toddc 13,197 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) Former Auburn running back Lionel James passes away ByNATHAN KING 15 minutes ago Share3 Comments Please turn off your ad blocker if you wish to view this video. CFP To Remain At Four Teams Thru 2026 (Late Kick Cut) Former Auburn and NFL running back Lionel James passed away Friday at the age of 59, the university announced. James, a native of Albany, Georgia, led Auburn in rushing in 1981, Pat Dye's first season as head coach. He's No. 18 on Auburn's career rushing list and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. "Lionel James defined Auburn football for a generation," former Auburn athletic director David Housel said Friday in a statement. During Auburn's 1983 SEC championship and Sugar Bowl season, James was a team captain, and was part of one of the best running-back trios in program history with Bo Jackson and Tommy Agee. They combined for 2,518 rushing yards and 24 total touchdowns. "Pound for pound one of the greatest all-purpose players to play the game of football," Agee said Friday in a statement. "Always put the team first. He was one of the reasons why I came to Auburn." 3COMMENTS A fifth-round pick in 1984, James played five seasons with the San Diego Chargers. In his second pro season, he set what was then the NFL record for all-purpose yards with 2,535, and receiving yards by a running back with 1,027. After retiring from the league, James graduated from Auburn in 1989. He later coached tight ends on Terry Bowden's Auburn staff from 1996-97. Edited February 25, 2022 by toddc 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gctiger 991 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 R.I.P. Tiger!!! 🙏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,101 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Dang. Just dang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aublue88 145 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 So sad to see this, one of my favorites and a true Auburn man! RIP " Little Train" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 1 hour ago, toddc said: at the age of 59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennypowers 1,431 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Chugging along on the big tracks now. RIP LEGEND. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamZero77 1,945 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 I remember when he led the Chargers in rushing yards, receiving yards, kickoff return yards and punt return yards ALL in the same season. 1985 I believe was when he did this. RIP Little Train 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctiger 578 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Rest in peace little number 6 train... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexava 6,976 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 I was a fan!😢 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumps 3,706 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 What a huge loss for the Auburn family. He was the epitome of an Auburn man based on everything I ever saw or heard. Prayers for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aucom96 1,658 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 One of my first Auburn memories was watching how hard that man could run. This is sad news. War Eagle, train! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTim 3,529 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 May God comfort and bless his family. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old fan 47 806 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 This one hurts. His numbers while respectable in the day for a wishbone O, were good, but what he meant to this U and this team, may go unmatched. I was just shy of my 13th birthday when I got to see him in the backfield with Bo and Tommy and it was obvious, he was the Alpha, but he never showed it. In my mind, everything aside as far as stats, he is a True Auburn Legend. Condolences to his family and friends. He was a Great One. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,101 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarNole 141 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Great team player. One of my all time favorites. So young be leaving us. Prayers lifted up for his family and friends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish 74 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Little Train made a number of big blocks for Big Train. May God give His great comfort and peace to Lionel James’ family, friends, and the AU Nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weagl1 1,812 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Pound for pound one of the greatest all purpose players I have ever seen. RIP Little Train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyTiger 8,596 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Great person with a contagious smile. Played 5 solid years of NFL and fans of everyone seemed to root for him. At 5-6 hard to believe he was recruited for basketball as well as football. Had one heck of reputation in “pick up” basketball games around BE coliseum. Seems heard a while back that he was struggling. War Damn Eagle “ little train”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 7,240 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 War Eagle, Lionel. Thank you and Godspeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle-1 3,821 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Just ruined my day to hear this. Prayers for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxCohen216 514 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Lionel James and I were born the same year. I was a student at AU from 1981-1985, and I saw him play live many times. He was amazing. He and Bo in the same backfield was pretty much unfair to opposing defenses. Rest in peace Little Train. The biggest little train ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,197 Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 3 minutes ago, MaxCohen216 said: Lionel James and I were born the same year. I was a student at AU from 1981-1985, and I saw him play live many times. He was amazing. He and Bo in the same backfield was pretty much unfair to opposing defenses. Rest in peace Little Train. The biggest little train ever. I was there 81-83. Maybe we passed each other on the Quad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxCohen216 514 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) 22 minutes ago, toddc said: I was there 81-83. Maybe we passed each other on the Quad Probably quite a few times. Wow, I miss that life. Great times. Edited February 26, 2022 by MaxCohen216 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,254 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 I was always impressed with Little Train. I was there when he made what I thought at the time was game winning 87 yard touchdown run against UGA. RIP Little Train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVR 830 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Man how I loved to watch him run the ball. RIP Little Train. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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