Negro Leagues legend Johnny Wright to be inducted into Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame

NEW ORLEANS – John “Johnny” Wright, a New Orleans native who became an ace pitcher in the Negro Leagues, has been selected for induction into the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

The 1943 edition of the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League is regarded by many observers as one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball.

Afterall, how many teams can point to five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on their roster?

You can add another name to that list of “Hall of Fame Grays” because New Orleans native John Wright, the ace of the Grays pitching staff during that championship season, will be inducted posthumously into the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

“We are overjoyed that Johnny Wright is getting this recognition,” said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. “Hopefully it will pique the interest of others who may not be familiar with his outstanding baseball career and his barrier-breaking role and that they will want to learn more about him.”

Born in New Orleans in 1918, Johnny Wright attended Hoffman and McDonogh 35 Schools and started his professional career with the New Orleans Zulus in 1936. In 1937 the Newark Eagles, while barnstorming in the South, discovered and signed Wright.

The slender hurler joined the Homestead Grays in 1941 – the best move of his professional career.

Midway through the 1943 season, Wright sported a 13-1 won-loss record and pitched before 51,000 fans in the East-West All-Star Game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.  He finished the season 26-4, one of the best seasons on the mound in Negro League history.  Not included in those 26 wins on the hill were exhibition victories over white teams like the New Cumberland Army club with six major leaguers on the roster and a nine-hit, 10-3 complete-game victory over a semi-pro club of former big leaguers called the Brooklyn Bushwicks.

Another significant outing by the 170-pounder came in June of 1943. Wright held the fabled Kansas City Monarchs to six hits in a 10-2 win defeating the great Satchel Paige before 20,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.

With hall of famers Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Jud Wilson, Ray Brown and Cool Papa Bell in the lineup, the Grays defeated the Birmingham Black Barons 4-3 in the best-of-seven Negro League World Series in 1943. Two of the Grays victories came courtesy of shutouts by Johnny Wright. A 9-0, five-hit blanking put the Grays up 2-1 in the series. He got the call again after the Barons pulled even at 2-2 and he delivered with another shutout, holding the opposition to six hits in an 8-0 victory.

The late Walter Wright (no relation), who pitched in the Negro Leagues and is a member of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, recalled the first time he saw John Wright.

“Johnny was 18 years old and he struck out the first six batters he faced. He had a hellacious fastball and an assortment of breaking pitches. He had great control.”

After the season, the man nicknamed “Needle Nose” enlisted in the United States Navy where he played for the Great Lakes Blue Jackets, the all-black team at the naval training center in Illinois.  Wright fashioned an 8-2 record with the Blue Jackets with an earned run average under 3.00.

After being assigned to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn he went 15-4 with the lowest ERA of any pitcher in the armed forces.

As part of a Negro League All-Star team facing the Brooklyn Dodgers in an exhibition at Ebbets Field in September of 1945, Wright held the Dodgers to two hits in five innings of work. The Dodgers took notice. After signing Jackie Robinson in October – breaking baseball’s color barrier – Brooklyn signed Johnny Wright three months later on January 29, 1946.

Both new signees were assigned to the team’s Montreal farm club. Robinson went on to a Hall of Fame career, however, Wright did not perform well and was demoted to Three Rivers where his performance improved, but not sufficiently enough. In January of 1947 the Dodgers released Wright and he returned to the Homestead Grays.

“John had all the ability in the world,” Jackie Robinson said when interviewed about Wright. “But John couldn’t stand the pressure of being one of the first. If he had come in two or three years later when the pressure was off, John could have made it in the Major Leagues.”

“When Negro League players who didn’t make it in the major leagues it rarely had to do with talent,” said Kendrick. “It had to do with being given a fair opportunity and having to deal with the immense social pressure they were confronted with. The fact that Johnny Wright was selected to be with Jackie in Montreal says what kind of player he was. Not making it to the majors does not diminish what he gave to this game.”

In his return to the Grays in 1947, John Wright went 8-4 and was selected for the North-South All-Star Game at Pelican Stadium in New Orleans. He helped the Grays win their final Negro League World Series title over the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.

John Wright died on May 4, 1990, in Jackson, Mississippi.

Wright is one of six standout local sports figures who will be added to the Hall of Fame this year. Each year’s Hall of Fame class is selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, a group of current and former media members who annually recognize a variety of annual award-winners, as well as the Hall of Fame, the Corbett Awards and the Eddie Robinson Award. The group also selects the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month each month.

