John Henry James (June 20, 1881 - October 16, 1947) was an American football quarterback and manufacturer.

He was the starting quarterback for Michigan's undefeated, national championship 1903 "Point-a-Minute" football team that outscored opponents 565 to 6.

[4] With only eight veterans returning, team captain Curtis Redden wrote that "[n]o season in the history of Michigan football has opened with a gloomier outlook" than that of 1903.

Before a key game against Wisconsin, rumors spread that Yost was considering replacing James with Fred Norcross.

At a rally the night before the Wisconsin game, Yost was asked directly whether he would keep James, whose wrist was bound in a splint, at quarterback.

[11] The night before the game, Yost revealed that James had won the quarterback job over Norcross.

[12] James started and played the entire Chicago game, leading the team to a 28–0 victory.

"[14] The Detroit Free Press called it "the most severe drubbing ever administered to the Maroons in the history of football of that institution.

It was a difficult task to set any man -- that of filling the key position in the team acceptable to those who were demanding another Weeks.

James kept pluckily at his work, unmindful of adverse criticism, and in the culmination of the season, his generalship and backfield tackling were first-rate.

[19] At time of the 1910 Census, he was living with his wife Mary, his mother-in-law, infant daughter Jane E. (5 months), and a servant at the Brown house at 709 Cass Avenue in Detroit.

[22] By April 1913, the company increased its capital to $100,000 and announced plans to expand its plant and erect additional buildings.