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William Ambrose Wright (6 February 1924 – 3 September 1994) was an English footballer who played as a
centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. He spent his entire club career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The first footballer in the world to earn 100 international caps, Wright also held the record for longest unbroken run in competitive international football, with 70 consecutive appearances, although that was surpassed by Andoni Zubizarreta's 86 consecutive appearances for
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
(1985–94). He also made a total of 105 appearances for
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, captaining them a record 90 times, including during their campaigns at the
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
,
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
and 1958 World Cup finals.


Early life and education

Wright was born at 33 Belmont Road,Report by Andrew Owen. Main subject of report being pending auction of the football he played with at his century appearance for England. Ironbridge,
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, his father Thomas was a worker at the Coalbrookdale Company ironworks. He was educated at Madeley Wood Methodist School and Madeley Modern School, playing in the teams of both schools.Article by Toby Neal on Billy Wright in series on Midlands worthies.


Club career

After playing during March–April that year for Cradley Heath in a dual player-groundsman role, Wright's association with Wolverhampton Wanderers began in 1938 when, after being encouraged by his school teacher to respond to a newspaper advertisement inviting boys for trials, he was taken on as a member of their ground staff. He was only 14 years old when he made his debut for Wolves for the B team game against Walsall Wood in the Walsall Minor League. Wright had been accepted on an eight-month trial by Major Frank Buckley, who had initially told Billy that he was "too small" to be taken on. In early September 1939 League and Cup football was suspended due to the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. On 23 September 1939 Wright, who was then fifteen, played his first match for the Wolves senior side in a friendly against West Bromwich Albion. Wolves beat the ''Baggies'' 5–3 in front of 5,000 fans at The Hawthorns. Along with Wolves team-mate Jimmy Mullen, Billy also played as a guest for Leicester City, playing as both a forward and a defender before he returned to Molineux in 1942. A broken ankle put his career in doubt but he recovered and joined the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry in 1943, serving as a Physical Training Instructor. Wright played for Wolves whenever possible and made over 100 appearances for Wolves in wartime football. Wright made his official debut for Wolves in January 1946 against Lovells Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup. He became club captain soon after and with Wright leading the team, Wolves won the First Division title three times ( 1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59) as well as the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
in
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
. He was a virtual ever-present, missing only 31 games for Wolves during the 1950s. He retired from playing in April 1959.


International career

Wright's performances for club saw him earn a call-up to the England team. His full debut came on 28 September 1946 in a thumping 7–2 win against
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He was made captain in 1948, a role he held for 90 games until his retirement (an all-time record shared subsequently with Bobby Moore). In 1952, with his 42nd cap, he surpassed Bob Crompton's appearance record for England, which had stood since 1914. In total, he made 70 consecutive full international appearances with 105 in all, scoring three times. He was also the first footballer in the world to earn 100 caps, reaching the landmark in a 1–0 victory over
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
at Wembley on 11 April 1959. It was more than a decade before his record was broken by another player, Bobby Charlton. More than 60 years later, just eight other players have made more appearances for the England side than Wright.


Managerial career

Wright became manager of England's youth team in 1960, before being appointed manager of Arsenal in 1962, replacing George Swindin. Initially Arsenal started strongly under Wright, finishing seventh in 1962–63 and qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history, but failed to build on this. Wright enjoyed mixed success with his signings, who included successes such as Bob Wilson, Joe Baker and Frank McLintock, but also less successful players such as Ian Ure. Arsenal were unable to improve on their seventh in Wright's first season in charge, and their form gradually declined. Wright won only 38.46% of his matches in charge, the lowest rate for any
post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
Arsenal manager (caretaker managers excepted). After a poor 1965–66 season – where Arsenal finished 14th and were knocked out of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
by Blackburn Rovers (who finished bottom of the First Division) — Wright was dismissed by the Arsenal board in the summer of 1966. Football writer Brian Glanville, discussing Billy Wright's time at Arsenal, wrote: "he had neither the guile nor the authority to make things work and he reacted almost childishly to criticism".


Life after football

Wright was a minor media personality, and his marriage to Joy Beverley of the
Beverley Sisters The Beverley Sisters were an English female close harmony traditional pop vocal and light entertainment trio, consisting of three sisters from London. They were eldest sister Joy (born Joycelyn Victoria Chinery, 5 May 1924 – 31 August 201 ...
occurred at a time long before the era of footballers being known for having celebrity girlfriends. This was in July 1958, by which time Wright was 34, and proved one of the most successful showbiz marriages. After leaving Arsenal, Wright successfully overcame alcoholism and he later became a television pundit and Head of Sport for ATV and Central Television, before retiring in 1989. The following year, he joined the board of directors at Wolverhampton Wanderers as part of the takeover by Sir Jack Hayward. On 7 August 1993, he presented Manchester United with the FA Charity Shield, which they won on penalties against Arsenal at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. On 7 December that year he was present for the friendly game against Honved of Hungary which commemorated the re-opening of Molineux as a rebuilt 28,525-seat stadium. The redevelopment saw three new stands built at the stadium in the space of two years, with the one replacing the Waterloo Road Stand being designated the Billy Wright Stand. Wright was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' on two occasions: in May 1961 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the EMI Studios in London's St John's Wood, and in January 1990, when Michael Aspel surprised him at Thames Television's Teddington Studios. Wright went on to be appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
on 13 June 1959.


Illness and death

Wright died from
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
on 3 September 1994, aged 70, having been diagnosed with the illness earlier in the year. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on the pitch at Molineux.


Legacy

In 2009, English football agent Bryan Yeubrey began a public campaign to obtain a posthumous knighthood for Wright. The campaign received support from several thousand fans and many former professional players. In 2008, Midland Metro named an
AnsaldoBreda T-69 The West Midlands Metro is a passenger light rail line in the West Midlands conurbation in England, which opened in 1999. Its rolling stock consists of 21 CAF Urbos#CAF Urbos 3, CAF Urbos 3 trams which came into service in 2014/15, replacing the ...
tram in his honour.Tram named in honour of Billy Wright
''
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
'' 14 May 2008


Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers * First Division: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59 *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
: 1948–49 * FA Charity Shield:
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
,
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
Individual * FWA Footballer of the Year: 1952 * Ballon d'Or runner-up:
1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
*
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
: 1959 *International Football Hall of Fame: 1997 * Football League 100 Legends: 1998 *Member of English Football Hall of Fame: 2002 *Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Hall of Fame: 2009


Further reading

*Giller, Norman (2003) ''Billy Wright: A Hero for All Seasons'',


See also

*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official internat ...


References


External links


Official Wolves site profile