Alexander Deighton Wright (11 December 1930 – 12 January 2000) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Early life

Alex Wright was born at his mother's family home in Elmfoot Street, Oatlands. His parents married in 1929 at St Francis RC Church in

Hutchesontown Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central ward under Glasgow ...

, Glasgow, and he was an only child. By the time he started school his parents had moved to McLean Street,

Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book 1 ...

, and his father was exhibiting symptoms of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. Wright was initially enrolled in the elementary class at the closest school to his home, Lorne Street School, but after five months transferred to Kinning Park's RC primary school, Our Lady and St Margaret's in Stanley Street. His father's health continued to deteriorate and circumstances dictated that Wright attend the nearest secondary school to his home; Lambhill Street School, Kinning Park, instead of accepting a place in senior secondary education at St Gerard’s in Govan. Wright himself was hospitalised with tuberculosis before leaving school and entering an apprenticeship as optical engineer. Until the age of 17, he played juvenile football with highly regarded Avon Villa at the

Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

pitches in

. Before agreeing to join

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

, Wright had previously rejected interest from

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

due to his father's failing health.

Playing career

Partick Thistle

Provisionally signed by

at 17 and 'farmed out' to Ayrshire

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

side Dalry Thistle for season 1948–49, Wright played less than half a season, and only 11 games, for Dalry before being 'called up' to

Firhill Park Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...

.Robert Reid et al, Partick Thistle Football Club 1876–2002 The Official History, 2002 Expecting to play for Dalry the next day, Wright was summoned to Firhill on the evening of Friday 28 January 1949. Described in the Glasgow Evening Times as “brilliant” by Thistle's manager

David Meiklejohn David Ditchburn Meiklejohn (; 12 December 1900 – 22 August 1959) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Rangers and Scotland during the 1920s and 1930s. He later managed Partick Thistle for 12 years. Career Born in Govan, Gla ...

, he was asked to sign professional forms and told he would make his senior debut the following day. It was exactly seven weeks after his 18th birthday and he was fielded wearing the attacking number 8 shirt (inside-right) in front of a reported 60,000 fans in the Glasgow derby against

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...

. The game finished in a 2–2 draw, and Wright played in 7 of Thistle's remaining 10 league matches plus a home

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Queen of the South. He scored his first goal against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in October 1949 but thereafter experienced his first prolonged absence as his father finally died from the effects of multiple sclerosis in December 1949, aged only 41. Wright returned to the Thistle side in February 1950 and played in every game to the end of the season. Wright performed for Partick Thistle most of his playing career, being selected in four of the five forward positions (numbers 7 to 10), before converting to a more defensively minded

wing-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

position (numbers 4 and 6) later in his career. He even donned the goalkeeper's jersey on more than one occasion as an emergency measure during an era when injury substitutions were not yet permitted. His total statistics in all matches for Partick are given as 357 appearances and 91 goals. His appearances were restricted during seasons 1950–51, 1951–52 and 1952–53 as he fulfilled his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

with the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

in Germany. Despite this, and still no older than 21, he was flown home by Partick Thistle to play in important matches during this period. He was promoted to lance-corporal in the army and was captain of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

's select football team which also included future Scotland international goalkeeper

Tommy Younger Thomas Younger (10 April 1930 – 13 January 1984) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Hibernian, Liverpool, Falkirk, Leeds United, Stoke City and the Scotland national team. Career Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Younger s ...

. National Service completed, Wright began 1953–54 as a first-team regular at

Firhill Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...

and played 45 games in all competitions that season, scoring 24 goals. He appeared in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

Finals of

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, each of which ended in defeat, and in 1959 captained the Glasgow Select to a 5–1 victory in its annual challenge match against the Sheffield Select. Partick Thistle was one of the Scottish clubs to take part in an unofficial midweek 'British Floodlit League' over seasons 1955–56 and 1956–57; the fixtures were not all completed but Wright featured in the six matches played against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, scoring a 25-yard blockbuster in a 2–0 victory against Spurs at Firhill in November 1956 and being named man-of-the match. He also scored twice in an away friendly against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in December 1953. His leadership qualities were recognised by being appointed Thistle's captain for several seasons at a time when there were Scotland internationalists in the team. During his final season at Partick Thistle he played exclusively in the reserve side as a senior player / mentor. Seeing he was no longer part of the first-team plans at Firhill, Glasgow rivals

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

bid £8000 for his services - Partick rejected this offer before later accepting East Fife's £4000 payment for his transfer in May 1963.

