Harry Wright

File:1863 Harry Wright.png

Born in Sheffield, England, he was the eldest of five children of professional cricketer Samuel Wright and his wife, Annie Tone Wright.Devine, p. 14 His family emigrated to the U.S. when he was nearly three years old, and his father found work as a bowler, coach, and groundskeeper at the St George's Cricket Club in New York. Harry dropped out of school at age 14 to work for a jewelry manufacturer, and worked at Tiffany's for several years.Devine, p. 16

Both Harry and George, 12 years younger, assisted their father, effectively apprenticing as cricket "club pros". Harry played against the first English cricket team to tour overseas in 1859.Reeves, pp.123-124

Both brothers played baseball for some of the leading clubs during the amateur era of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). Harry was already 22 when the baseball fraternity convened for the first time in 1857, at which time he joined the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. He did not play in a game with the Knickerbockers until July 8, 1858, playing the outfield against Excelsior of Brooklyn. The Knickerbockers lost the game, 31–13.Devine, p. 21

In 1863, the Knickerbocker club all but withdrew from official competition, and Wright joined Gotham of New York, primarily playing shortstop.Devine, p. 25 Here, he joined his brother George, who had become a member of the team the previous year.Devine, p. 26 During the winter of 1864/65, the Wrights played the curious game of "ice base ball".Devine, p. 27

Wright left New York on March 8, 1865, bound for Cincinnati, where he had been hired on salary at the Union Cricket Club.Devine, p. 29 When baseball boomed less than a year later in 1866, the first full peacetime season, he became, in effect, club pro at the Cincinnati Base Ball Club, although he is commonly called simply a baseball "manager" from that time. By now, Wright was 31, probably past his athletic prime.

Cincinnati fielded a strong regional club in 1867. With Wright working as the regular pitcher, and still a superior player at that level, the team won 16 matches and lost only to the Nationals of Washington, D.C., on their historic tour. For 1868 he added four players from the East and one from the crosstown Buckeye club, a vanquished rival. The easterners, at least, must have been compensated by club members if not by the club.

When the NABBP permitted professionalism for 1869, Harry augmented his 1868 imports (retaining four of five) with five new men, including three more originally from the East. No one but Harry Wright himself remained from 1867; one local man and one other westerner joined seven easterners on the famous First Nine. The most important of the new men was brother George, probably the best player in the game for a few years, the highest paid man in Cincinnati at $1400 for nine months. George at shortstop remained a cornerstone of Harry's teams for ten seasons.

The Red Stockings toured the continent undefeated in 1869 and may have been the strongest team in 1870, but the club dropped professional base ball after the second season, its fourth in the game. As it turned out, the Association also passed from the scene.

During this early era, the rules of the sport for many years prohibited substitution during games except by mutual agreement with opponents, and the role of a team manager was not as specifically geared toward game strategy as in the modern era; instead, managers of the period combined the role of a field manager with that of a modern general manager in that they were primarily responsible for signing talented players and forming a versatile roster, as well as establishing a team approach through practice and game fundamentals.

In 1869, Wright became the first to make written mention of the Seventh-inning stretch in a game he watched.

File:1872 Harry Wright card.jpg

From an invitation in 1870 by Ivers Whitney Adams, the founder and President of the Boston Red Stockings, Wright moved from managing the "Cincinnati Red Stockings" to work professionally with the first-ever base ball team in Boston, the "Boston Red Stockings". The team was to play in the newly formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, now known more often as simply the National Association.

The Red Stockings finished third in the NA's inaugural season. Wright, now 36 years old was the second-oldest player in the league, behind Nate Berkenstock, aged 38. As the team's regular center fielder, Wright played 30 of the team's 31 games at that position.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1871-fielding.shtml 1871 Red Stockings fielding from Baseball-Reference] He also pitched in nine games in relief of Albert Spalding, notching one win.

In 1872, the Red Stockings won its first championship, beating Maryland's Lord Baltimore Club by {{frac|7|1|2}} games. They won again the next season, finishing four games ahead of the Philadelphia White Stockings.

