James L. Wilson
Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame
We celebrate the induction of James L. Wilson into the Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame. His lifelong association with American Football has been a story of work ethic, discipline and a love for the game. He is the husband of Patricia ‘Kitty’ Conley Wilson, his childhood sweetheart from a youth spent in Huntsville, Alabama. He is the father of three children: Adriane Wilson Massey, Shannon Wilson Rivers and Melinda Wilson Ramey. He is grandfather to Jordan Rivers, Jackson Rivers and Eden Ramey.
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
James Lewis Wilson was a 1967 graduate of Butler High School. He was a two-year letterman in football and track, and became a star on the football team. In an era of desegregation in Alabama public schools, he was unifying figure.
S. R. Butler High School was a four-year public high school in Huntsville, Alabama. It opened in 1951 and closed in 2015. The school was named after Samuel Riley Butler, a principal, school superintendent, and school founder.
COLLEGE CAREER
James became a star tight end at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), where he was a four-year letterman.
His senior year, he was voted the team's MVP and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Conference team.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
His NFL dreams dashed by industry, James went to work for Ford Motor Company shortly after graduation in 1972. He led regional sales for the heavy truck division, in Louisville, Dallas, and Memphis.
He managed the relationships with FedEx and other major customers, and stayed with Ford for the next 34 years.
NFL, NCAA, AND SEC OFFICIATING
While at Ford Motor Company, James Lewis Wilson remained deeply connected to American Football through officiating. He began at the high school level. After mastering the fundamentals, he began officiating at the NCAA college-level.
Working increasingly high profile games, he earned a coveted spot officiating games in the SEC (SouthEastern Conference). James worked his way up, and was soon officiating the biggest games in the most competitive conference at the college level. He became a regular working the Alabama versus Tennessee rivalry, one of the largest audiences in American football. He served as an on-the-field official for 13 years (1985-97) in the SEC.
His work in the SEC led to an opportunity with the NFL. James quickly established himself on-the-field, officiating games of increasingly importance to the league. James enjoyed an outstanding career as on-the-field Line Judge and other positions from 1998 until 2003.
After his years on the field, he became an Official Observer. NFL Official Game Observers served as a liaison at the game site between the officiating crew, media, network TV, game operations personnel, and team executives. The NFL discontinued the Official Observer Program in 2014.