East Fife

Wright subsequently played as an almost ever-present during season 1963–64 in the Second Division, for East Fife under manager

Jimmy Bonthrone James Bonthrone (16 June 1929 – 7 June 2008) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager. Born in Kinglassie, Fife, Bonthrone's playing career centred on his time with a successful East Fife team, although he also played f ...

, playing 41 league and cup matches and scoring 5 goals from his driving mid-field position. He was made captain by manager Bonthrone and led the Fifers to a League Cup quarter-final, where they held that season's treble-winning Rangers 1–1 at Bayview before losing narrowly 2–0 at Ibrox in the second-leg. In the League, East Fife finished fourth behind promoted sides

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

and Clyde, and were second-highest scorers after Morton with a total 92 league goals. This was the club's highest League finish in the six seasons since its relegation in 1958. In achieving this, Wright's side was the only team to defeat runaway champions Morton in the 36-game campaign – winning 3–1 at Bayview on 1 February – and ending the

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

side's record-breaking winning run of 25 league matches. The Fifers were also undefeated against Clyde, drawing 1–1 at Bayview and winning 3–1 at

Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...

. At the end of the season Wright decided to retire due to persistent knee injuries. He was 33. During his playing career, his appearance total and playing potential were disrupted by injuries. He suffered prolonged absences due to five knee cartilage surgeries as well as a toe amputation after it was crushed in a match.

Coaching & Managerial Career

Clyde & Partick Thistle

After retiring as a player, Wright immediately gained employment using his coaching certificates. He worked for part-time clubs

(throughout season 1964–65 under manager John Prentice) and

(from July 1965 until December 1966 under manager Willie Thornton). He was also the SFA appointed coach to Paisley & District Schools FA during this period. Having previously failed to sign him as a player, and being further impressed by Wright's performances against them in the Second Division for East Fife, Clyde employed Wright in the role of trainer/coach. The Shawfielders had fine attacking players such as Harry Hood,

Joe Gilroy Joseph Gilroy (born 19 October 1941) is a Scottish former association football, football Forward (association football), forward. Joe Gilroy began his career with Queens Park F.C., Queens Park, where at 16 years old he made 8 appearances alon ...

Alex Bryce Alex Bryce (1905–1961) was a British screenwriter, cinematographer and film director. Selected filmography Director * ''Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle'' (1935) * ''Wedding Group'' (1936) * '' Servants All'' (1936) * '' The Big Noise'' (19 ...

Sammy Reid Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. (1 ...

and

Jim McLean James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winni ...

, and Wright helped them finish 7th in the First Division on 40 points, a record haul for a promoted side. This prompted Partick Thistle to invite him back to Firhill as trainer/coach to the first team. In hindsight it can probably be seen that Thistle were beginning a downward slide towards relegation in 1970, however in 1965–66 they finished level with Clyde on 30 points.

St Mirren

Wright was appointed full-time

of St Mirren in December 1966, aged 35, on the recommendation of former Clyde and Scotland manager John Prentice whom St Mirren had initially approached for the role. As St Mirren's only other full-time employee was the groundsman, Wright was also responsible for the day-to-day administration of the part-time club; from answering the telephone and selling tickets, to compiling the match programme and ordering the match-day pies. In terms of his interaction with the players, however, he was St Mirren's first track-suit manager. St Mirren had flirted seriously with relegation throughout the early 1960s and eventually succumbed at the end of that 1966–67 season despite having 19-year-old

Archie Gemmill Archibald Gemmill (born 24 March 1947) is a Scottish former footballer. During his career, he won the European Cup and three English league titles, and captained his national side. Gemmill scored the third Scotland goal in a 3–2 win agai ...

in the side, but Wright guided them to promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. and with one of the division's best-ever performance records. Back in the top division, and operating with a small squad of semi-professional players, St Mirren sat in 3rd position behind Celtic and Rangers following a run of only 3 defeats (away to Aberdeen, Celtic and Dunfermline Athletic) in the opening 22 matches, racking up 30 points in the process; i.e. a 68% points haul. To have averaged even a point-per-game in the remaining fixtures would have comfortably broken the record points total for a promoted team achieved by his Clyde side 3 years earlier and ended St Mirren's season as high as 5th position. However, a sudden spate of injuries badly disrupted the small squad, leaving only 2 of the club's 16 players fit enough to play in every match to the end of the season. A meagre two draws was the eventual return from those 12 games, in which there were also 6 tight odd-goal defeats. Nevertheless, the side remained in contention for European qualification until its final home fixture such was quality of the first two-thirds of the campaign. Arguably the most notable result of Wright's time at St Mirren came against Rangers on 16 November 1968. Newly promoted Saints were the last remaining undefeated side in Britain after the opening ten league fixtures, while Rangers arrived at

