Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 15th 1956 Jim Cunningham played a single game in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers. After a season of collegiate hockey with the Michigan State Spartans, Cunningham inked a deal with the Flyers in September of 1977.
During his first season with the Flyers organization Cunningham, a left-winger, was summoned by the big club for a single game. Though he didn't score in his only game he recorded four penalty minutes and was a plus one.
Cunningham played hockey for three more seasons spent primarily with the Maine Mariners, the American Hockey League farm team of the Flyers. Jim Cunningham retired from hockey in 1981.