by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
I must begin by pointing out that this book, “From Gold Teeth to Gold Jacket,” which details the story of NFL Hall-of-Famer Edgerrin James, is not some sort of narcissistic, warmed over, nostalgic recollection of the athletic and personal prowess of the running back. This work profiles his athletic and personal achievements and the less-than-ideal circumstances that he faced on a daily basis.
The book also provides keen and valuable insight into the fraternity-like machinery behind the high school, college and NFL athletic programs and financial systems. I can almost guarantee you that as you read it you will be transfixed and transported by the story of an athlete that overcame multiple odds to become an NFL Hall-of-Famer.
Edgerrin James was born on August 1, 1978, in Immokalee, Fla. By many accounts it was a tough place to grow up but James has quite a different view of his birthplace. “Immokalee is a special place to me,” he said. “It’s unique. It shapes you. To give you a better understanding, Immokalee was a small town, one of the poorest cities in the state of Florida, if not the entire country. It has one high school. You grew up there, hung out there, went to school there, so it becomes all you know. The way we look at things, the way things go for people who live there, it’s just real tough. I was always determined to do more. You don’t have nobody to give you nothing; the only way you can get something is you’ve got to do what it takes. Whatever it takes.”
James helped to rescue and put the Indianapolis Colts back on the map; no more polishing the tombstones of past Colts. He also saved the Miami Hurricanes, his college team, from the oblivion of probation, but when he signed his NFL contract, he was handsomely paid for his services. Despite his affinity for gold as evidenced by his gold teeth and gold chains, it was the Indianapolis Colts that struck the “mother lode” when they drafted and signed him.
Julie James, the mother of Edgerrin James, said this about his financial maturity, as told to the book’s author, John Harris: “‘One thing about my mom, m-o-n-e-y meant a lot to her, okay?’ She drilled that into his head about making money. She said there’s so many ways that you can make money legal. He listened to her.”
“Nana” must have been onto something because Harris also wrote in the book: “Despite languishing below the national radar and performing in the shadow of Heisman Trophy winner and fellow running back Ricky Williams, James was the surprise and unpopular No. 4 overall selection by the Indianapolis Colts; one pick ahead of Williams, his college albatross. Not only did the Colts, who targeted a running back in the draft, pass over Williams to grab James (to the dismay of their fans and local media covering the team), but rewarded him with a seven-year, $49.5 million contract, the highest pact given to a rookie running back in NFL history. In his first year alone, James netted $14.8 million, a rookie record regardless of position.”
One of the most genuine things about Edgerrin James was his respect for great teams and competition. He had the following to say about the Pittsburgh Steelers who provided stiff competition for the Colts during the beginning of the new millennium. “When we played the Steelers in the 2005 playoffs, whoever won that game was going to the Super Bowl. That was the real Super Bowl. The league’s two best teams played in that game. The thing you take away from that game is the good teams know how to win and the bad teams find a way to lose. That’s where experience came in. That’s where the Steelers, with their experience, came in. They’d be in that situation over and over again. We didn’t answer the bell at that moment. It’s not that we played bad. We just didn’t capitalize on opportunities.”
If you’re wondering, the Steelers won that Jan. 15, 2006, playoff game over the Colts, 21-18. A few weeks later, the Steelers won their fifth Super Bowl by defeating the Seattle Seahawks.
Eventually, Edgerrin James left Indianapolis to play for the Arizona Cardinals. But the youth and inexperience of the newly hired Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt was on full display. He pointed out an incident of callousness regarding Whisenhunt when he approached his head coach concerning a serious family health matter. “I had a lot on my mind in Arizona. I ran for 1,000 yards my first two seasons and went to the Super Bowl my third year there. But I clashed with (Ken) Whisenhunt. At the time, during the 2008 season, my kids’ mom was going through leukemia. Because of that, I was dealing with a lot of things off the field. After Week 6, we had a bye week. So I go to coach and I’m like, `I’ve got to take care of some family stuff.’ He told me, `If you’re not back here tomorrow, you’re going to be benched.’ I had so much influence around here, and that’s how they treat me? They didn’t know how to go about dealing with somebody like myself. I had all this stuff going on with my kids’ mom and my kids. I don’t got time to play games. It’s not like I was asking to go on vacation or something. I had real-life things to deal with. After that, it kind of went downhill from there.”
At this juncture, the Edgerrin James/Arizona Cardinals association was clearly in serious jeopardy. His longtime girlfriend, the mother of his children, Andia Denise Wilson, died of cancer in April 2009, at age 30. After this, he asked for his release from the team, and the Cardinals honored his request on April 28, 2009, only a few months after he appeared in his first Super Bowl, when the Steelers beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
James officially retired from the NFL in 2011 at age 32. Today, he ranks at No. 13 in the NFL’s all-time rushing leaders, quite the accomplishment. He finished with 12,246 regular season rushing yards in 11 seasons.
When it was all over, Edgerrin James had this to say, from the book: “And to all those who have been judged prematurely because of their appearance, the way they speak, where they come from and in the minds of many should be locked up in prison, I represent us. I’m forever immortalized, locked up in the Canton Correctional Institution. Inmate No. 3-3-6 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame! My career started with gold teeth and ended with this Gold Jacket!”
Edgerrin James has not only been bestowed with the title of NFL Hall-of-Famer; he has also earned the title of a humanitarian hall-of-famer.