Love Street "Love Street" is a song performed by the American rock band the Doors. Sequenced as the second album track on ''Waiting for the Sun'', its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his girlfriend ...

on the crest-of-a-wave with newly signed

Colin Stein Colin Anderson Stein (born 10 May 1947) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Hibernian, Rangers (two spells), Coventry City and Kilmarnock. Stein was part of the Rangers team that won the 1971–72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and he sco ...

having scored two successive League hat-tricks and a European double in his first three appearances. St Mirren won 1–0 in front of a reported 43,600, Love Street's largest attendance in two decades. Bridging these first two full seasons of Wright's time at St Mirren, his team went a calendar year and 34 consecutive league fixtures undefeated, from 18 November 1967 to 23 November 1968. During a similar period, St Mirren also went 38 competitive home games undefeated, from 2 September 1967 to 11 January 1969. Both of these runs remain as club records, as does the 16 consecutive league victories from 18 November 1967 to 30 March 1968. In 1969–70 season, the team suffered ‘ second season syndrome’, and results were extremely inconsistent with away form particularly poor, until a flurry of points in the final 10 fixtures ensured top division status. Behind the scenes, however, a reserve side had been resurrected and Wright's signing policy introduced three future full Scotland internationals to the club in addition to four others who would go on to play in European competition after leaving St Mirren. Season 1970–71 began with six teenagers making appearances in the side, including

Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland. Playing career Club McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...

Iain Munro Alexander Iain Fordyce Munro (born 24 August 1951) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. Playing career Munro was born in Uddingston and began his career at St Mirren making 103 league appearances for the Buddies in ...

, Bobby McKean and

Ally McLeod Alexander Hector McMillan McLeod (born 1 January 1951 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for many league clubs in Scotland and England. McLeod played for Renfrew Juniors, where he had been succes ...

. When he was approached to take over at Dunfermline Athletic in early October 1970 Wright's new-look Paisley side had won 8 points from an undefeated opening six league fixtures – against Rangers, Kilmarnock, Morton, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, and Hibernian (2 wins and 4 draws) – and were sitting comfortably in the top-half of the division. They were relegated at the end of the season.

Dunfermline Athletic

Wright was head-hunted to become manager of

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in October 1970, with the initial approach made by former Dunfermline manager

Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...

acting as intermediary. It was regarded as one of Scottish football's top club jobs outside of Celtic and Rangers, and Wright's full-time responsibilities centred solely on team matters, with an administrative staff in support. However, the Dunfermline team was in disarray. Despite having been

European Cup-Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

semi-finalists as recently as March 1969, it opened the 1970–71 season with 14 defeats, and only two draws, in 16 competitive matches. Indeed, over the club's most recent 34 major Scottish league and cup matches (the length of a league season) from playing Dundee United on 10 December 1969 to Motherwell on 17 October 1970, the equivalent of only 17 points had been gathered. Such a total would have meant relegation in almost any previous post-war season. In addition, several players had taken a stand against manager George Farm with Alex Edwards, Barrie Mitchell and Willie Renton (ironically Wright's former captain at St Mirren) refusing to return to training after the summer break. Renton was made a scapegoat and sacked, while the others were retained but stayed away from the club until meeting with Wright in October. Wright quickly settled the players' grievances and immediately improved results, winning points from 7 of the 10 remaining fixtures until the turn of the year (against Dundee United, Rangers, Morton, Dundee, Hibernian, Airdrieonians and Ayr United, culminating in 4–1 and 5–0 home victories). Dunfermline eventually avoided relegation on goal-difference following a dramatic final series of results in which the team again picked up points in 7 of the closing 10 fixtures. However, he held the managerial position at Dunfermline for little over half of the following season as the club revealed an extent of financial hardship which almost led to its demise. As the club's bank threatened closure, Wright was forced to sell his three most effective attacking players – Alex Edwards, Joe McBride and Pat Gardner – and field a team largely formed from the Club’s previous two seasons' youth squads. In addition, influential senior players Bert Paton and John Lunn were lost to serious injury and illness. To cap a catalogue of misfortune, Club Chairman Leonard Jack, the man behind Alex Wright's appointment as manager, collapsed and died from a heart attack as he fought to stave off the financial crisis. On the field, 3 wins, 7 draws, and the failure to avoid a succession of narrow defeats, left the team again in a precarious league position after 23 fixtures despite a defensive record bettered only by the top half-dozen clubs. Goal scoring was the principal problem; registering 6 blanks, and scoring more than one goal on only 3 occasions (two 2–2 draws and a 2–3 defeat). When a new boardroom regime initiated further cost-cutting measures in February 1972, Wright was presented with a choice; remain with an immediate pay-cut and worsened conditions, or be replaced (as at St Mirren, he had opted to work without the protection of a contract). Having uprooted his family from the west coast at the club's insistence only five months earlier (in order to save on travelling expenses), Wright felt unable to accept the pay-cut being insisted upon and the club announced to the media that he and his assistant had resigned. In February 1972, former Dunfermline player George Miller was appointed to assume the combined responsibilities of Wright, his assistant manager Willie McLean, and the club's chief administrative assistant Mr J Smith. The club was relegated at the end of the season. The most noteworthy results of Wright's tenure at Dunfermline were a 1–1 draw at Celtic Park in the 1971 Scottish Cup, and successive 1–0 home victories over a strong Aberdeen side that finished both seasons second-placed in the League and with the best defensive record; * on 6 February 1971, becoming only the third team to defeat Aberdeen in its opening 24 league fixtures; * on 22 January 1972, becoming only the second team to defeat Aberdeen in its opening 22 League fixtures. Wright attributed these two victories to a particular tactical ploy targeting Aberdeen defender and captain Martin Buchan. After leaving Dunfermline, Wright worked the remainder of the 1971–72 season as Scottish scout for Bristol City under manager

