Bernard Peter Wright (born 17 September 1952), nicknamed Bernie the Bolt, 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 ...

. A tough

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, he scored 78 goals in 320 league games in a nine-year career in the Football League. A youth player at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, he joined Paget Rangers of the Midland Combination, before having a successful trial at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

in 1971. He moved on to Everton in 1972. After one season with the "Toffees" he moved back to Walsall. In 1976, he transferred to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, winning promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1976–77, before signing for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

two years later for a £9,000 fee. In 1980, he went into non-league football with Kidderminster Harriers, later playing for Trowbridge Town,

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

, and Gloucester City.

Career

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Wright was a youth-team player at

, before he played for Paget Rangers of the Midland Combination after being released from St Andrew's in 1971. He returned to the professional game at Third Division

under Bill Moore. He was then signed by

Harry Catterick Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...

's Everton, after impressing in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

clash between Everton and Walsall at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

on 5 February 1972. However, he only played eleven First Division games for the club, scoring two goals, before having his contract terminated for 'serious misconduct' after a training ground incident. He had punched coach

Stewart Imlach James John Stewart Imlach (6 January 1932 – 7 October 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left-winger for numerous clubs in England. He is best known today as the subject of an award-winning biography by his son, Ga ...

after he had overlooked Wright for a first team spot. Though he only enjoyed an eleven-month stay with the club, he created an impression on the Everton fans, who remember him for using his head to accidentally break the toe of

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

centre-back

Eddie Colquhoun Edmund Peter Skirving Colquhoun (; 29 March 1945 – 16 April 2023) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre back for Sheffield United and Scotland. Known to players and fans as Eddie Colquhoun, he started his professional football ca ...

during an attempted diving header. Wright returned to Walsall in 1973 for a fee of £10,000, and scored 38 goals in 152 league games during his four years at

Fellows Park Fellows Park was a football stadium in Walsall, England. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C. from 1896 until 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium. Fellows Park was situated about a quarter of a mile away from the club's present ...

. After struggling in the lower half of the table in 1972–73 and 1973–74 under John Smith and then

Ronnie Allen Ronald Allen (15 January 1929 – 9 June 2001) was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 2 ...

, the "Saddlers" came close to promotion in 1974–75 and 1975–76 under Doug Fraser's stewardship. He joined

Bobby Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

in 1976, where he scored 13 goals in 66 league games. Bradford won promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1976–77, but suffered relegation in 1977–78 under

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston (; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioan ...

. Wright and

Don Hutchins Donald Hutchins (born 8 May 1948) is an English retired footballer who played for Leicester City, Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City and Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl ...

were joint-top scorer in 1977–78 with ten goals. In June 1978,

Dennis Butler Dennis Anthony Butler (born 24 June 1944) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a winger for Bolton Wanderers between 1959 and 1968, before ending his playing career following a five-year spell at Rochdale. Later wor ...

paid the "Bantams" £9,000 to secure Wright's services; Vale had been relegated along with Bradford the previous season. Wright scored on his debut, a 1–1 draw at Chester in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

game on 16 August 1978. Nine days later the tough striker endeared himself to "Valiants" fans when he scored a hat-trick past local rivals

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History Cre ...

. He finished as top scorer in the 1978–79 season with 15 strikes in 48 games, and was voted

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

for this achievement. Wright stated that he was always seen as a provider of goals at his previous clubs whereas Butler saw him as a goalscorer. However he lost his place under caretaker-manager

Alan Bloor Alan Bloor (born 16 March 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. He made 394 league appearances in the Football League for both Potteries teams. He spent eighteen years as a centre-half at Stoke City between 1960 and 1978, helpi ...

, though regained it with a brace against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. He went on to record 9 goals in 33 games in 1979–80, but fell out with new manager John McGrath, and dropped out of the Football League at the end of the season, joining Kidderminster Harriers of the Southern Football League on a free transfer. He later played for Trowbridge Town,

and Gloucester City.

Style of play

Wright was a strong and tough

whose long hair and beard combination helped to intimidate opposition defenders. He had a reputation as a 'hard man'.

Post-retirement

Wright later became a forklift truck supervisor and part-time referee in the Central Warwickshire Sunday Leagues.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Bradford City * Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1976–77

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Bernie Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands Association football forwards English footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Paget Rangers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Everton F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English football referees 1952 births Living people