George Wright
| Birthdate | 1/28/1847 |
| Death Date | 8/21/1937 |
| Debut Year | 1879 |
| Year of Induction | 1937 |
| Teams | Reds |
| Positions | Executive, Shortstop |
George Wright was the shortstop and best player from the first professional team & later the first batter in the history of the National League.
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George Wright was one of the finest athletes of post-Civil War America
George Wright was one of the finest athletes of post-Civil War America
George Wright was the greatest star on the first professional baseball team in America. Teaming with his brother Harry who formed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, George played shortstop and hit leadoff.
Wright was an innovator in the game’s infancy. In 1869 he pushed for a rule to allow the batter to overrun first base to avoid collisions with the first baseman. Wright was the first to cover second base when the ball was hit to the right side. Earlier the base was strictly the domain of the second baseman. Wright is credited as the first to play his position in the hole to improve his range.
He used his smarts, athleticism and strong arm to become the top fielder of his day. According to the Hall Fame, his teammate of four years and fellow Cooperstown man Deacon White described him in glowing terms.
“There isn’t an infielder in the game today who had anything on George Wright when it came to playing shortstop, and certainly there was none during his time,” White said long after the pair retired. “George fielded hard-hit balls bare-handed, gathered them up or speared them when in the air with either hand. He was an expert and accurate thrower, being able to throw with either hand.”
In the leadoff spot, George was the offensive catalyst for the undefeated Red Stockings’ team of 1869. Forty-nine of his 304 hits were home runs. He averaged nearly six hits per game and hit .629. The Wright-led Cincinnati team finished the year with an unblemished record of 57 wins without a loss.
When Harry created a new Red Stockings team in Boston, George followed. In 1871 the shortstop hit .413 for Boston before breaking his leg. The following year the Red Stockings started a run of four consecutive National Association pennants. George led the league in defensive WAR and finished in the NA’s top 5 in doubles, runs, and total bases.
In 1873 he hit .387 with a .511 slugging percentage. George led the league in triples in 1874, then helped his team go 71-8 in 1875, the final of their four-straight championship seasons.
After retiring from baseball, George opened a sporting goods business and was among the first to bring tennis and hockey equipment to the American public.
In the collection is this sporting goods document from May 2, 1930. It is signed by Hall of Fame shortstop and George Wright. The game’s greatest shortstop of the first two decades of professional play, George and brother Harry were the first brother combination voted into the Hall of Fame.
The Of interest on the document is the signature of CB Whitney, the 1911 NCAA mens’ singles tennis champion.
Wright started as a cricket player and returned to the game after retiring from baseball
Wright started as a cricket player and returned to the game after retiring from baseball
George Wright grew up in a cricket-playing family. His father Samuel was one of the best cricketeers in the country. Samuel’s boys Harry and George soon gravitated toward the sport. George started playing the sport professionally at age 16.
When brother Harry took his talents to baseball, George followed but never lost his love for cricket. Baseball’s first superstar, George played five years in the National Association and in the first 7 seasons of the newly-formed National League.
When he retired from baseball in 1882, George returned to cricket for the rest of the century.
By virtue of his 1937 year of death, the autograph of George Wright remains on the want list of many advanced collectors. Shown here is a cut from a document that bears his signature. Wright was considered the best player in baseball at the game’s inception and was the first batter in the inaugural National League game.
NL chief and HoFer Warren Giles writes about a George Wright single-signed baseball
NL chief and HoFer Warren Giles writes about a George Wright single-signed baseball
Shown here is a letter signed by National League president and future Hall of Famer Warren Giles. The NL boss discusses a baseball autographed by the first batter in NL history, George Wright.
In the correspondence dated June 10, 1965, Giles thanks Jefferson W. Hudson of the Eagle-Picher Company that was located just one mile away from the National League offices in Cincinnati.
“Thanks for much for…offering the baseball autographed by Mr. George Wright, who was a member of the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869,” Giles writes.
The NL boss continues in telling Hudson that Giles has written to the Hall to see if they’d like to have the ball for display. He goes on to say that often such artifacts are duplicates and that there might be no need to send the ball unless the Hall wants to display it.
It’s difficult to imagine the Hall of Fame having two baseballs autographed by one of the earliest stars of the game.
Wright was considered the best player in the game when baseball first began.