Alan Dicks Alan Dicks (born 29 August 1934) is an English retired footballer and football manager. He managed Bristol City for thirteen years and managed clubs in four countries on three continents. Born in London, he signed for Chelsea at the age of 17 ...

Dumbarton

Wright became assistant manager of newly promoted

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

in May 1972. Following the departure of manager Jackie Stewart to St Johnstone in January 1973, Wright was appointed as his replacement – initially on a part-time basis which he combined with a day-job of local government clerk, and then as full-time manager/secretary on a similar basis to his role at St Mirren. Jackie Stewart had spent 4 years at Boghead from December 1968, raising standards and expectation in lifting the team from 14th in D2 to Champions in the final match of season 1971–72. Wright maintained the progress and held the post for four relatively successful years before handing over to his assistant

Davie Wilson David Wilson (10 January 1937 – 14 June 2022)1973–74 and the semi-finals of both the

Spring Cup The Spring Cup was a Scottish football tournament played in 1976. It was introduced for members of Division One and Two of the Scottish Football League in the wake of league reconstruction in 1975, to be played after the conclusion of all the l ...

and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1975–76. Youth development was once again a significant feature of Wright's time at Dumbarton. His scouting and contacts network introduced future full Scotland internationalists

Murdo MacLeod Murdo Davidson MacLeod (born 24 September 1958 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. MacLeod, who played as a midfielder, made 20 appearances for Scotland and played in the 1990 World Cup Finals. He had a ...

, Ian Wallace and

Graeme Sharp Graeme Marshall Sharp (born 16 October 1960) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. Sharp played as a forward for Dumbarton, Everton, Oldham Athletic and Bangor City. He enjoyed great success with Everton, helping them wi ...

to the senior game, as well as minor internationalists

Graeme Sinclair James Graeme Sinclair (born 1 July 1957) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Dumbarton, Celtic, Manchester City and St Mirren. Sinclair man-marked Johan Cruyff when Celtic beat Ajax in a 1982–83 European Cup tie. Sinclair won a Sc ...

and

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

. Scotland national team manager

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s an ...

proposed Wright to the SFA International Committee as his No. 2 in preparation for the World Cup in West Germany. However, the Committee failed to ratify Ormond's choice and instead of providing Ormond with an assistant, the SFA minutes confirm, initiated the process which would result in the later appointment of Scotland's first National Director of Coaching. Difficulties in his home life and frustration at failing to secure promotion back to the top flight following League reorganisation led Wright to offer his resignation in February 1977. Chairman Robert Robertson initially encouraged him to continue, before reluctantly accepting Wright's renewed request at the end of that season. However, his value to the Club was acknowledged by Wright being given a salaried directorship which he then held until 1990. When Robertson sold Dumbarton to Sir Hugh Fraser in the 1980s he claimed that the club had never been as well run during his 16 years in charge as when Wright was manager. Wright later had a spell as caretaker manager in 1986 and led Dumbarton for a total of 210 league and cup matches. His first three seasons were at the top level of the Scottish League; his remaining matches were in the upper echelons of the second tier following League reconstruction into three divisions in 1975. His total number of matches in charge is bettered only minimally by 1950s manager Peter McGown who was in charge for 216 matches at the lowest level of the Scottish League. Jim McAllister, The Sons of the Rock, Official History of Dumbarton Football Club, updated version 2002

