Angela James is a former Canadian ice hockey player who played at the highest levels of senior hockey between 1980 and 2000. She was a member of numerous teams in the Central Ontario Women’s Hockey League (COWHL) from its founding in 1980 until 1998, finishing her career in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). She was named her league’s most valuable player six times. James is also a certified referee in Canada and a coach.

Internationally, James played in the first women’s world championship, a 1987 tournament that was unsanctioned. She played with Team Canada in the first IIHF World Women’s Championship in 1990, setting a scoring record of 11 goals and leading Canada to the gold medal. She played in three additional world championships, winning gold medals in 1992, 1994 and 1997.

Considered the first superstar of modern women’s ice hockey, James has been honoured by numerous halls of fame. She was one of the first three women inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and one of the first two inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. She was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. James was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2021.

As of 2022, James serves as co-owner of and General Manager for the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation and the Senior Sports Coordinator at Seneca College in Toronto.

James has been called “the first superstar of modern women’s hockey” and has been hailed as a pioneer who brought the women’s game into the mainstream. Longtime women’s hockey administrator Fran Rider stated that James brought credibility, without which the women’s game would never have gained recognition as an Olympic sport.

An eight-time scoring champion and six-time most valuable player during her senior career, James has been honoured by several organizations. She was named Toronto’s Youth of the Year in 1985 and was presented with the city’s Women in Sport Enhancement Award in 1992. Hockey Canada named her the 2005 recipient of its Female Hockey Breakthrough Award. The Flemingdon Park arena was renamed the Angela James Arena in 2009, and the Canadian Women’s Hockey League presents the Angela James Bowl to its leading scorer each season. She has been inducted into several Halls of Fame, including the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Black Hockey and Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Reflecting on her role as a pioneer of the sport, James was one of the first three women, along with Geraldine Heaney and Cammi Granato, to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. They were enshrined in 2008 as part of the IIHF’s 100th-anniversary celebrations. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame hailed James as a role model upon inducting her in 2009. One year later, she joined Granato as the first two women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. James described being informed of her election as a day she never thought would happen, adding: “I’m really honoured to represent the female hockey players from all over the world.”