Big Jim McCrimmon played for his hometown Ponoka Stampeders before making the jump to major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1970-71. He played with the club for three seasons and in with others such as Tom Lysiak and Lanny McDonald helped the team advance to the 1973 Memorial Cup in Montreal but were ousted in the semifinals by the Quebec Remparts who in turn were humbled 9-1 in the final by the Toronto Marlboros.
McCrimmon was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in round four of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, 54th overall. He was also picked by Edmonton in the WHA draft, and with the upstart league dishing out large-salaried contracts, that seemed like the better option for McCrimmon at the time. He played two years with the Oilers. In the meantime, the St. Louis Blues obtained his NHL playing rights from Los Angeles in March, 1975 in exchange for cash. He played just two games for the Blues but was released. That was the extent of his NHL career. McCrimmon returned to the WHA, playing five games with the Calgary Cowboys but he was unable to stick with the team. He played two more years of semi-pro hockey before retiring at the end of the 1977-78 season.
