While born in England, James grew up along with his brothers: Greg, Joe, Chris, and David and sister Tara, in Washington state. He attended Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Washington where he was a four-year letterman on the boys\' soccer team. He was named to the all League team as a senior in 1977.\n', '

Rather than attending college, James chose to sign with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League (NASL) after graduating from high school. In his two and a half years with the Sounders, he never played a first team game, instead he saw time only with the reserve team during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. The Sounders traded him to the Edmonton Drillers in 1980 where he became and integral part of the team over the next three seasons. In addition to playing outdoor with the Drillers, James was a significant part of the 1980–1981 and 1981–1982 NASL indoor seasons. In 1981, Edmonton won the NASL indoor championship over the Chicago Sting. The Drillers folded at the end of the 1982 outdoor season and James jumped to Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).\n', '

James signed with the Cleveland Force of MISL in 1982 and spent five seasons with them. He was named the 1982-1983 MISL Defender of the Year. In 1987, he moved to the Tacoma Stars for two seasons before returning to Cleveland to join the Cleveland Crunch which had replaced the Force when that team folded in 1988. James spent two more seasons in MISL with the Force, being named a second team All Star in his last season, 1990-1991.\n', '

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