As the self-proclaimed Huckleberry Finn of Woodbury, New Jersey, who would have guessed that James Wright's life would take him through sports, college, and into the FBI. He spent a carefree childhood roaming the rivers and woods of Woodbury with his dog, Golly. Those rivers, lakes and woods were his Mississippi River. His love for sports led him into another world.
What a great day it was - a boy and his dad going to a baseball game together. Next came his wrestling days during high school and college. All of these experiences gave him the self-discipline that he would need later in life. He thought that teaching and coaching would be his life's work, but quite unexpectedly, he ended up in the FBI.
He was privileged to work some of the Bureau's highest profile cases such as the Patty Hearst kidnapping, Jim Jones and the People's Temple mass suicide, the Unabomber, the Chowchilla kidnapping of twenty-six children, and many more cases. He's had a great life with many wonderful memories, but the icing on the cake was his induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American. He is proud to be an American and this is his story