Eric Cortez Wright (born April 18, 1959) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the

1981 NFL draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held during April 28–29, 1981, at the New ...

. Before that, the 6'1", 183 lbs. cornerback from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

was an all-Big Eight defensive back in 1979 and '80. He played on three University of Missouri teams that appeared in bowl games, and was selected for Missouri's all-century team in 1990. Wright shares the Missouri record for the most pass interceptions in a game (three vs. San Diego State in 1979). Considered one of the best cover cornerbacks of his day, Wright played in ten

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

seasons, from 1981 to 1990, all for the 49ers including starting on four Super Bowl-winning teams. Wright made a key defensive play in the NFC Championship game on January 10, 1982, against the Dallas Cowboys. On the Cowboys' last possession in the final minute, after

Dwight Clark Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 – June 4, 2018) was an American professional football wide receiver who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 He was a member of San Francisco's first two Sup ...

had made

The Catch The Catch may refer to: Film and television *The Catch (American TV series), ''The Catch'' (American TV series), a 2016–2017 American mystery series *The Catch (British TV series), ''The Catch'' (British TV series), a 2023 British family drama ...

, Wright made a touchdown-saving horse-collar tackle on Cowboy wide receiver Drew Pearson. The Cowboys fumbled on the next play and the 49ers recovered to preserve the win and propel them into their first Super Bowl. A two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er, Wright's peak performance year was during the 1983 season when he intercepted 7 passes for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. He intercepted passes in

Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

and

Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. Wright missed a majority of the 1986 and 1987 seasons with a deep groin pull and chipped bone in the area, missing all but 4 games during the two-year stretch. But he returned as a starter in 1988 and was on the 49ers-back-to-back Super Bowl-winning teams. Wright is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity.Hartford Alphas
He is currently an alumni coordinator for the 49ers.

References

External links

Profile
at NFL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Eric 1959 births Living people American football cornerbacks Missouri Tigers football players National Conference Pro Bowl players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from St. Louis 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen