Forest Glenn Wright (February 6, 1901 – April 6, 1984) was an American

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He played 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), ...

from 1924 through 1935 for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Career

Wright was a standout

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

player for the

Independence Producers The Independence Producers were a minor league baseball team based in Independence, Kansas, United States, that played from 1921 to 1925 and from 1928 to 1932. From 1921 to 1924, they played in the Southwestern League, and in 1925 they played in t ...

in 1921, and for the Kansas City Blues in 1922–23. In his major league rookie year, he set the record for most

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s (601) in a season which stood for 56 years (until broken by

Ozzie Smith Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...

in 1980). On May 7, 1925, Wright recorded an

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under ...

against the Cardinals, tagging out Jimmy Cooney and future Hall of Famers

Jim Bottomley James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis ...

and

Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933 ...

. That same year, he finished fourth in NL MVP voting behind Hornsby,

Kiki Cuyler Hazen Shirley Cuyler (; August 30, 1898 – February 11, 1950), nicknamed Kiki, was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodg ...

, and George Kelly. Wright was a member of the 1925 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, homering off

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

spitballer

Stan Coveleski Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski, July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between and , primarily the Cleveland Indians. ...

in Game Two. He was the last surviving member of that 1925 team. In 1927, Wright and the Pirates returned to the World Series but were swept in four straight games by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. In eleven career World Series games, Wright had only seven hits in 40 at-bats. GlennWrightGoudeycard

Wright was traded to the Brooklyn Robins in 1928 and named team captain the following season. His tenure in Brooklyn coincided with the name change from Brooklyn Robins to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932. Considered a premier shortstop of his generation, Wright suffered a major injury to his shoulder in 1929 which plagued him from then on and contributed to his relatively short career. Despite his injury, Wright put up exceptional numbers in 1930, reaching career highs in batting average (.321), home runs (22), runs batted in (126), and slugging (.543). His 22 home runs were an NL single-season record for shortstops until 1953, when

Alvin Dark Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played fourteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Bra ...

hit 23 for the Giants. He was released by the Dodgers after the 1933 season and rejoined the Blues for a season. In 1935, Wright was purchased from Kansas City by the White Sox, but was let go after hitting .120 in nine games. He continued to play in the minor leagues until 1939, mostly with the

Wenatchee Chiefs The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington. Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not operat ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, before retiring. Wright finished his career with 1219 hits, 94 home runs, 723 runs batted in and a batting average of .294 over 11 seasons (4153 at bats). He spent the years after his playing days ended as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

working for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

until his retirement in 1974.

References

External links

1923 Kansas City Blues

SABR interview with Glenn Wright
* Interview with Glenn Wright by Dr.

Eugene Murdock Eugene Converse Murdock (April 30, 1921 – July 23, 1992) was an historian and author best known for his research into baseball. Early life and education Eugene C. Murdock was born in Lakewood, Ohio, on April 30, 1921, and attended school ther ...

on June 23, 1978, in Fresno, Calif. (2 hr., sound recording, in 3 parts)
Part 1 of 3Part 2 of 3Part 3 of 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Glenn Major League Baseball shortstops Pittsburgh Pirates players Brooklyn Dodgers players Brooklyn Robins players Chicago White Sox players Boston Red Sox scouts Independence Producers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Spokane Indians managers Syracuse Chiefs players Seattle Indians players Wenatchee Chiefs players Minor league baseball managers Baseball players from Missouri 1901 births 1984 deaths