Harry Wright

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Harry Wright bigraphy, stories - Major League Baseball player, manager

Harry Wright : biography

January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895

William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball’s first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. It was there where he is credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters’ tendencies. For his contributions as a manager and developer of the game, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952 by the Veterans Committee. Wright was also the first to make baseball into a business by paying his players up to seven times the pay of the average working man.

Boston

The National Association years

From an invitation in 1870 by Ivers Whitney Adams, the founder and President of the Boston Red Stockings, Wright moved from managing the "Cincinnati Red Stockings" to work professionally with the first-ever base ball team in Boston, the "Boston Red Stockings". The team was to play in the newly-formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, now known more often as simply the National Association.

The Red Stockings finished third in the NA’s inaugural season. Wright, now 36 years old and the second-oldest player in the league, was the team’s regular center fielder, playing 30 of the team’s 31 games at that position. He also pitched in nine games in relief of Albert Spalding, notching one win.

In 1872, the Red Stockings won its first championship, beating the Baltimore Canaries by 7½ games. They won again the next season, finishing four games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics.

1874 turned out to be Wright’s last year as the team’s regular center fielder. He had been the oldest player in the NA for three years running. It was also his third straight championship as manager. That year, he organized what turned out to be a fairly disastrous attempt to take baseball back home to the British Isles.

In 1875, the final year of the NA, the Red Stockings were an amazing 71-8, finishing a full 15 games ahead of the Athletics. Wright, now the oldest player in the league, continued to play regularly in center field for Boston until 1874. After that, he played in just three more games, one in each of the next three seasons.

The National League years

In 1876, the Boston club joined the new National League. They became the "Red Caps" now, in deference to the resurrected Red Stockings name for the new Cincinnati Club. Although they once again stumbled in their first year in a new league, finishing fourth in 1876, they went on to win two more pennants in the following two seasons with Wright at the helm. The team finished second in 1879, but then slipped badly, finishing sixth in the next two seasons, which wound up being Wright’s last two seasons in Boston.

Death

Wright died of a lung ailment on October 3, 1895 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, just short of 60 years old. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Wright was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2005. His brother George Wright is also a member of both Halls; a third brother, Sam, also played professionally.

Managerial overview

In 23 seasons of managing in the National Association and National League, Wright’s teams won six league championships (1872–1875, 1877, 1878). They finished second on three other occasions, and never finished lower than sixth. Wright finished his managerial career with 1225 wins and 885 losses for a .581 winning percentage.

After Boston

Providence

After leaving the Red Caps, Wright quickly picked up with the Providence Grays, one of the stronger NL teams of the era. In 1882, his first season as Grays manager, the team finished in second place, just three games behind the powerful Chicago White Stockings led by Cap Anson. The team dropped to third the following year, and Wright moved on again.