James William Gilliam was nicknamed "Junior" during his time playing Negro League Baseball with the Baltimore Elite Giants where he was voted an All-Star three straight years between 1948 and 1950. In 1951 he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to play in Canada for their International League farm team, the Montreal Royals. Gilliam made his debut with the Dodgers in 1953 and earned National League Rookie of the Year honors as well as The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. Gilliam went on to star with the team in Brooklyn, New York as well as after their 1958 move to Los Angeles, California. Gilliam retired in 1966 after fourteen seasons in the major leagues, all with the Dodgers.
Junior Gilliam coached in Los Angeles until his unexpected passing from a brain hemorrhage in 1978. He is interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Gilliam's uniform number 19 was retired by the Dodgers
