Harry Wright | |
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Center fielder / Manager | |
Born: Sheffield, England | January 10, 1835|
Died: October 3, 1895 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 60)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 5, 1871, for the Boston Red Stockings | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 29, 1877, for the Boston Red Caps | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .272 |
Home runs | 4 |
Runs batted in | 111 |
Managerial record | 1225–885–35 |
Winning % | .581 |
Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Teams | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1953 |
Vote | Veterans Committee |
William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He is credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters' tendencies. For his contributions as a manager and developer of the game, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 by the Veterans Committee.
Wright was the first to make baseball into a business by paying his players up to seven times the pay of the average working man. He is the oldest former professional player in the Hall: a few other inductees were born before him, but none of them played professionally. His younger brother George Wright is also in the Hall. The Wrights are one of only two pairs of brothers in the Hall, alongside Paul and Lloyd Waner.