Thursday, April 14, 2016

MAJOR LEAGUE FOUNDERS: GEORGE WRIGHT 1876-1976

Perhaps the most famous icons of the early days of baseball, today’s subject for my “100th Anniversary” 1976 sub-set is Hall of Fame shortstop George Wright, he of the famed 1869 Cincinnati team:


By the time the Major League was formed for the 1876 season, Wright was a powerful baseball man along with his brother Harry in Boston,continuing to be the game’s premeir shortstop as he approached the age of 30.
In the inaugural season Wright hit .299 with 72 runs scored over 70 games, and while his performance as a player was slowing down, his importance to the game was still strong, eventually being acknowledged with an induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1939, one of the earliest inductees along with the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
He finished his pro career with a .301 average, collecting 866 hits over 2873 at-bats, with 665 runs scored in only 591 games.
So much more to this historical figure and I suggest those who are not familiar with him read up on his life as an early promoter of baseball, cricket, tennis and hockey.