John Francis Dominic Wright (born 13 August 1933) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

Career

Born in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, Wright joined

from local amateur forms in May 1952, becoming a part-time professional whilst on

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 ...

. He was a serviceman when he made his first-team debut for the club during the 1954–55 season, a 5–3 defeat to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

on 30 April 1955. Four of Wright's five first-team appearances for Colchester came during his conscription, largely down to the consistency of

Percy Ames Percy Talbot Ames (13 December 1931 – 4 December 1998) was an English Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper in the Football League for Colchester United F.C., Colchester United, where h ...

as he clocked up four consecutive seasons without missing a game for the club. Wright waited patiently for his next chance, which was to be his final professional game, bringing an end to Ames' string of 236 consecutive appearances. In the game, Wright saved a penalty from

Bill Myerscough Bill Myerscough (22 June 1930 in Bolton, Lancashire – 16 March 1977) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for six clubs. He was in the Aston Villa side that won the 1957 FA Cup Final. Playing career An insi ...

but the club still lost 2–0 to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on 14 January 1961. Wright decided to leave Colchester at the end of the 1960–61 season, with nine years of service and just five appearances to his name. He joined the police force and played locally for Great Bentley, but eventually left the force in summer 1963, going to work for the electricity board and joining Clacton Town where he lived.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John 1933 births Living people Footballers from Aldershot English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Colchester United F.C. players F.C. Clacton players English Football League players