James William Duncan (July 1, 1871 – October 16, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player.

[1] He was picked up by the National League's Washington Senators in July 1899; but after batting just .234 in 14 games, he was released.

He then played the rest of the season for the worst major league team in history, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

Two years later at the age of 30, Duncan drowned during a fishing trip on October 16, 1901, in Foxburg, Pennsylvania.

"[2] He was buried in Grove Hill Cemetery in Oil City, Pennsylvania.