1874 turned out to be Wright's last year as the team's regular center fielder. He had been the oldest player in the NA for three years running. It was also his third straight championship as a manager. That year, he organized what turned out to be a fairly disastrous attempt to take baseball back home to the British Isles.[http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=14&pid=15558 SABR BioProject: Harry Wright]

In 1875, the final year of the NA, the Red Stockings were an amazing 71-8, finishing a full 15 games ahead of the Athletics. Wright, now the oldest player in the league, continued to play regularly in center field for Boston until 1874. After that, he played in just three more games, one in each of the next three seasons.

In 1876, the Boston club joined the new National League. Sportswriters tended to refer to them as the "Red Caps" now, in deference to the resurrected Red Stockings name for the new Cincinnati Club. Although they once again stumbled in their first year in a new league, finishing fourth in 1876, they went on to win two more pennants in the following two seasons with Wright at the helm. The team finished second in 1879, but then slipped badly, finishing sixth in the next two seasons, which wound up being Wright's last two seasons in Boston.

After leaving the Red Caps, Wright quickly picked up with the Providence Grays, one of the stronger NL teams of the era. In 1882, his first season as Grays manager, the team finished in second place, just three games behind the powerful Chicago White Stockings led by Cap Anson. The team dropped to third the following year, and Wright moved on again.

While in Providence, Wright instituted the concept of a farm team. Wright assembled a team of amateurs, which would play at Messer Street Grounds while the Grays were on the road, with the intention that if one of the senior members was injured, he could be easily replaced from among these players.

File:Harry Wright Seated.jpg

In 1884, Wright was brought in to manage the new Philadelphia team. Philadelphia had joined the National League the previous year, finishing dead last with an abysmal record of 17–81. Under Wright, they improved enough to finish in sixth place in 1884 while winning 20 games more than they had done the previous year. In 1885, the team finished above .500 for the first time, going 56–54 and finishing in third place, a distant 30 games behind the White Stockings and 28 games behind second-place New York Giants.

Philadelphia continued to improve under Wright in 1886, finishing with a record of 71–43, although their position in the league fell to fourth. In 1887, the team finished in second place, just {{frac|3|1|2}} games behind the champion Detroit club. Unfortunately, that was to be the high-water mark of Wright's tenure in Philadelphia, as the team hovered in the middle of the pack, finishing between third and fifth every year from 1888 until 1893 (although he missed a large portion of the 1890 season due to problems with his eyesight).

During Wright's tenure in Philadelphia, he often clashed with team owners Al Reach and Colonel John I. Rogers. After the 1893 season, his contract was not renewed. The National League, in recognition of Wright's standing, offered him the position of Chief of Umpires. During his career, Wright had often served as umpire, even for games involving rival teams, due to his high ethical standards.

File:Harry Wright plaque HOF.jpg]]

File:Harry Wright gravemarker.jpg

In 23 seasons of managing in the National Association and National League, Wright's teams won six league championships (1872–1875, 1877, 1878). They finished second on three other occasions, and never finished lower than sixth. Wright finished his managerial career with 1,225 wins and 885 losses for a .581 winning percentage. He was the first manager to reach one thousand wins as a manager and Cap Anson was the only other manager who won 1,000 games in the 19th century (Wright briefly held the record for most managerial wins, now he ranks 44th). {{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cap-anson/ |title = Cap Anson – Society for American Baseball Research}}{{cite web |url=https://tht.fangraphs.com/tht-live/100-years-since-john-mcgraws-1000th-win/ |title = 100 years since John McGraw's 1,000th win {{!}} The Hardball Times| date=June 29, 2011 }}

