Lonnie Wright (January 23, 1945 – March 23, 2012) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and football player who played in the same season for the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

and the Denver Broncos of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

before switching to basketball on a full-time basis.

Education

Wright was born in Newark, New Jersey and attended South Side High School (since renamed

Malcolm X Shabazz High School Malcolm X Shabazz High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Newark Public Schools. Founded as South Side High School in 1912, the school was renamed in 19 ...

), where he earned All-City, All-County, All-State, and All-American honors in both football and basketball. He was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997.Hall of Fame
, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 26, 2008. Wright attended

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

, where he played basketball and set the school's shot put record of 52 feet, 9 inches. He scored 1,246 points in his college basketball career, and was part of the Rams team that made it to the 22-team 1966 NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

team led by Elvin Hayes and

Don Chaney Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of The Year while leading the Houston Roc ...

Professional careers

Wright was drafted in the sixth round of the 1966 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks (now the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

), but did not sign with the team. Despite the fact Wright never played football in college, the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

of the NFL also showed interest. He signed with the Denver Broncos of the

on April 16, 1966, playing for the team in 1966 and 1967. As a safety, he intercepted one pass in the 1966 season and four more the following year. He caught a single pass in his career, losing two yards on the reception. Switching sports, Wright signed with the

(predecessor to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

) on January 5, 1968, starting play with the Rockets just weeks after the end of the football season.Moss, Irv
"Catching Up With: Lonnie Wright - Playing for two teams, one town"
''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'', May 21, 2007. Accessed August 26, 2008. A 6-foot 2 inch (1.88 m), 205 pound (93 kg)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, he played for five seasons in the

, four seasons with the Rockets (1967–1971) and a single season with The Floridians (1971–1972).Lonnie Wright
, BasketballReference.com. Accessed August 26, 2008. He scored 3,590 points and averaged 10.7 points per game over his career, with the 1968–69 season marking his career bests, scoring 1,130 points and 16.4 points per game, second on the team in both statistics behind Larry Jones. While Otto Graham and

Bud Grant Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (born May 20, 1927) is a former head coach and player of American football, Canadian football, and a former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Grant served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings ...

had done the basketball-football double in the 1940s, only

Ron Widby George Ronald Widby (March 9, 1945 – December 22, 2020) was an American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. He also was a member of the New Orleans Buccaneers of the American Bas ...

had done it since, through 1999. Wright was inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Colorado State University Sports Hall of Fame the following year.

Personal

Wright served as the Director of Students at the

New Jersey Medical School New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)—also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and He ...

of the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

in Newark. Wright's wife Johanna was head coach of the girls' basketball team at Columbia High School in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 202 ...

until 2014. A resident of South Orange, New Jersey, Wright died at the age of 67 at his home there on March 23, 2012, due to

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, an ...

.Moss, Irv
"Lonnie Wright, who played for both the Broncos and Nuggets, dies at the age of 67"
''

'', March 24, 2012. Accessed March 25, 2012. "One word was standard Friday for everyone who talked about Lonnie Wright, who died earlier in the day at his home in South Orange, N.J., from congestive heart failure at age 67."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Lonnie 1945 births 2012 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American football safeties Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey Colorado State Rams football players Colorado State Rams men's basketball players Denver Broncos (AFL) players Denver Rockets players Malcolm X Shabazz High School alumni Miami Floridians players Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey People from South Orange, New Jersey Point guards Shooting guards St. Louis Hawks draft picks American men's basketball players