Joe James (footballer)
James during the 1930s.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph James | ||
| Date of birth | 13 January 1910 | ||
| Place of birth | Battersea, England | ||
| Date of death | January 1993 (aged 81–82) | ||
| Playing position | Centre half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Battersea Church | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1929–1944 | Brentford | 240 | (2) |
| 1945–1946 | Colchester United | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 248 | (2) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Joseph "Joe" James (13 January 1910 – January 1993) was an English professional football centre half who played in the Football League for Brentford. In 2013, James placed third in a Football League 125th Anniversary poll of Brentford's best ever captains. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame and made over 250 appearances for the club.
Born in Battersea, James began playing football as a youth for local side Battersea Church.
James appeared in a friendly match for Division Three South side Brentford in August 1928, impressing manager Harry Curtis. Though not awarded a contract, James became the assistant groundsman at the club's Griffin Park stadium. In August 1929, James was offered a contract and turned professional. Beginning life in the reserve team, he was a part of the side which won the London Combination title in the 1931–32 and 1932–33 seasons. Consistently behind Jimmy Bain in the pecking order, James made his debut for the club on 21 November 1931 in a 2–1 away win for the Bees over Brighton & Hove Albion. He made a further six appearances during the 1931–32 season and another five the following year.
With the Bees playing Division Two football for the 1933–34 season, James finally broke into the team, making 35 appearances and scoring his first goal for the club in a 4–1 away win over Oldham Athletic on 14 October 1933. James made 40 appearances and scored one goal during the 1934–35 season, a fantastic campaign in which the Bees won the Division Two title (securing a place in the top-flight for the first time in the club's history) and the London Challenge Cup. James averaged just over 41 appearances a season in Division One (many of them as captain) and was part of the team which finished fifth in 1935–36 (Brentford's highest-ever finish in the pyramid) and which topped the table for nearly half of the 1937–38 season. James' final professional appearance for the Bees came on 19 August 1939, in a 5–1 Football League Jubilee Fund defeat to Chelsea.
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