John Francis Dominic Wright (13 August 1933 – 23 November 2023) was an English

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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

. He died on 23 November 2023, at the age of 90.

Career

Born in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, Wright joined

from local amateur forms in May 1952, becoming a part-time professional whilst on

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. He was a serviceman when he made his first-team debut for the club during the 1954–55 season, a 5–3 defeat to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was the home of Colchester United Football Club from its inception in 1937, up until the club relocated to Colchester Community Stadium in 2008, resulting in its closure. The ...

on 30 April 1955. Four of Wright's five first-team appearances for Colchester came during his conscription, largely down to the consistency of

Percy Ames Percy Talbot Ames (13 December 1931 – 4 December 1998) was an English Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper in the Football League for Colchester United F.C., Colchester United, where h ...

as he clocked up four consecutive seasons without missing a game for the club. Wright waited patiently for his next chance, which was to be his final professional game, bringing an end to Ames' string of 236 consecutive appearances. In the game, Wright saved a penalty from Bill Myerscough but the club still lost 2–0 to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

on 14 January 1961. Wright decided to leave Colchester at the end of the 1960–61 season, with nine years of service and just five appearances to his name. He joined the police force and played locally for Great Bentley, but eventually left the force in summer 1963, going to work for the electricity board and joining Clacton Town where he lived.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John 1933 births 2023 deaths Footballers from Aldershot English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Colchester United F.C. players F.C. Clacton players English Football League players