James Detrixhe
Year: '62
Team: Lehigh

      *JAMES DETRIXHE, Lehigh ’62 (“DEE-tricks”) Army Captain James Detrixhe died in Vietnam War combat on 2/24/66, nine days after being named company commander in the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry, First Air Cavalry Division. He was an aide to Gen. John Wright for 18 months before reassignment with the Airborne Rangers. Detrixhe entered the Army immediately after four years of ROTC at Lehigh. A cum laude Hill School graduate, Jim was senior class president and exceled at football. He became co-captain of one of Lehigh best-ever teams. A two-time EIWA champion (NCAA 4th at 177), his top win was 5-3 in Grace Hall vs. legendary NCAA champion and future Olympian, Wayne Baughman (“Bockman”), of Oklahoma (NCAA 2,1,2 at 77,91). 

      An extraordinary defensive wrestler, the points yielded by Detrixhe were three of just five given up in his last 14 duals. He’s Lehigh’s all-time leader on defense (1.44 pts/bout), ahead of Kirk Pendleton’s 1.75.  Jim retired 27-2 in duals, Lehigh’s 10th best win pct. His 39-7 career record featured 23 shutouts, including his last four bouts at Easterns, and four vs. All-Americans. Jim beat seven All-American wrestlers, three of them NCAA finalists. The Captain James B. Detrixhe Memorial Scholarship Fund remains in place today.