File:18960413HarryWrightDayPhiladelphia.jpg

Wright died of a lung ailment on October 3, 1895, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was 60 years old. He was buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Wright's influence on professional baseball was profound and his death reverberated through the sport. The National League dedicated April 13, 1896, as "Wright Day" and the receipts of eight games played that day dedicated to the establishment of a memorial in Wright's memory.{{cite news |author= |date=April 14, 1896 |title=Wright Day Celebrated |url= |work=Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=5}} Albert Spalding, then age 46, agreed to appear at the game in Rockford, Illinois, and Henry Chadwick, age 80, scored the exhibition game in Cincinnati to honor Wright.{{cite news |author= |date=March 22, 1896 |title=Passed Balls |url= |work=Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=8}}

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "Harry Wright came to [Philadelphia] in the zenith of his powers as a base ball manager, and what he did for the development of the local end of the national game of base ball is a matter of history. It was here that he passed the evening of his life, beloved by all whose good fortune it was to know him. Here it was that he had his little home stake, and here in the impressive silence of beautiful West Laurel Hill his mortal remains lie buried. His work was an honor to Philadelphians, who will doubtless turn and give substantial evidence of their appreciation of that honor."{{cite news |author= |date=April 2, 1896 |title=Current Sporting Chat: Arrangements Completed for the Proper Observance of the Harry Wright Memorial|url= |work=Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=5}}

Wright was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2005. His brother George is also a member of both Halls; a third brother, Sam, also played professionally.

• List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
• List of Major League Baseball player-managers
• List of Major League Baseball managers with most career wins

;Bibliography

• {{cite book|last=Alvarez|first=Mark|year=1996|title=William Henry Wright (Harry): Baseball's First Stars|editor=Frederick Ivor-Campbell|location=Cleveland, Ohio|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|isbn=0-910137-58-7|display-editors=etal}}
• {{cite book |last=Devine |first=Christopher |title=Harry Wright: The Father of Professional Base Ball |year=2003 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786415618}}
• {{cite book |last=Reeves |first=Scott |title=The Champion Band: The First English Cricket Tour |year=2014 |publisher=Chequered Flag Publishing |isbn=9780956946089}}
• {{cite book|last=Wright|first=Marshall|year=2000|title=The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=0-7864-0779-4}}

;In-line citations

{{reflist}}

{{notelist}}

{{Commons category|Harry Wright}}

• Career statistics and player information from [https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/wrighha01.shtml Baseball-Reference] (major league manager)
• {{Baseball stats|br=w/wrighha01}} (major league player)
• {{bbhof|wright-harry}}
• Retrosheet. [http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pwrigh101.htm "Harry Wright"]. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
• [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/181/181162/181162.html Harry Wright at Cricket Archive]

{{S-start}}

{{S-ach|ach}}

{{succession box| title=All-time saves leader| years=1871–1893 | before=Start of professional baseball | after=Tony Mullane}}

{{S-ach|rec}}

{{Succession box| before = Bill Lennon | title =Oldest recognized verified living baseball player| years = May 5, 1871 – October 30, 1871 | after = Nate Berkenstock}}

{{S-end}}

{{1872 Boston Red Stockings}}

{{1873 Boston Red Stockings}}

{{1874 Boston Red Stockings}}

{{1875 Boston Red Stockings}}

{{1877 Boston Red Caps}}

{{1878 Boston Red Caps}}

{{Atlanta Braves managers}}

{{Philadelphia Phillies managers}}

{{Philadelphia Phillies HOF}}

{{1953 Baseball HOF}}

{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}

{{Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Harry}}

Category:1835 births

Category:1895 deaths

Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Baseball managers

Category:Baseball developers

Category:New York Knickerbockers players

Category:New York Gothams (NABBP) players

Category:Cincinnati Red Stockings players

Category:Boston Red Stockings players

Category:Boston Red Caps managers

Category:Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery

Category:Philadelphia Quakers managers

Category:Philadelphia Phillies managers

Category:Providence Grays managers

Category:English emigrants to the United States

Category:Sportspeople from Sheffield

Category:Major League Baseball players from England

Category:English baseball players

Category:19th-century baseball players

Category:Major League Baseball player-managers

Category:American cricketers