Luke James joined the club's centre of excellence at the age of 11 and made excellent progress. He had made just sixteen starts for the youth team before being offered a professional contract shortly before his 17th birthday. Micky Barron handed the talented youngster his league debut in December 2011 during his short stint as caretaker manager between the dismissal of Mick Wadsworth and the appointment of Neale Cooper. A few weeks later, James wrote his name into the club's history books when he became the youngest player to score a league goal with a stunning strike against Rochdale. The goal was voted the best of the 2011/12 season by the supporters. 2012 was a difficult year at times for James as he struggled physically with the demands of playing regular professional football while still reaching his full growth. He made just four league starts in his second season though he did also feature a number of times as a substitute. He scored three goals, and impressed neutral observers enough to voted the League One Apprentice of the Year for the 2012/13 season, though the club was relegated after six seasons in League One. The first season back in League Two was a disappointing one for the team but another good one for James, and he finished top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions. He put pen to paper on a new contract in the summer of 2014, but this did not deter potential suitors, with Peterborough United testing the water with a bid in August 2014. Though this approach was rejected, James was clearly interested in leaving and he eventually got his wish a few weeks later. This would not be the last that Pools fans would see of the young forward. James had a spell back at the Vic on loan from Posh in 2015, and then he rejoined the club on a longer term deal in the summer of 2018. He was a regular for the next 18 months before injuring his groin in an FA Cup tie against Exeter in December 2019, just as he was enjoying a rich run of form. The injury would end James' participation in a season that was itself cut short in March by a coronavirus outbreak. Four months later James was on his way again, turning down a new deal at Pools in favour of joining Barrow, who had just returned to the Football League after an absence of almost 50 years.