Jim Craig found success at the University of Iowa during the late 1950s under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Dave McCuskey.

As a junior, Craig placed third at the NCAA tournament in 1958. The following season, he won the NCAA tournament with a 6-5 win in the championship finals at 177 pounds. He placed second at the Iowa state high school tournament.

Coached at Britt, Iowa where his teams won a state championship and had a runner-up finish. Began coaching at Oak Lawn High School in Oaklawn, Illinois in 1963, where he remained until his retirement in 1974. His 1974 team finished second in the state and he coached six state place-winners and two state champions.

After retiring as a coach, Craig remained active in wrestling as an official. He worked numerous regional and sectional tournaments as well as the Illinois high school state championships, the IKWF state championships, the Prairie State Games and the Midlands. He was named Official of the Year by the South Inter-Conference Association.

Craig served in virtually every capacity for the Illinois Wrestling Federation, the Oak Lawn International Wrestling Club and the Oak Lawn Park District wrestling program. Served as the event coordinator for the 1983 Junior World Freestyle Championship, the 1986 Senior World Greco-Roman Championships and the 1994 Cadet World Championships. Craig was the assistant competition director for the 1995 Senior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships and the 1996 Olympic Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia. He received the FILA Silver Medal award in 1995 and was competition manager for USA Wrestling's World Dual Championships in 1998.

A 1987 inductee into the IWCOA Hall of Fame, he later served as a member of the IWCOA's Hall of Fame selection committee. Craig was the grand marshal for the IHSA state finals in 1996 and received a Lifetime Achievement award from the IWCOA in 2002.

Coach Craig continued to coach all the way until his passing in 2017.

He was the assistant head coach at Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights, Illinois from 1993 to his actual retirement in February of 2017 at age 80.