Former Toronto Maple Leafs right winger and Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Gerry James of Regina, Saskatchewan has passed away at the age of 89 according to bluebombers.com. James was with the Maple Leafs from 1954 to 1960, the Blue Bombers from 1952 to 1962, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1964.
As a National Hockey League player, James had 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 149 games. He had 251 penalty minutes, four power-play points, one game-winning goal, and one shorthanded point. The game-winning goal came on March 5, 1960 in a 5-2 Maple Leafs win over the Boston Bruins. Red Kelly of Simcoe, Ontario picked up the assist.
James had 995 rushes for 5554 rushing yards and 63 rushing touchdowns in his Canadian Football League career. Nicknamed “Dynamite”, James had 18 rushing touchdowns during the 1957 season, which at the time was a CFL record. It would be a record that would last for 34 years. Also a kicker at times, James are 40 field goals, and had 21 singles and 143 converts. He also won four Grey Cups with the Blue Bombers in 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1962. Each time the Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Twice James won the CFL Award for the Most Outstanding Canadian. The first time in 1954 and the second time in 1957. James was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton in 1981 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in Winnipeg in 1982.
