Tweet
George and Harry Wright formed the nucleus of the unbeatable Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869-70. They were the sons of a famous British cricket player. Both would be elected to the Hall of Fame for their contributions to the development of the sport.
Harry had been lured west to Cincinnati in 1865 to take employment as an instructor at the Union Cricket Club. He was an organizer, manager and recruiter who quickly assembled the game’s finest professionals and began barnstorming. They logged 12,000 miles while performing for over 200,000 cranks, that is, fans. The club’s 91-game winning streak inspired other communities to sign and develop the best talent they could. Their feats sparked the nation’s interest. Baseball would soon grow from a local attraction to a national spectacle. Harry would go on to manage in the big leagues until 1893 when he became chief of umpires. He is also believed to be the initiator of hand signals, as a manager.
George was the best player of the early professional era, the first great shortstop. In 1869 he scored 339 times with 49 home runs and a .629 batting average in a mere 57 games. Those stats give one the feeling that the game was not far removed from the sandlot. He became the dominate hitter of the National Association. In his sole season as manager in 1879 he led Providence to the National League pennant over his brother in Boston. George is the only manager to do so in his lone season at the helm of a major league franchise.
In 1871 George began a sporting goods business in Boston. He took on Henry Ditson as a partner in 1879, forming Wright & Ditson. They became wealthy men supplying the nation with baseball gloves and balls, even the Union Association in 1884. As a sporting goods magnate, Wright used his influence to foster the growth of other sports, as well. He is partly responsible for popularizing tennis and ice hockey in the United States. He even introduced Boston to golf and designed the city’s first course. Wright toiled for the company until he was ninety years old.
Sparking monumental implications for the future of golf in the United States, George encouraged his twenty-year-old salesman, Francis Ouimet, to participate in the 1913 U.S. Open at the hometown Country Club course in Brookline, Massachusetts, the nation’s first country club. Ouimet became the first amateur to capture the title, invigorating grass root interest in an expensive, little-understood sport traditionally dominated by disreputable professionals and rarely-admired foreigners.
George was also a member of the Mills’ Commission in 1907; though, he never actually attended any meetings. The Wrights, above all others, should have understood baseball’s evolution from British contests, unpopular as the thought might have been.
Harry had been lured west to Cincinnati in 1865 to take employment as an instructor at the Union Cricket Club. He was an organizer, manager and recruiter who quickly assembled the game’s finest professionals and began barnstorming. They logged 12,000 miles while performing for over 200,000 cranks, that is, fans. The club’s 91-game winning streak inspired other communities to sign and develop the best talent they could. Their feats sparked the nation’s interest. Baseball would soon grow from a local attraction to a national spectacle. Harry would go on to manage in the big leagues until 1893 when he became chief of umpires. He is also believed to be the initiator of hand signals, as a manager.
George was the best player of the early professional era, the first great shortstop. In 1869 he scored 339 times with 49 home runs and a .629 batting average in a mere 57 games. Those stats give one the feeling that the game was not far removed from the sandlot. He became the dominate hitter of the National Association. In his sole season as manager in 1879 he led Providence to the National League pennant over his brother in Boston. George is the only manager to do so in his lone season at the helm of a major league franchise.
In 1871 George began a sporting goods business in Boston. He took on Henry Ditson as a partner in 1879, forming Wright & Ditson. They became wealthy men supplying the nation with baseball gloves and balls, even the Union Association in 1884. As a sporting goods magnate, Wright used his influence to foster the growth of other sports, as well. He is partly responsible for popularizing tennis and ice hockey in the United States. He even introduced Boston to golf and designed the city’s first course. Wright toiled for the company until he was ninety years old.
Sparking monumental implications for the future of golf in the United States, George encouraged his twenty-year-old salesman, Francis Ouimet, to participate in the 1913 U.S. Open at the hometown Country Club course in Brookline, Massachusetts, the nation’s first country club. Ouimet became the first amateur to capture the title, invigorating grass root interest in an expensive, little-understood sport traditionally dominated by disreputable professionals and rarely-admired foreigners.
George was also a member of the Mills’ Commission in 1907; though, he never actually attended any meetings. The Wrights, above all others, should have understood baseball’s evolution from British contests, unpopular as the thought might have been.
Comment