No. 20 | |||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Gilmer, Texas, U.S. | January 31, 1953||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Bakersfield (CA) | ||||||||||
College: | San Jose State | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1975 / round: 1 / pick: 17 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Louis Donnel Wright (born January 31, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), spending his entire 12-year career with the Denver Broncos from 1975 to 1986. He was a five time Pro Bowler in 1977 to 1979, 1983 and 1985.
Wright began his college career at Arizona State University but would later transfer to San José State. He started at cornerback in each of his two years at San José State, finishing his career there with 3 interceptions. He also excelled in track and field, winning two letters. His accomplishments included recording a long jump distance of 25 feet, 7 inches that still ranks in the top five in school history and running the 100 in 9.6 seconds. Following his senior year, Wright played in the 1974 East-West Shrine Game and the 1974 Senior Bowl. He was later inducted into the San José State University Hall of Fame.
“They use a term today of shutdown cornerback." "We didn't have that term back then, but Louie Wright was a shutdown cornerback. He was a great run defender. He played the left side and in those days most teams were right-handed and their running plays usually went to our left side.” [1] |
Joe Collier |
Wright was drafted by the Broncos with the 17th overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft. He broke into the lineup quickly, starting 11 games as a rookie and intercepting 2 passes while also recovering a fumble.
1977 would be his breakout season as he intercepted 3 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown and helped lead the Broncos to Super Bowl XII. He was named a First-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in both 1978 and 1979. During the '79 season, he returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown. In 1980 and 1981, he was named Second-team All-Conference by UPI. In addition to his cover skills, Wright was also one of the best run supporting cornerbacks of his era. His feats eventually earned him the nickname "Lou-dini." [2]
Arguably, Wright had the best season of his career in 1983, intercepting a career-high 6 passes and being named First-team All-Pro by Newspaper Enterprise Association. In 1984, he recorded the second fumble return for a touchdown of his career and was named First-Team All-Pro by Pro Football Weekly and The Sporting News.
In 1985, he intercepted 5 passes and was named First-team All-Conference by UPI. In a week 11 game against the San Diego Chargers, Wright recorded the fourth and final touchdown of his career, returning a blocked field goal 60 yards for the winning score in overtime of the 30-24 Broncos victory. 1986 would be Wright's final season in the NFL and he intercepted 3 passes in helping lead the Broncos to Super Bowl XXI.
In his NFL career, he finished with 26 interceptions for 360 yards and 1 touchdown. He also recovered 11 fumbles and returned two for touchdowns. He was inducted to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame in 1993. He was name to the National Football League 1970s All-Decade Team but he is one of only four defensive players on the list to not be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Professional Football Researchers Association named Wright to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2016. [3]
Wright is now a teacher and assistant football coach at Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado.
Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1977 season. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 27–10 to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. This was the first Super Bowl in a domed stadium, and the first time that the game was played in prime time in the Eastern United States.
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1987 season. The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1988, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, which was the first time that the Super Bowl was played there. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl the year before.
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1989 season. The game was played on January 28, 1990, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 49ers defeated the Broncos by the score of 55–10, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl, and their fourth overall, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins at that time. San Francisco also became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls with two different head coaches; rookie head coach George Seifert took over after Bill Walsh retired following the previous season's Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1997 season. The Broncos defeated the Packers by the score of 31–24. The game was played on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, the second time that the Super Bowl was held in that city. Super Bowl XXXII also made Qualcomm Stadium the only stadium in history to host both the Super Bowl and the World Series in the same year.
John Albert Elway Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 11 years with the Broncos in various front office positions, eventually being promoted to general manager. Elway, along with former backup quarterback and head coach Gary Kubiak, are the only individuals to be associated with all three of the Broncos' Super Bowl wins.
Roderick Kevin Woodson is an American former professional football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries (32) by a defensive player, and interceptions returned for touchdown (12). He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993.
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team but caught or otherwise brought under control by a player of the opposing team, who thereby usually gains possession of the ball for their team. It is commonly seen in football, including American and Canadian football, as well as association football, rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, as well as any sport by which a loose object is passed between players toward a goal. In basketball, this is called a steal.
Roland "Champ" Bailey Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he earned consensus All-American honors, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft.
Aeneas Demetrius Williams is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Southern Jaguars and was selected in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft by the Phoenix Cardinals, where he spent 10 seasons. During his final four seasons, he was a member of the St. Louis Rams. Williams received eight Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro honors, as well as being on the second NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft. During his 10 seasons in New England, he received four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors. A three-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, Law also holds the franchise record for interceptions. Law spent his final five seasons as a member of the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos, earning a fifth Pro Bowl selection with the first. Ranking 24th in NFL career interceptions, he twice led the league in interceptions during the 1998 and 2005 seasons. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
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Michael James Haynes is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Raiders. Regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, he used his speed, physicality, quickness and range to become both an elite defensive back and an outstanding punt returner. Haynes was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He was also named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994, as well the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019 for his accomplishments during his 14-year career.
William Ferdie Brown was an American professional football player, coach and administrator. He played as a cornerback for the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, Brown remained with the Raiders as an assistant coach. He served as the head football coach at California State University, Long Beach in 1991, the final season before the school's football program was terminated. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1984. At the time of his death he was on the Raiders' administrative staff.
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Randolph Charles Gradishar is a Hall of Fame American former professional football player who played 10 seasons as a linebacker during the 1970s and 1980s for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Ohio, Gradishar was a one-time consensus and one-time unanimous All-American for the Ohio State Buckeyes, before playing ten seasons for Denver, where he was the centerpiece of their "Orange Crush Defense". In 2024, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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