Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Maxwell James

Known as
Max James

Born
27 December 1951 (age 72)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 26y 95d
Last game: 30y 118d

Height and weight
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 86 kg

Senior clubs
Port Adelaide; South Melbourne

Jumper numbers
South Melbourne: 27

Recruited from
Port Adelaide (1978); Sydney (1982)

Family links
Bert James (Father)Heath James (Son)

Max James

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
Port AdelaideSANFL1971-1977, 1982-19841561751.12
South MelbourneV/AFL1978-198254571.0633%9.572.543.895
Total1971-19842102321.10

AFL: 8,962nd player to appear, 4,119th most games played, 1,856th most goals kickedSouth Melbourne: 1,056th player to appear, 318th most games played, 126th most goals kicked

Combining pace and aerial prowess to admirable and telling effect, Max James was one of the SANFL's most eye-catching performers of the 1970s. Between 1971 and 1977 he played a total of 148 league games for Port Adelaide, and was a member of the Magpies' 1977 Grand Final winning team against Glenelg. 

He transferred to South Melbourne in 1978 but was prevented by persistent recurring injuries from displaying his best form more than intermittently. In all he played 54 games and kicked 57 goals, with his one of his last VFL games being the Swans' first home fixture in Sydney. He returned to Port later that season and retired in 1984 having added 8 SANFL games to his career tally, and taken the number of goals kicked for the Magpies to 175. Max James represented South Australia eight times, kicking nine goals.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy's SA Football Companion

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.