JAMES, DAVID (1863-1929), and EVAN (d. c. 1920), Rugby football players;
brothers who were the most brilliant pair of half-backs of their day and rendered invaluable service to Welsh Rugby football. They were the great initiators of the half-back tactics which were developed and improved by R. M. Owen (q.v.), Richard Jones, and W. J. Trew (q.v.). In 1892 they went North and became professionals. They later returned to Wales, were reinstated, and subsequently figured in the Swansea XV and in the Welsh side that played against England in 1899. The brothers earned fame as a pair rather than as individuals. David James d. 2 Jan. 1929.
Bibliography:
- Rugby Football Annual, 1929-30, 18;
- W. J. T. Collins, Rugby Recollections, 91-2;
- West. Mail, 3 Jan. 1929;
- The Times, 3 Jan. 1929.
Author:
Dr Moelwyn Idwal Williams, M.A., Aberystwyth
