Everton Wallace joined Everton's youth academy at 13, before joining the reserves and ultimately progressing to the senior squad. He made his competitive debut for Everton against
Sigma Olomouc in the
UEFA Europa League in August 2009, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw in
Olomouc. It was to be Wallace's only first-team appearance of the
2009–10 campaign, as he was sidelined later that year with a double hernia problem that subsequently kept him out of action until 2010. After making no first-team appearance at the start of Everton's
2010–11 season, Wallace joined
Bury on a one-month loan deal in November 2010. Wallace made no further appearances for Bury during his one-month loan spell due to the
adverse weather conditions that resulted in a spate of postponements throughout December 2010, and the player returned to his parent club shortly before the start of 2011. In February 2011, Wallace was loaned out, this time joining relegation threatened
League Two side
Stockport County, with the deal running for a month. He made a scoring debut for Stockport in a game against
Macclesfield Town, scoring the opening goal of the game with a "superb 25-yard strike", although the club went on to lose the match 4–1. Wallace played in five games during his loan spell as Stockport had a brief up-turn in form, and the loan deal was later extended to the end of the
2010–11 season. Towards the latter stages of the campaign, Wallace was made Stockport captain, and made a total of 14 appearances during his three-month spell with the club, scoring one goal. Wallace did not feature in any of Everton's pre-season fixtures ahead of the
2011–12 campaign, and was again a regular for the club's reserve side at the start of the season. After making no first-team appearances, Wallace signed for League Two side Shrewsbury Town on 3 November 2011, joining the club on a month's loan. As a result of the red card, Wallace missed Shrewsbury's three next games. Wallaces loan spell was extended for a further month on at the end of November, with Turner stating – "We want to see more of him. He wants to see more of us". Wallace only made one further appearance for Shrewsbury, but despite only playing three times for the club in the space of two months due to the three-match suspension and injury problems, Turner stated a desire to renew the loan deal for a third time – "Wallace hasn't had the best time here – he's only played about 40 minutes in his two months with us due to not being able to play in the FA Cup, suspension and injuries. I want him to get back to Everton get his injury cleared up, and we'll take it on from there". Following Stevenage manager
Graham Westley's departure to
Preston North End, Wallace's loan spell at Stevenage was cancelled by mutual consent on two weeks later, with the player having made no first-team appearances for the club. Three days after leaving Stevenage, Wallace signed a one-month loan deal with
Tranmere Rovers, making his debut two days later in a 2–1 away defeat to
Bournemouth. In February 2012, Tranmere extended Wallace's loan deal a further month, before Wallace scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over
Rochdale in March.
Tranmere Rovers At the end of the season, Wallace was linked with clubs in the Championship and League One, but joined
Tranmere Rovers on a permanent basis. His move delighted manager
Ronnie Moore, who said, ''"I'm delighted that James will be returning to the club as we were really keen to sign him. He was fantastic for us last season and played a big part in our climb up the table; he's got bags of energy, tackles well, can pick out a pass and has goals in him too. He's turned down some big clubs to come to us, which shows how much he enjoyed it here last season. It's a big signing for the club, and I think we've got a very good player on our hands. He's a leader, a talker and he'll make an excellent captain for the club."'' Wallace's time at the Blades was blighted by injuries which hampered his spell at the club.
Shrewsbury Town (loan) Wallace joined
Shrewsbury Town on loan until the end of the season in January 2016, linking up once again with the club he had a brief spell with in 2011. He was sidelined for a lengthy period after picking up a knee injury in a league match against
Southend United the following month, making a total of eight appearances in all competitions before his loan expired in May.
Return to Tranmere Rovers Wallace re-joined
Tranmere Rovers on an initial short-term loan deal on 28 November 2016. He rejoined the club on a permanent basis in January 2017, signing an 18-month contract.
Fleetwood Town When Wallace did not agree a new contract with Tranmere, he was snapped up by
League One side
Fleetwood Town. ==Later career==