Following his minor hockey and lacrosse career Jim attended Cornell University in Ithaca New York (1969-72) on a combined hockey and lacrosse scholarship. He was named to the second All-Star team in the 1971-2 hockey season.
Following graduation he joined the Detroit Red Wing hockey organization playing the 1972-3 season with the Port Huron Wings of the International Hockey League (IHL) and then moving to the Virginia Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played the 1973-4 season with the Baltimore Clippers of the AHL and then back to the Port Huron Wings of the IHL.
In lacrosse Jim was the captain of the celebrated Oshawa Green Gaels that won six consecutive Minto Cups (1964-69). He won the Minto Cup MVP three times (1965, 1968, and 1969). He played senior lacrosse in the OLA for Huntsville (1970), Brooklin (1971) and Windsor (1972).
The professional National Lacrosse League (NLL) started in 1974 and Jim played for the Syracuse Stingers in 1974-5 and the Quebec Caribous in 1975-6, amassing 90 goals and 154 assists for 244 points in 72 games. The NLL folded in 1976 after two seasons