Tommy Wright (footballer, born 1944)

Last updated

Tommy Wright
Tommy wright figurita.jpg
Wright depicted in an Argentine football card, 1970
Personal information
Full name Thomas James Wright
Date of birth (1944-10-21) 21 October 1944 (age 79)
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Position(s) Right-back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1964–1974 Everton 374 (4)
International career
1968–1970 England 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas James Wright (born 21 October 1944) is a former footballer who played as a right-back. A one-club man, he played for Everton, with whom he won the Football League and the FA Cup, and represented England, including at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

Contents

Club career

Wright was born in Norris Green, Liverpool. He joined Everton as an apprentice, and made his first team debut in 1964. [1] He was part of the winning team in the 1966 FA Cup Final, in the unsuccessful team in the 1968 FA Cup Final and played all 42 league games in the 1969–70 season when Everton won the Football League Championship by nine points. [2] He also won the 1970 FA Charity Shield. [3] He made 437 appearances in total and scored four goals. [4]

Wright has often been described as the best right-back to play for Everton.[ citation needed ] George Best once described Wright as his most difficult opponent.[ citation needed ]

International career

Wright made twelve appearances for England including the classic match against Brazil in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. [5] Wright made his debut for England in the game in which England beat the Soviet Union in the third place match in the 1968 European Football Championship in Italy, the only player to make his England debut in a European Championship finals match.[ citation needed ]

Retirement

Wright retired in 1974 due to injury. [2] His contributions to Everton were noted in the years following his retirement. He was named as an inaugural member of Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame in 1996, and as an "Everton Giant" in 2016. [1]

Career Statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [6]
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeFA Charity ShieldTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Everton 1964–65 First Division22030003000280
1965–66 First Division36060004000460
1966–67 First Division42060004010530
1967–68 First Division38060200000460
1968–69 First Division41150400000501
1969–70 First Division42110400000471
1970–71 First Division40260006010532
1971–72 First Division17010000000180
1972–73 First Division30020100000330
Career Total3084360110170203744

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Reid</span> English footballer, manager, and pundit

Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Rush</span> Welsh footballer and manager (born 1961)

Ian James Rush is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh players in the history of the sport. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. Additionally, he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a total of 346 goals in all competitions at the club. He also holds the records for being the highest goalscorer in the history of the EFL Cup and the finals of the FA Cup. At international level, Rush made 73 appearances for the Wales national football team and remained the record goalscorer with 28 goals between 1980 and 1996, until the record was broken by Gareth Bale in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Mercer</span> English footballer and manager (1914–1990)

Joseph Mercer was an English footballer and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa and Manchester City, and was the caretaker manager of the England national football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Barmby</span> English former professional footballer

Nicholas Jon Barmby is an English football coach and former professional player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Lawler</span> English footballer (born 1943)

Chris Lawler is a former footballer who enjoyed much of Liverpool's success of the mid 1960s to early 1970s.

David Edward Johnson was an English professional footballer and manager who played as a forward and won major trophies for Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. He also played for Ipswich Town, Everton and other clubs, as well as the England national team.

Gary Ian Ablett was an English professional footballer and manager. He played as a defender from 1985 until 2001.

David Burrows is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Joseph Royle is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team. Later, he managed Oldham Athletic, Everton, Manchester City, and Ipswich Town. He is currently a director at Oldham Athletic.

Antony Nigel Martyn is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Keown</span> Former English footballer, coach, and scout

Martin Raymond Keown is an English football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club and won ten honours.

Kevin Joseph Campbell is an English former professional footballer, sports television pundit and co-commentator.

Alexander Young was a Scottish international footballer. He played as a creative forward for Heart of Midlothian and Everton. He won league championship and cup titles with both clubs where he was also a regular goal scorer. Young later played for Glentoran and Stockport County. Internationally he played for the Scottish League and the Scotland national football team. In football folklore he has become known as 'The Golden Vision'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Labone</span> English footballer (1940–2006)

Brian Leslie Labone was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championship twice and the FA Cup once. He also played 26 times for the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joleon Lescott</span> English association football player (born 1982)

Joleon Patrick Lescott is an English former professional footballer, coach and sports pundit. He currently works as a coach with the England U21s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon West</span> English footballer

Gordon West was an English professional football goalkeeper. He won three international caps in a career that included a long stint at Everton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Kirwan</span> Irish football player and coach

John Henry Kirwan was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Ireland. He had previously played Gaelic football for Dublin. As a football coach he became the first professional manager of Dutch side Ajax. He was the last survivor of the Tottenham team that won the 1901 FA Cup.

Barry Horne is a Welsh former professional footballer, former chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association and sports television pundit.

Michael Kevin Meagan was an Irish professional footballer. He was the first manager of the Republic of Ireland national team to be given total control over selecting players.

John Hurst was an English professional footballer. Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, Hurst joined the youth system for Everton, making his first team debut in the 1965–66 season. Originally a striker, Everton manager Harry Catterick made Hurst into a centre-half, a position in which he appeared in the 1968 FA Cup Final. He formed a defensive partnership with Brian Labone, the club captain of Everton at the time. Following the introduction of substitutes to English football in 1965 Hurst became Everton's first ever substitute replacing Fred Pickering at Stoke City's Victoria Ground in August 1965. Everton won the league title in the 1969–70 season and Hurst was an ever-present during this campaign, making 42 appearances and contributing 5 goals. He also won the 1970 FA Charity Shield with Everton. Hurst was transferred to Oldham Athletic following the 1975–76 season.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wright Becomes An Everton Giant". Everton F.C. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Tommy Wright". Everton F.C. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. "1970/71 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. Everton player statistics
  5. Official FA statistics
  6. Sourced from Everton The Official Complete Record by Steve Johnson