Later career and legacy

Wright was given a directorship in 1977 and remained at Dumbarton in various roles for a further 13 years, including Managing Director, Executive Director and Director of Football. In 1979, he fronted an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by Dumbarton's owners to invest in the Toronto-based franchise for a proposed Canadian Soccer League. The following year he travelled to Amsterdam with team manager and fellow director Sean Fallon in the anticipation of signing Dutch legend

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

following earlier negotiations with the player's agent. However, Cruyff ultimately decided against the move. Wright was widely credited with single-handedly keeping the club alive during an ownerless period in the mid-to-late 1980s and was named Dumbarton Citizen of the Year in recognition of his efforts. His salaried post was made redundant in late 1990 soon after a new regime had taken control, and Wright subsequently opted to relinquish his directorship and leave the club. After leaving

Boghead Boghead is a small village in South Lanarkshire, west central Scotland. It is about southeast of Glasgow and sits nearby to the River Nethan and Avon Water. Boghead is a residential area, with working residents commuting to nearby villages and ...

Park in 1990, Wright then worked as full-time Chief Scout for Kilmarnock under managers

Alex Totten Alex Totten (born 12 February 1946) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Playing career Growing up in Dennyloanhead, Stirlingshire, he signed for Liverpool straight from school in 1960 before signing for top division Dundee bac ...

and

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football player and manager. Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became a manager at Kilma ...

, until retiring to become Scottish Scout for

Bruce Rioch Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008. As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in the Fo ...

at both

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

, and then at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

under

David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...

. Wright's wholehearted and skilled contribution is widely recognised in footballing circles. Despite only serving a single season at Clyde and East Fife, he is remembered in the former's Centenary Brochure and the latter's historical display at their relocated Bayview Stadium. In addition to featuring in a hardback book of 'Partick Thistle Legends', Wright was posthumously inducted into the official 'St Mirren Hall of Fame' in November 2005, and the official ‘Dumbarton Hall of Fame’ in February 2023. In 1986, he became only the fifth person honoured by an 'SFA Lifetime Achievement Award'. Wright's photograph is on permanent display at Hampden Park's

Scottish Football Museum The Scottish Football Museum is Scotland’s national museum of association football, located in Hampden Park in Glasgow. The Museum The museum houses over 2000 objects of football memorabilia, including the world's oldest cap and match ticket fr ...

. In the 1991 pre-season,

Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

brought his successful

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

European Cup-Winners' Cup team north to play a testimonial match in Alex Wright's honour. Wright described himself particularly proud at having been appointed to each of his positions following approach by the club. He had not applied prior to any of his appointments. On the occasion of his death, his memory was honoured by full-page obituaries in the match programmes of former clubs Partick Thistle, East Fife, St Mirren and Dumbarton. There was widespread support among Dumbarton fans for Wright's name to be included in the title of Dumbarton's relocated home in 2000.

Honours

;Partick Thistle *

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1960–61 * Glasgow Charity Cup : 1948–49 ;Representative *

Glasgow FA Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...

Sheffield FA The Sheffield and Hallamshire Football Association is a County Football Association in England. It was formed in Sheffield in 1867 as the Sheffield Football Association, and is the second-oldest football governing body after the Football Associ ...

: 16 Nov 1960 @

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

;St Mirren * Paisley Charity Cup : 1967 *

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest team ...

: 1966–67 *

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

Champions: 1967–68 *Hall Of Fame ;Dunfermline Athletic *BBC TV Quiz Ball Series Champions : 1971 ;Dumbarton *

Stirlingshire Cup The Stirlingshire Cup is an association football cup competition for clubs in the county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1883 and is contested annually by senior member clubs of the Stirlingshire Football Association. Th ...

: 1972–73, 1974–75, 1985–86 *Hall Of Fame ;Scottish Football Association *Lifetime Achievement Award

Personal life

His paternal uncle

Wallace Wright Wallace S. Wright II (born February 1, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at North Carol ...

played as an outside-left for Queen's Park and Amateur Scotland during the 1930s and 1940s.

References

External links

Manager stats
at ''Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive''
Profile
at ''Partick Thistle History Archive''

at “The Thistle Archive” {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Alex 1930 births 2000 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Dalry Thistle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Partick Thistle F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Men's association football inside forwards St Mirren F.C. managers Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers Dumbarton F.C. managers Clyde F.C. non-playing staff Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League managers People from Gorbals Footballers from Glasgow Dumbarton F.C. non-playing staff Partick Thistle F.C. non-playing staff 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Scots soldiers Military personnel from Glasgow