Po James Ronald " Po " James ( born March 19 , 1949 in New Brighton , Pennsylvania , United States ) is a former American football running back who played for four seasons in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1972 – 1975 . He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL Draft . He played college football at New Mexico State . Early years . James attended New Brighton High School in New Brighton , Pennsylvania , where he lettered in football for three years . He started playing football during his sophomore year , rushing for 625 yards . He did not play as a junior , but as a senior , he rushed for 1 , 422 yards , along with 2 , 211 yards of total offense . He set the Beaver County scoring record for football with 200 points during his senior season , which stood for 22 years . He was a unanimous all - state selection during his senior season . He played in the Big 33 Football Classic as a senior in 1968 . James was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 . He was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League ( WPIAL ) Hall of Fame in 2008 . College career . James played college football at New Mexico State . In his debut for the Aggies against Utah State , James rushed for 106 yards on 15 carries and had a 49 - yard touchdown run . He rushed for over 100 yards in each of his first eight games during his freshman season , becoming the first freshman to do so . He ran for 185 yards against Lamar Tech . He rushed for 1 , 291 yards in his first season and earned honorable mention All - America honors . He set an NCAA freshman record for rushing yards with 1 , 291 yards , which was broken by Tony Dorsett in 1973 . In his sophomore season , he ran for 1 , 182 yards . Professional career . Philadelphia Eagles . James was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL Draft . He led the Eagles in rushing as a rookie in 1972 with 565 rushing yards along with 20 receptions for 156 yards . He set a team rookie record for carries with 182 . In 1975 , he played in all 14 games and rushed for 196 yards on 43 carries and two touchdowns . He also had a team - best 4 . 6 yards per carry average . He caught 32 receptions for 267 yards and one touchdown . He returned 13 kickoffs for 311 yards and had a 23 . 9 average . He was waived on August 1 , 1976 after the Eagles hired a new head coach , Dick Vermeil . Seattle Seahawks . James was claimed off waivers from the Eagles by the Seattle Seahawks , which began its inaugural season in 1976 . He was released prior to the start of the 1976 season . After football . After he was released from the Eagles , James became the director of the Baptist Children ’ s Services . He also worked for the Mobil Chemical Company in Stratford , Connecticut . Shooting incident . James was shot six times on April 7 , 1993 while in a sauna of the Bridgeport , Connecticut YMCA , right after an argument following a pickup game of basketball . He was shot twice in the abdomen and four times in the legs . Personal . James ' nickname , " Po " , comes from the title character in the comic strip " Pogo " , Pogo Possum . He now resides in Delaware , where he enjoys fishing and recording with different artist from Philly . Po has 1 daughter who lives in Delaware who he loves to spend time with and he also has a son Todd D . Land who currently resides in Virginia Beach , Virginia .