.jpg) Wright in 1961 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ambrose Wright | ||
| Date of birth | (1924-02-06)6 February 1924 | ||
| Place of birth | Ironbridge,Shropshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 3 September 1994(1994-09-03) (aged 70) | ||
| Place of death | London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1939–1959 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 490 | (13) |
| International career | |||
| 1948 | England B | 1 | (1) |
| 1946–1959 | England | 105 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1962–1966 | Arsenal | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Ambrose WrightCBE (6 February 1924 – 3 September 1994) was an Englishfootballer who played as acentre-back. He spent his entire club career atWolverhampton Wanderers. The first footballer in the world to earn100 international caps, Wright also held the record for longest unbroken run in competitive international football, with 70 consecutive appearances,[2] although that was surpassed byAndoni Zubizarreta's 86 consecutive appearances forSpain (1985–94).[3] He also made a total of 105 appearances forEngland, captaining them arecord 90 times, including during their campaigns at the1950,1954 and1958World Cup finals.[4]
Wright was born at 33 Belmont Road,[5]Ironbridge,Shropshire, his father Thomas was a worker at theCoalbrookdale Company ironworks. He was educated at Madeley Wood Methodist School andMadeley Modern School, playing in the teams of both schools.[6]
After playing during March–April that year forCradley Heath in a dual player-groundsman role,[6] Wright's association withWolverhampton Wanderers began in 1938 when, after being encouraged by his school teacher to respond to a newspaper advertisement inviting boys for trials,[5] he was taken on as a member of their ground staff. He was only 14 years old when he made his debut for Wolves for the B team game againstWalsall Wood in the Walsall Minor League.[7]
Wright had been accepted on an eight-month trial byMajor Frank Buckley, who had initially told Billy that he was "too small" to be taken on.[5] In early September 1939 League and Cup football was suspended due to the outbreak ofWorld War II.
On 23 September 1939 Wright, who was then fifteen, played his first match for the Wolves senior side in a friendly againstWest Bromwich Albion. Wolves beat theBaggies 5–3 in front of 5,000 fans atThe Hawthorns.[7] Along with Wolves team-mate Jimmy Mullen, Billy also played as a guest forLeicester City,[8] playing as both a forward and a defender before he returned toMolineux in 1942. A broken ankle put his career in doubt but he recovered and joined the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry in 1943, serving as a Physical Training Instructor.[8] Wright played for Wolves whenever possible and made over 100 appearances for Wolves in wartime football.
Wright made his official debut for Wolves in January 1946 against Lovells Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup. He became club captain soon after and with Wright leading the team, Wolves won theFirst Division title three times (1953–54,1957–58 and1958–59) as well as theFA Cup in1949. He was a virtual ever-present, missing only 31 games for Wolves during the 1950s. He retired from playing in April 1959.[7]
Wright's performances for club saw him earn a call-up to theEngland team. His full debut came on 28 September 1946 in a thumping 7–2 win againstIreland. He was made captain in 1948, a role he held for 90 games until his retirement (an all-time record shared subsequently withBobby Moore). In 1952, with his 42nd cap, he surpassedBob Crompton's appearance record for England, which had stood since 1914. In total, he made 70 consecutive full international appearances with 105 in all, scoring three times. He was also the first footballer in the world to earn100 caps,[7] reaching the landmark in a 1–0 victory overScotland atWembley on 11 April 1959.[9] It was more than a decade before his record was broken by another player,Bobby Charlton.
More than 60 years later, just eight other players have made more appearances for the England side than Wright.[10][11][12]
Wright became manager of England's youth team in 1960, and was initially chosen as assistant manager of the senior side byWalter Winterbottom ahead of the1962 FIFA World Cup,[13] before turning down the role after being appointed manager ofArsenal in 1962, replacingGeorge Swindin. Initially Arsenal started strongly under Wright, finishing seventh in1962–63 andqualifying for Europe for the first time in their history, but failed to build on this. Wright enjoyed mixed success with his signings, who included successes such asBob Wilson,Joe Baker andFrank McLintock, but also less successful players such asIan Ure.
Arsenal were unable to improve on their seventh in Wright's first season in charge, and their form gradually declined. Wright won only 38.46% of his matches in charge, the lowest rate for anypost-war Arsenal manager (caretaker managers excepted). After a poor1965–66 season – where Arsenal finished 14th and were knocked out of theFA Cup byBlackburn Rovers (who finished bottom of theFirst Division) — Wright was dismissed by the Arsenal board in the summer of 1966.
Football writerBrian Glanville, discussing Billy Wright's time at Arsenal, wrote: "he had neither the guile nor the authority to make things work and he reacted almost childishly to criticism".[14]
Wright was a minor media personality, and his marriage to Joy Beverley of theBeverley Sisters occurred at a time long before the era of footballers being known for having celebrity girlfriends. This was in July 1958, by which time Wright was 34, and proved one of the most successful showbiz marriages.[15]
After leaving Arsenal, Wright successfully overcame alcoholism and he later became a television pundit and Head of Sport forATV andCentral Television, before retiring in 1989. The following year, he joined the board of directors atWolverhampton Wanderers as part of the takeover bySir Jack Hayward.[4]
On 7 August 1993, he presented Manchester United with theFA Charity Shield, which they won on penalties againstArsenal atWembley Stadium.[16] On 7 December that year he was present for the friendly game againstHonved of Hungary which commemorated the re-opening ofMolineux as a rebuilt 28,525-seat stadium. The redevelopment saw three new stands built at the stadium in the space of two years, with the one replacing the Waterloo Road Stand being designated the Billy Wright Stand.[17]
Wright was the subject ofThis Is Your Life on two occasions: in May 1961 when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews at the EMI Studios in London's St John's Wood,[citation needed] and in January 1990, whenMichael Aspel surprised him at Thames Television's Teddington Studios.[citation needed] Wright went on to be appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire on 13 June 1959.[11]
Wright died frompancreatic cancer on 3 September 1994, aged 70, having been diagnosed with the illness earlier in the year. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on the pitch at Molineux.
In 2009, English football agentBryan Yeubrey began a public campaign to obtain a posthumous knighthood for Wright. The campaign received support from several thousand fans and many former professional players.[4][18]
In 2008,Midland Metro named anAnsaldoBreda T-69 tram in his honour.[19][20]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Individual
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