Emmett Wright Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1926. He attended North Fulton High School and upon graduation, enlisted into the United States Naval Air Force where he worked in communications for two years. Following his service, he attended Furman University in Greenville, SC to study History.
While at Furman he met his future wife, Betty Wilson. Together they had two sons, James and Robert who ended up playing basketball for their dad years later. After graduation, Emmett continued his education at Emory University where he received his Masters Degree in History.
He began his teaching career at West Fulton High School as a history teacher and men’s basketball coach. Following West Fulton, Emmett taught and coached at Westminster Schools in Georgia until he landed a job teaching high school history at Woodberry Forest. He soon left to become the Headmaster at Metairie Park for four years.
In 1974 Emmett returned to Woodberry Forest School to become the Headmaster where he would remain until his retirement in 1991. Today, Emmett enjoys quail hunting, golfing, and smoking cigars. His biggest accomplishments in life are coaching basketball (led his team to a state championship in 1967), and being named Head Master at Woodberry.