Gerry James Gerald Edwin James ( born October 22 , 1934 ) is a former professional Canadian football running back and professional ice hockey player . He played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . His is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame , like his father , Eddie James , who also played for the Blue Bombers . In a short 18 - week span of the overlapping 1959 CFL season and 1959 – 60 NHL season , James became the only player in history to play in the finals for the CFL ' s Grey Cup ( November 28 , 1959 — won cup ) and the NHL ' s Stanley Cup ( first game April 9 , 1960 — lost cup ) in the same season . Football career . A graduate of Kelvin High School in Winnipeg , James started his CFL career in 1952 when he became one of the youngest players ever to play in the CFL , at only 17 years old . ( Tommy Manastersky was several months younger when he joined the Montreal Alouettes in 1946 ) . As a kicker and a running back in the Bombers ' powerful " run by committee " system , James helped the team to six Grey Cup appearances ( 1953 , 1957 , 1958 , 1959 , 1961 , and 1962 ) , earning four victories ( 1958 , 1959 , 1961 and 1962 ) . This committee system over the years included Lorne Benson , Tom Casey , Leo Lewis , Bob McNamara and Charlie Shepard . In the 1957 season James scored 19 touchdowns , one short of the record set a year earlier by Pat Abbruzzi . He did however set a CFL record with 18 rushing touchdowns , which stood alone until it was tied by Jim Germany in 1981 and was finally surpassed by Mike Pringle with 19 in the 2000 season . James rushed the ball 197 times for 1 , 192 yards that season . He was part of the Blue Bombers until 1963 , then played in 1964 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders ) . When he retired from the CFL , James was the second all - time leading Canadian running back with totals of 994 carries for 5 , 554 yards and 57 touchdowns , behind only Normie Kwong . James was a two time winner – 1954 and 1957 – of the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Canadian award . James was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1981 , joining his father , Eddie James , who was inducted in 1963 . Hockey career . James was also a professional ice hockey right winger who played a total of 164 games in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs over 5 seasons in the late 50s ( 1954 - 55 to 1959 - 60 ) , playing in 149 regular season games and 15 playoff games , finishing with 41 career points ( 15 goals and 26 assists ) . At the age of sixteen , James played with the Winnipeg Monarchs junior hockey team in the 1951 Memorial Cup ( a loss ) . The Toronto Maple Leafs , who owned James ' professional hockey rights , decided to move him to Toronto to play for the Toronto Marlboros , their top junior team . James would win the 1955 Memorial Cup playing with the Marlboros – only a few months after winning the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Canadian award . A few days after the Memorial Cup win , James also played his first NHL game with the Maple Leafs – ending a tremendous series of multi - sport and multi - league achievements within a five - month period . In the 1955 – 56 NHL season , immediately after rushing for a career high season of 1 , 205 yards and being chosen a Western All - Star for the 1955 Canadian football season , James rejoined the NHL ' s Maple Leafs for their last 51 games , including a 5 game run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs . James played a career high 53 games in the 1956 – 57 NHL season , also marking his biggest season for NHL goals ( 4 ) , assists ( 12 ) , points ( 16 ) and penalty minutes ( 90 ) . The following 1957 football season saw James win his second Most Outstanding Canadian award on November 29 , play in the CFL ' s 1957 Grey Cup Championship the afternoon of November 30 in Toronto , and that same night play his first game of the 1957 – 58 NHL season with the Maple Leafs . James played only 15 games with the Maple Leafs in the 1957 – 58 NHL season , being sent to the team ' s Rochester Americans farm team for a further 15 games of ice hockey . He was only able to join the Maple Leafs in a management role for the 1958 – 59 NHL season , due to a leg injury suffered in the 1958 CFL season . In the 1959 – 60 NHL season , immediately after winning the CFL ' s 1959 Grey Cup , James rejoined the NHL ' s Maple Leafs as a player for their last 44 games , including a 10 game run into the 1960 Stanley Cup Championship finals . With his on - field and on - ice play between November , 1959 , and April , 1960 , James became the only player in history to play in the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup finals in the same season . The Maple Leafs did not use James in the 1960 - 61 season , lending him to the Winnipeg Warriors in the minor pro Western Hockey League for his last year of professional hockey . James would play some senior ice hockey in Saskatchewan over the next few years , then became a Tier II / Junior A head coach in 1973 in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League ( SJHL ) . Over a twelve - year period , James would coach eight SJHL seasons with the Yorkton Terriers , the Melville Millionaires and the Estevan Bruins . He coached these teams to seven winning seasons and a lifetime record of : 249 wins , 191 losses , 14 ties for a 0 . 622 winning percentage . He just missed a perfect sweep of winning seasons when his 1979 - 80 Melville Millionaires finished a half - game below 0 . 500 : 29 – 30 – 1 . James later coached the 1988 - 89 season with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the major junior Western Hockey League . Retirement . When he retired from competitive football , James remained active in hockey . In 1963 , He coached in Switzerland and managed hockey teams in Yorkton , Estevan , and Moose Jaw of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the 1980s . James currently resides in British Columbia . CFL Statistics . Year Team GP TC Yds Avg TD Long 1952 WPG 10 93 9 . 3 2 1953 WPG 25 120 4 . 8 1 1954 WPG 106 576 5 . 4 4 71 1955 WPG 89 1205 6 . 4 7 60 1956 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 1957 WPG 197 1192 6 . 1 18 74 1958 WPG 64 372 5 . 8 2 21 1959 WPG 49 261 5 . 3 6 44 1960 WPG 165 872 5 . 3 9 28 1961 WPG 102 505 5 4 26 1962 WPG 84 345 4 . 1 5 15 1963 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 1964 SASK 10 4 13 3 . 3 0 7 Bibliography . The definitive authorized biography of Gerry James , " Kid Dynamite : The Gerry James Story " was published in 2011 by Oolichan Books