Joseph Walter Harris Wright (14 January 1864 – 18 October 1950) was a famed

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

, municipal politician, and all-round athlete who had success in a variety of sports in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As rowing competitor and coach Wright had more than a 130 titles to his credit in numerous rowing classes, including taking the U.S. National Fours and Pairs titles in 1895. He competed in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

and was a member of the Canadian boat which won the silver medal in the men's eight. He retired from competition at 42 years of age in 1906 after winning two heats of the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

in the men's eight at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

- just missing winning the event in the final. He then devoted his time to coaching at the

Argonaut Rowing Club The Argonaut Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club was founded in 1872. The current junior head coach is Connor Elsdon. In the past, the club fielded teams in ice hockey and football, and the football team ...

. He coached the legendary crews of Geoffrey Barron Taylor helping them win the

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhousie's M ...

five times in 1907. He also coached stroke Taylor's Argonaut eights crews, representing Canada, at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

winning the bronze medal, and again at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. Off the water Wright was an accomplished athlete in track and field, sprint, and billiards. He claimed amateur titles in both wrestling and boxing and set throw records in shot put and hammer throw. He also served as coach-captain of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

rugby-football team, an adjunct of the rowing club, in the 1890s. Hired in 1916 to coach at the University of Pennsylvania, Wright, who had seen the popularity of lightweight rowing grow after its introduction to the Canadian Henley in 1906, advocated for its adoption at US colleges. The first intercollegiate lightweight contest, set between Penn and Yale for May 12, 1917, was cancelled by the onset of WWI. Following the end of the war, on May 31, 1919, the first event on the program of the American Rowing Association, a "Special Eight-Oared Shells (150 Lb. Crews)" featuring Navy and Penn, marked the beginning of intercollegiate lightweight rowing in the US. Wright resigned his position in 1925 over a dispute regarding the boating of his varsity eight. Since 1938, the trophy awarded to the winner of the intercollegiate lightweight varsity eight race, initially sponsored by the American Rowing Association, and then by the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges, has been the Joseph Wright Trophy. He was elected to

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

in 1928, and served three terms before being defeated in the 1931 election. His eldest son George F. Wright, won a bronze medal at the

and his younger son Joseph Wright Jr. won a silver medal in the double sculls competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Joseph 1864 births 1950 deaths Canadian male shot putters Canadian male hammer throwers Canadian male sport wrestlers Canadian male boxers Boxers from Toronto Canadian male rowers Olympic rowers of Canada Rowers at the 1904 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Rowers from Toronto Olympic medalists in rowing Toronto city councillors Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Players of Canadian football from Ontario Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Argonauts coaches Canadian sportsperson-politicians 19th-century Canadian people 20th-century Canadian people