Whether you called him Ed Moe or EggMo, James Wright Jr. was a character.
He was a tried-and-true Carver Tiger, wrestling in the 105-pound weight class back in the day. He was a frequent caller to local sports radio shows, including Bobby Z's Pressbox on the local ESPN affiliate, 95.7. He pulled the chains on the sidelines at local high school football games. He rode a bicycle everywhere he went because it was his only mode of transportation.
"He was a teenager in a 51-year-old body," said Bobby "Bobby Z" Wroblewski.
Last Thursday, Wright was killed near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Radcliff Avenue when he switched lanes while riding his bike and pulled in front of a car.
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The news of Wright's death stung.
Bobby Z cried when he found out.
Former Carver High, University of Georgia and NFL player Daryll Jones was a senior at Carver when Wright was a sophomore. DJ -- as he is known -- was "devastated like everyone who knew and loved him" when he heard.
Since Dec. 8, 2011, Bobby Z has been hosting his show. Ed Moe showed up the first week and kept coming back for more.
Bobby Z welcomed it.
"I couldn't script the guy," Bobby Z said.
For a man raised in Carver Heights just below the high school, Ed Moe loved the New England Patriots -- and he loved his boy, Tom Brady.
How does that happen? Not sure, but it did not go unnoticed when Bobby Z posted news of Ed Moe's death on Facebook last week.
"As a Boston native living in Columbus, GA," Melvin Coleman posted, "it was awesome hearing someone from outside New England always talk about loving TB. He was the best hands down! Ed Mo Brady!"
That is how folks listening to Bobby Z's show knew Wright -- Ed Moe Brady.
He was frequently the last caller just before the show ended at 7 p.m. It didn't take much for Bobby Z to get Ed Moe going about the sports happenings of the day.
"All I would say is 'drive us home, Ed Moe,'" said Bobby Z.
And Ed Moe would, capping off the current sports events like a sportscaster would call it.
"As crazy as his calls were, there was no doubt he knew his stuff," Bobby Z said.
One time Bobby Z was doing the show on location at a Columbus Park Crossing restaurant. Just after the show ended, Ed Moe came through the door.
"He had ridden his bike from Carver High all the way to north Columbus," Bobby Z said. "He told me had a flat. I couldn't believe he rode his bike from Carver."
Ed Moe told Bobby Z he could sure use a hamburger.
"I bought the man a hamburger," Bobby Z said.
While Bobby Z and his listeners knew Wright as Ed Moe, Jones and his Carver High classmates knew him as "EggMo."
"I don't know why we called him EggMo," DJ said. "Everybody knew EggMo. He grew up as one of us in Carver Heights."
Bobby Z did not find out he had been calling Wright the wrong name until after Wright died.
Ed Moe. EggMo. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, Wright had them talking.
Chuck Williams, senior reporter, chwilliams@ledger-enquirer.com
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