Lionel James obit

Ex-Chargers running back Lionel James dies

 

He was not on the list.

Former Auburn Tigers and San Diego Chargers running back Lionel James, who made a name for himself for being unstoppable despite his small stature, died, Friday, after a lengthy illness, the university said. He was 59.

Auburn announced the death of James, a five-foot-six player nicknamed “Little Train,” but provided no additional details.

James played five seasons with the Chargers, who have since moved to Los Angeles, after being drafted in the fifth round in 1984. He set an NFL record with 2,535 all-purpose yards in 1985 after leading the Chargers in rushing, receiving and kickoff and punt return yardage.

He led the AFC in receptions that season with 86 while setting the NFL record for receiving yards by a running back with 1,027.

James, who was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, in 2006, led Auburn in all-purpose yards, in 1981 and 1982, and became one of the first signature players of the Pat Dye era. He was a team captain, in 1983, and helped lead the Tigers to their first Southeastern Conference championship in 26 years.

That backfield included 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson and another future NFL player, Tommie Agee.

“Lionel James defined Auburn football for a generation,” David Housel, a former Auburn sports information director and athletic director, said in a news release.

James was born in Albany, Georgia, where he attended Dougherty High School, playing football, basketball, and running track. Because of his small stature of 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 150 pounds (68 kg), Auburn University was the only major college to recruit him. He played college football for the Tigers, sharing the backfield with Bo Jackson. James was Auburn's leading rusher with 561 yards in 1981, head coach Pat Dye's first year with the team. He ran for over 700 yards in consecutive seasons as a junior and senior. James also led the team in all-purpose yardage in 1981 and 1982, when he also led the nation in punt returns with a 15.8-yard average. He was a captain in 1983, when the Tigers won the Southeast Conference championship and the 1984 Sugar Bowl. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

James was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 1984 NFL Draft. In 1985, he set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season with 2,535 yards. He also set the record for receiving yards by a running back with 1,027 yards, becoming the first running back with a 1,000-yard receiving season in the league. He led the AFC in receptions with 86, and led the Chargers in yardage from rushing (516), punt returns (213), and kickoff returns (779). On November 10, 1985, James had his best day as a pro versus the Los Angeles Raiders. He gained 345 all-purpose yards including a career best 168 yards receiving and scored the winning touchdown in a 40–34 overtime victory. The total yardage was second at the time only to the 373 yards by Billy Cannon in 1961, and remains a Chargers franchise record. He might have broken the record in an earlier game that season against the Cincinnati Bengals except for a Chargers penalty that cost him 89 yards of a 100-yard kickoff return. James finished that game with 316 yards.

 

James missed nine games in 1986 with an ankle injury. He rebounded the following season to score a team-high six touchdowns, including an 81-yard punt return. However, San Diego limited his opportunities after the ankle injury, playing him at wide receiver and less in the backfield, while also limiting him to punt returns and not kickoffs. James was hampered by a hip flexor injury in 1988, although he still managed to catch 36 passes. He was waived during preseason in 1989, when the Chargers opted for a quicker running back, rookie Dana Brinson. The Kansas City Chiefs claimed James, planning to use him primarily as a wide receiver. They waived him days later after a failed physical examination due to his hip.

James ended his career with 1,061 yards rushing and 2,278 receiving yards. He scored 16 career touchdowns, including two on punt returns. He was voted as the kick returner on the Chargers 40th Anniversary Team. His record for receiving yards by a running back was broken by Marshall Faulk (1,048) in 1999, and his all-purpose yardage record was eclipsed in 2000 by Derrick Mason (2,690 yards).

Lionel (Little Train) James was never an All-Pro or Pro Bowler. He wasn’t chosen to an all-decade team, was never part of a Super Bowl champion and had an NFL career that didn’t last beyond five years.

Yet Lionel James was one of the greatest football players … and persons … I ever covered.

He could run. He could catch. He could throw, return kicks, return punts, you name it. In fact, one afternoon in 1985 he set a Chargers’ single-game record when he amassed 345 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to break a seven-game losing streak to the Raiders.

“There are no limits,” former teammate and Hall-of-Fame quarterback Dan Fouts said then, “on what he can do.”