Alex James

Raith Rovers

Alex James joined Raith Rovers in 1922. Having finished third in the season before his arrival, Rovers' best league finish whilst James was at the club was fourth in 1924. Raith placed ninth within both the 1923 and 1925 seasons. All in all he made close to a hundred League appearances in his three seasons at Starks Park, and was also involved in an incident of shipwrecking in the summer of 1923 when the team's vessel bound for the Canary Islands struck rocks in a storm.

Preston North End

James then went on to link up for £3,000 (£158,000 today) with club Preston North End in 1925. During his time at the Second Division side, The Lilywhites twice seemed certain for promotion to only finish sixth and fourth respectively. He then fell out with the club firstly over his wages which were at the Football League's maximum of £8 a week, and also due to Preston not always releasing him for international duty with Scotland. Altogether James scored 55 goals in 157 appearances with the club.

Arsenal

James left Preston for Herbert Chapman's Arsenal in 1929 for £8,750 (£481,000 today), making his debut against Leeds United on 31 August 1929 two weeks before his 28th birthday. To circumvent the maximum wage rules, Arsenal arranged it so that his employment at the club was supplemented by a £250-a-year "sports demonstrator" job at Selfridges, the London department store. James had an unremarkable first season at Arsenal, partly because he was still…

Despite his club form, James won just eight caps for Scotland. This was partly due to Preston's reluctance to release him for international matches. He made his international debut on 31 October 1925 in a game against Wales which Scotland won 3–0. With the legendary "Wembley Wizards" team he scored a brace in their 5–1 thrashing of England at Wembley in 1928. This game was one of six where James and Hughie Gallacher both played with Scotland winning all of them. All three of James's international goals also came while playing alongside Gallacher.

Arsenal

Football League First Division: 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 FA Cup: 1929–30, 1935–36 FA Charity Shield: 1931, 1933 Individual

English Football Hall of Fame: 2005 Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2005 Raith Rovers Hall of Fame: 2013