Wayne Bromley "Rasty" Wright (November 5, 1895 – June 12, 1948) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played all or part of five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

between 1917 and 1923.

Early life

Born to Robert Wright Jr and the former Belle Ferguson, Rasty Wright was born in Ceredo, West Virginia, shortly after the Wright family had moved there from Ohio. Rasty learned about baseball from a young age, as his father and uncles had formed their own family baseball team. As Rasty grew, he began to excel at pitching and even became the team's star pitcher. Wright attended Ceredo-Kenova High School where his brother Sam had been the school's football coach since 1905. Wright was part of the class of 1913 and from there, attended Ohio State. Since at the team, it was forbidden for freshmen to play for the varsity teams, Wright instead pitched for Ohio State's freshman team. He made the varsity baseball team his sophomore year. Wright started out 3–1, his only loss was to Illinois. However, his sophomore season would come to a sudden halt after he broke his leg trying to steal home during an intra-squad game. Wright bounced back and cemented his position as the team's ace. Ohio State went 13-2 overall and Wright was named to the All-Conference team for the Western Conference, which was the precursor to the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The 1917 Ohio State baseball team featured Wright, who had been named team captain. It also featured Buckeyes football star

Chic Harley Charles Wesley "Chic" Harley (September 15, 1895 – April 21, 1974) was an American football player and athlete, often credited with bringing Ohio State University's football program to national attention. Harley was Ohio State's first consens ...

and four sport star Fred Norton. That season the Buckeyes, paced by wright's pitching won their very first national championship in baseball. It would be their only until 1943, when Ironically, Wright had returned to the team as a coach. During the 1917 season, not only did Wright sport a flawless 10–0 record, but his hitting was a strength as well as he batted .357, good enough for third on the team behind Harley and Norton. Meanwhile, wright was being scouted by several teams, including the

and

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

. Rickey had been aware of Wright since Wright's freshman season, when Rickey was trying to recruit Ohio State's baseball coach, L.W. St. John to replace

Miller Huggins Miller James Huggins (March 27, 1878 – September 25, 1929) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the ...

as coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. Impressed with Wright after a scouting trip, Browns scout Bob Quinn recommended the Browns sign Wright.

Pro career

On June 20, 1917, less than two weeks after signing with St. Louis, Wright made his MLB debut against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, surrendering four hits in three innings of work. For the rest of the season, Wright mainly worked out of the bullpen. After returning to Ohio State to complete his studies, Wright returned to the Browns in the summer of 1918. However, the 1918 season was a struggle for the Browns, as the team went through three managers,

Fielder Jones Fielder Allison Jones (August 13, 1871 – March 13, 1934) was an American center fielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was best known as the player-manager of the World Series champion 1906 Chicago White Sox, a team who succeede ...

, Jimmy Austin, and Jimmy Burke, none of whom could turn around the fortunes of the Browns. Wright went 8-2 before the season was halted when baseball was declared non-essential. To avoid military service, The Browns arranged for Wright to return to Ohio State to complete his medical studies. While at Ohio State, Wright kept himself in baseball shape by working with the Buckeyes' freshman team as a coach. The 1919 season turned out to be a rough one for Wright, as he lost all of his decisions. and the Browns demoted him to Louisville of the American Association, where he was given the chance to improve his craft under the eye of Joe McCarthy, the future manager of the New York Yankees. Wright would return to the Browns in 1922, going 9–7 with an E.R.A. of 2.92. In 1923, Wright again missed spring training due to his academic studies, and finished the season with an 7–4 record, but his E.R.A. had gotten worse, 6.42. Having issues with his shoulder, Wright sat out the 1924 season, and then his rights were traded by St. Louis to the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. The trade, which netted the Browns catcher

Tony Rego Antone Rego (October 31, 1897 – January 6, 1978), was a Major League Baseball catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) ...

and pitcher George Lyons backfired because among the multiple players the Browns traded was a pitching prospect named

Charley Root Charles Henry "Chinski" Root (March 17, 1899 – November 5, 1970) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs between 1923 and 1941. Root batted and threw right-handed. He holds the club record fo ...

, who'd go on to win 200 games in the majors. While with Los Angeles, Wright played some of his best baseball. In 1926, Wright went 19–7 with an E.R.A of 3.08. Angels management wanted Wright back for another season, but he opted to hang up the glove to accept a coaching position with Ohio State. In 1929, L.W. St. John stepped aside and Wright was named manager. However, Wright's career as a pro baseball player wasn't finished, at least not yet. In 1929, Wright returned to baseball, and managed to stay in Ohio doing it. He signed with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the American Association. The Mud Hens were managed by another future Yankees skipper,

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...

. Signed strictly as a veteran influence, Wright went 2–3 in 22 innings of work. At the conclusion of the 1929 season, Wright hung up his cleats for good.

Retirement from Baseball

When the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

struck, many institutions were forced to tighten their budgets. Ohio State was not immune. In an effort to cut cost, Wright was relieved of his coaching duties, and for the first time in his life, found himself out of baseball. With his own family to support, Wright was forced to look for work elsewhere. Wright found work with

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

managing several service stations located not far from the Ohio State Campus. However, baseball was still in his blood, and he returned to Ohio State, this time as a volunteer baseball coach. He would remain in this role until 1946.

Death

Having retired from coaching due to health issues, Wright went to seek help and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Then on June 12, 1948, at the age of 52, Rasty Wright died. His body was interred at Union Cemetery East, located in Columbus, Ohio.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Rasty Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Browns players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Toledo Mud Hens players Baseball players from West Virginia 1895 births 1948 deaths People from Ceredo, West Virginia