Herbert Lovegrove Wright (13 April 1870 – 19 March 1950) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and in the Victorian Football League (VFL) following its formation in 1897.
| Harry Wright | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Wright in 1901 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Herbert Lovegrove Wright | ||
| Nickname(s) | Pimp | ||
| Date of birth | 13 April 1870 | ||
| Place of birth | Ballarat East, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Date of death | 19 March 1950 (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Ballarat Imperials | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 1894, Essendon (VFA) vs. Fitzroy (VFA), at Brunswick Street Oval | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1894–1896 | Essendon (VFA) | 48 (20) | |
| 1897–1903 | Essendon (VFL) | 87 (6) | |
| Total | 135 (26) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1903. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Family
editThe son of William Wright (1828-1878),[1] and Louisa Sarah Wright (1832-1908), née Pennell,[2][3] Herbert Lovegrove Wright was born at Ballarat East, Victoria, on 13 April 1870.[4]
Football
editWright was extremely agile; in 1894, "Observer", the football correspondent for The Argus, noted that, among the "clever gymnasts" in the Essendon team, "Wright their forward player, can kick a boxing-glove out of a man's hand, the holder standing on a chair, and holding it higher than his own head."[5]
Essendon (VFA)
editRecruited from the Ballarat Imperials Football Club in the Ballarat Football Association (BFA),[6] Wright made his debut for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1894. He was part of the Essendon team that won the premiership that year.
Essendon (VFL)
editHe won his second premiership in the 1897 season. During that season, he kicked the winning goal for Essendon in the first round final against Geelong.[7] He also played in the first ever VFL Grand Final the following year. A centreman, Wright finished on the losing team on that occasion but took part in a winning Grand Final in 1901, winning his third premiership.
1899 team of "champions"
editAt the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for The Argus, Reginald Wilmot ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:
- Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong).
- Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne).
- Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood), Firth McCallum (Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon).
- Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne).
- Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong), Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne).
- Ruck: Mick Pleass (South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong).
- Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong).
From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — Wilmot selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.[8]
Cricket
editAs a cricketer Wright was a wicket-keeper and one of the three first-class matches that he played was a Sheffield Shield encounter, against South Australia in the 1904/05 season. He finished his career with three catches and five stumpings to go with his 49 runs at 24.50.[9]
Death
editHe died at his residence at West Melbourne, Victoria on 19 March 1950.[10]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Deaths: Wright, The Ballarat Courier, (Wednesday, 20 March 1878), p. 2.
- ^ Married: Wright—Pennell, The Argus, (Wednesday, 25 June 1856), p. 4.
- ^ Deaths: Wright, The Argus, (Thursday, 17 September 1908), p. 1.
- ^ Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Births Registration no.6729/1870.
- ^ 'Observer', "The Essendon Captain on Football: A Chat with Mr. Alick Dick", The Argus, (1 September 1894), p. 4.
- ^ Pennings (2016), pp. 89, 392.
- ^ Observer (23 August 1897). "Essendon win at Geelong". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 6. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ^ 'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p. 6.
- ^ "South Australia v Victoria 1904/05". CricketArchive.
- ^ Deaths: Wright, The Argus, (Monday, 20 March 1950), p. 11.
References
edit- Football Premiers for 1897—Essendon Football Team and Office-Bearers (photograph), The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 25 September 1897), p. 12.
- Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
- Pennings, Mark (2016), Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's early History: Volume 4: Tough Times: Victorian Football loses its Way, 1891 to 1896, Brunswick, Victoria: Grumpy Monks Publishing. ISBN 978-0-646-93604-8
External links
edit
- Harry Wright's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Cricinfo Profile: Harry Wright
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