Chris Wright (August 24, 1972 – July 31, 2005) was an award-winning

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

and

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

champion. Wright played college football at

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

. His first year as a professional was successful, for as kick returner with the

Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

he scored 3 touchdowns on punt returns and added an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown in their

victory. This won him the Frank M. Gibson Trophy as best rookie in the CFL Southern Conference, and an all-star selection. He moved north to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with the Stallions when they relocated and became the revived

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. He missed the entire 1996 season due to injury, but had an impressive 1997 campaign, with 2 punt return touchdowns. He was released after the 1998 season, but resurfaced in 2002 with the BC Lions, where he played 7 games. Chris Wright was murdered in a shooting in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

on July 31, 2005.
Former CFLer murdered in Atlanta, Monday, August 8, 2005, ''CBC Sports''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Chris 1972 births 2005 deaths Baltimore Stallions players BC Lions players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Montreal Alouettes players Male murder victims People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state)