James “Jim Wright Jr.
Inducted: 1993
Hometown: Edinburg
High School: Edinburg High School
College: Texas A&M University
Best Known for: Athlete – Football
b. December 12, 1935
A flashy quarterback with a penchant for the big play, Wright led Edinburg High School to a huge upset in the playoffs over No. 1 San Antonio Edison in 1953, and later went on to some awesome highlights at Texas A&M University under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Wright passed for more 1,000 yards his senior year to lead the Bobcats to the second round of the playoffs. His late touchdown run beat Harlingen and he threw a daring TD pass in the fourth period to defeat McAllen High.
Highly recruited, Wright settled on Texas A&M University, where he played from 1954 to 1957. In 1955, Texas A&M whipped TCU with a TD pass in the closing seconds, later leading the Aggies to a thrilling comeback win over Rice, putting 20 points on the board in the final 4:31.
In the movie “Junction Boys,” author Jim Dent wrote that Wright “threw tight spirals that hit receivers between the numbers like slugs from a .44 revolver.”
He coached for 13 years as an assistant coach at the collegiate level at Texas Tech, Mississippi State and Tennessee. He got his only collegiate head coaching job at Wichita State University, where he led the Shockers to a 17-31-1 record in four seasons.