James Elmer Tays (March 10, 1899 – June 21, 1986) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

halfback who played three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Trian ...

Newark Tornadoes The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union fro ...

, and

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons, also known as the Staten Island Stapes, were a professional American football team. Founded in 1915, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1929 in sports, 1929 to 1932 in sports, 1932. The team was ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. He was a member of the Cardinals team that were NFL champions in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

Early life and college

James Elmer Tays was born on March 10, 1899, in

Iron Mountain, Michigan Iron Mountain is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Michigan. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Located in the state's Upper Penin ...

. His grandfather, Christopher Tays, was born as a slave in Virginia circa 1829 and later served in the 65th U.S. Colored Troops Regiment during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Tays played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Tolono High School in

Tolono, Illinois Tolono is a village in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,604 at the 2020 census. Its name was fabricated by J.B. Calhoun, land commission of the Illinois Central Railroad, who wrote about it simpl ...

. He played

and the

Professional football career

Tays played in nine games, starting two, for the

of the

(NFL) in 1925 and scored one fumble recovery touchdown. The Cardinals finished the season with an 11–2–1 record and were named NFL champions. He was listed as a halfback during his stint with the Cardinals. Tays appeared in two games, starting one, for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

in 1926. He played in seven games, all starts, for the NFL's

in 1927. The Triangles went 1–6–1 that year. Tays was a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for the Cincinnati National Guards from 1928 to 1929. Tays played one game for the

of the NFL in 1930 before being released. He then played in three games, starting one, for the

of the NFL in 1930.

Personal life

Tays also spent time as a baseball player in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

organization. He later become a farmer in

Fisher, Illinois Fisher is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, that was founded in 1875. The population was 1,881 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Fisher has a total area of , all land. Demographi ...

. He was a state fair superintendent in the 1950s. Tays died on June 21, 1986, in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tays, Jimmy 1899 births 1986 deaths Players of American football from Chicago American football halfbacks Penn State Nittany Lions football players Chicago Maroons football players Chicago Cardinals players Chicago Bulls (American football) players Dayton Triangles players Staten Island Stapletons players Newark Tornadoes players Player-coaches Baseball players from Michigan