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Billy Wright
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2002 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
Billy Wright, a player described as ‘a national treasure' by The Times in 1959, became something of an institution in the heart of the England team, amassing a then record total of 105 caps.
Over a period of eight years, starting in 1951, England did not once take the field without Wright in their ranks, a record run of 70 consecutive appearances. Ninety times he led England onto the field as captain, another record at the time.
‘Billy had a heart of oak and was the most reliable of men,' Walter Winterbottom, the England manager said. ‘I considered myself lucky to have him to call on so often.'
Between 1946 and 1959 Wright experienced defeat with England only 21 times; he went seven years before tasting defeat at Wembley. In 541 League and Cup games for Wolves, at wing-half and centre-half, he was never booked nor sent off.
‘Essentially a team player who never tried to seek personal glory, Billy turned simplicity into an art form,' Winterbottom said. After one England international The Times wrote: ‘Billy Wright had a rare day off. He only played like one man.'
Footballer of the Year in 1952, Wright was still the captain of both England and Wolves, the First Division champions, when he retired from football seven years later – at the age of 35. An FA Cup winner's medal and two other First Division championship medals completed his collection of honours.
Tom Finney referred to his team-mate as ‘Mr Dynamo', in tribute to the amount of running he did during a game. ‘I rate Billy as a challenger for the title of the most consistent centre-half ever to play for England,' Finney once said.
Sturdy and competitive, Wright knew his limitations. ‘I only had two things on my mind as a player: to win the ball and then to give the simplest pass I could to the nearest team-mate,' he said.
When Billy Wright, nearing the end of his playing career, married the glamorous pop singer Joy Beverley in 1958, he entered uncharted territory for a footballer: the world of media ‘celebrity'.
He was already well established as a hero to a generation of aspiring footballers. As a boy Kevin Keegan watched admiringly as Wright led Wolves against crack European club sides in prestigious friendlies played under floodlights at Molineux in the mid-1950s.
Equally popular in the dressing room, Wright was lifted onto the shoulders of two team-mates in recognition of his achievement in becoming the first footballer in the world to amass 100 caps. On hearing the final whistle, the Scotland players shook Wright's hand, momentarily putting aside their disappointment in defeat.
In recognition of his long service to the game the Football Association made him a Life Member. He was the first professional player to be awarded the honour.
On his retirement The Times wrote: ‘There were more talented and more skilful players, but what he embroidered into the fabric of our lives were the values of loyalty and industry.
‘Billy Wright, the man, is a human being of exemplary character. Billy Wright, the footballer, was a national treasure.'