James Stubbs was one of Port Adelaide’s longest serving pre-war players, playing with the ‘Seasiders’ from 1908 to 1914, with the exception of the 1912 season when he played for the Adelaide club. He was born in Birkenhead on the Wirral and worked as an electrical linesman. Stubbs was a right winger and played in Port’s 1911 league championship side. Port had two very strong teams, their reserve team also winning their league that year. This may have prompted him to try another club and he turned out for Adelaide in 1912 – the City club won the Cambridge Cup but Stubbs was absent for the final, a 2-1 win over Tandanya. He was selected for the SA state team that travelled to Western Australia in 1910, playing in all five games.
He enlisted in the AIF as early as 9 August 1914. He had experience with the RAMC in England so was posted to the 3rd Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps. He served at Gallipoli and in Egypt and France with this unit. Promoted to sergeant immediately, Stubbs was a Warrant Officer by 1917 and became an “Honorary Lieutenant” soon afterwards. On 9 April 1917 he was “Mentioned in Despatches”.
James Stubbs was discharged from the AIF in March 1919 and married Katie Hutton in Adelaide in July 1919.