Conquered and Divided After Rose Bowl Defeat". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jan/02/sports/sp-59800. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ Gurnick, Ken (January 2, 1999). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: ROSE BOWL; Badgers Prove Doubters Wrong". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/02/sports/college-football-rose-bowl-badgers-prove-doubters-wrong.html. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ Friedman, Emily (29 December 2009). "Coach Mike Leach, Suspended After Claims of Abuse, Wants to Play in Bowl". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-tech-university-football-coach-mike-leach-alamo/story?id=9441813. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ Schad, Joe (2009-12-28). "Leach suspended after player complaint". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls09/news/story?id=4776848. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ "Texas Tech fires Leach". ESPN.com. 2009-12-30. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls09/news/story?id=4781981. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
- ^ Evans, Thayer; Thamel, Pete (2009-12-39). "Texas Tech Fires Coach Mike Leach". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/sports/ncaafootball/31leach.html. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ Smith, Erick (December 28, 2009). "Texas Tech suspends Mike Leach after player complains about treatment". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2009/12/texas-tech-suspends-mike-leach-after-player-complains-about-treatment/1. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ "Suit alleges phone calls by James' father". ESPN. January 15, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4828405. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ Markus, Don (January 1, 2011). "Leach would bring much promise but also reason for pause". The Baltimore Sun. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-01/sports/bs-sp-terps-leach-0102-20110101_1_coach-leach-mike-leach-texas-tech/4. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ http://texansforabetteramerica.org/about
- ^ Watson, Brad (January 7, 2010). "Craig James eyeing politics, not ruling out U.S. Senate run". WFAA-TV. http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/james-being-considered-for-senate-seat-80955427.html. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
Preceded by
Tony CollinsNew England Patriots leading rusher
1984-1986Succeeded by
Tony CollinsSaturday Night Football Studio John Saunders • Jesse Palmer • Robert FloresGame coverage Former game coverage Former studio Craig James • Doug Flutie • Matt WinerNew England Patriots All-1980s Team Offense: Grogan (QB) • Collins (RB) • C. James (RB) • Fryar (WR) • Morgan (WR) • Dawson (TE) • Armstrong (T) • Holloway (T) • Hannah (G) • Wooten (G) • Brock (C)
Defense: Adams (DE) • Veris (DE) • Bishop (NT) • Tippett (OLB) • Blackmon (OLB) • Nelson (ILB) • Rembert (ILB) • Clayborn (CB) • Lippett (CB) • R. James (S) • Marion (S)
Special Teams: Fryar (Ret.) • Franklin (PK) • Camarillo (P) • Tatupu (ST)
Coach: BerryThe NFL Today team Current Former Marcus Allen • Terry Bradshaw • Dick Butkus • Irv Cross • Randy Cross • Mike Ditka • Phyllis George • Jerry Glanville • Greg Gumbel • Craig James • Brent Jones • Jayne Kennedy • Michael Lombardi • Will McDonough • Brent Musburger • Jim Nantz • Pat O'Brien • Deion Sanders • George Seifert • Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder • Lesley VisserCategories:- 1961 births
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- American football running backs
- American television sports announcers
- College football announcers
- Living people
- National Football League announcers
- New England Patriots players
- People from Plano, Texas
- SMU Mustangs football players
- Texas Republicans
- Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players
- Sportspeople from Houston, Texas
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