Overall, 26 individuals and four teams will be honored this year for their achievements at the Committee’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, July 30. Honorees are currently being announced over a month-long period, wrapping up with the Corbett Awards for the top male and female amateur athletes in the state on July 25 and 26.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl will continue announcing its annual awards tomorrow (Wednesday) with the next member of the 2022 Class of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Collins Special Awards: Loyola Men’s Basketball and St. Charles Catholic Athletic Department

Outstanding Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Wayne Stein, St. Charles Catholic Football/Baseball

Outstanding Girls’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Becky Lambert, Archbishop Hannan Softball

Outstanding Female Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Alia Armstrong, LSU Track & Field

Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Zach Wrightsil, Loyola Basketball

Eddie Robinson Award: Ronald “Hendu” Henderson

Outstanding Boys’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Brother Martin Bowling, LHSAA

Outstanding Girls’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Ponchatoula Basketball, LHSAA

Outstanding Collegiate Coach, Louisiana: Stacey Hollowell, Loyola Men’s Basketball

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Ashley Brignac, Softball

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Marques Colston, Football

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Billy Ray Hobley, Basketball

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Shaun King, Football

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Carvie Upshaw, Basketball

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductee: Johnny Wright, Baseball

Corbett Award – Female: July 25 (Monday)

Corbett Award – Male: July 26 (Tuesday)

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 66th year in 2022. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th annual Sugar Bowl Classic is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 31, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.

-AllstateSugarBowl.org-

John “Johnny” Wright, Negro Leagues Baseball

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2022

By Ro Brown of the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee

The 1943 edition of the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League is regarded by many observers as one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball.

Afterall, how many teams can point to five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on their roster?

You can add another name to that list of “Hall of Fame Grays” because New Orleans native John Wright, the ace of the Grays pitching staff during that championship season, will be inducted posthumously into the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

“We are overjoyed that Johnny Wright is getting this recognition,” said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. “Hopefully it will pique the interest of others who may not be familiar with his outstanding baseball career and his barrier-breaking role and that they will want to learn more about him.”

Born in New Orleans in 1918, Johnny Wright attended Hoffman and McDonogh 35 Schools and started his professional career with the New Orleans Zulus in 1936. In 1937 the Newark Eagles, while barnstorming in the South, discovered and signed Wright.

The slender hurler joined the Homestead Grays in 1941 – the best move of his professional career.

Midway through the 1943 season, Wright sported a 13-1 won-loss record and pitched before 51,000 fans in the East-West All-Star Game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.  He finished the season 26-4, one of the best seasons on the mound in Negro League history.  Not included in those 26 wins on the hill were exhibition victories over white teams like the New Cumberland Army club with six major leaguers on the roster and a nine-hit, 10-3 complete-game victory over a semi-pro club of former big leaguers called the Brooklyn Bushwicks.

Another significant outing by the 170-pounder came in June of 1943. Wright held the fabled Kansas City Monarchs to six hits in a 10-2 win defeating the great Satchel Paige before 20,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.

With hall of famers Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Jud Wilson, Ray Brown and Cool Papa Bell in the lineup, the Grays defeated the Birmingham Black Barons 4-3 in the best-of-seven Negro League World Series in 1943. Two of the Grays victories came courtesy of shutouts by Johnny Wright. A 9-0, five-hit blanking put the Grays up 2-1 in the series. He got the call again after the Barons pulled even at 2-2 and he delivered with another shutout, holding the opposition to six hits in an 8-0 victory.

The late Walter Wright (no relation), who pitched in the Negro Leagues and is a member of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, recalled the first time he saw John Wright.

“Johnny was 18 years old and he struck out the first six batters he faced. He had a hellacious fastball and an assortment of breaking pitches. He had great control.”

After the season, the man nicknamed “Needle Nose” enlisted in the United States Navy where he played for the Great Lakes Blue Jackets, the all-black team at the naval training center in Illinois.  Wright fashioned an 8-2 record with the Blue Jackets with an earned run average under 3.00.

After being assigned to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn he went 15-4 with the lowest ERA of any pitcher in the armed forces.

As part of a Negro League All-Star team facing the Brooklyn Dodgers in an exhibition at Ebbets Field in September of 1945, Wright held the Dodgers to two hits in five innings of work. The Dodgers took notice. After signing Jackie Robinson in October – breaking baseball’s color barrier – Brooklyn signed Johnny Wright three months later on January 29, 1946.

Both new signees were assigned to the team’s Montreal farm club. Robinson went on to a Hall of Fame career, however, Wright did not perform well and was demoted to Three Rivers where his performance improved, but not sufficiently enough. In January of 1947 the Dodgers released Wright and he returned to the Homestead Grays.

“John had all the ability in the world,” Jackie Robinson said when interviewed about Wright. “But John couldn’t stand the pressure of being one of the first. If he had come in two or three years later when the pressure was off, John could have made it in the Major Leagues.”

“When Negro League players who didn’t make it in the major leagues it rarely had to do with talent,” said Kendrick. “It had to do with being given a fair opportunity and having to deal with the immense social pressure they were confronted with. The fact that Johnny Wright was selected to be with Jackie in Montreal says what kind of player he was. Not making it to the majors does not diminish what he gave to this game.”

In his return to the Grays in 1947, John Wright went 8-4 and was selected for the North-South All-Star Game at Pelican Stadium in New Orleans. He helped the Grays win their final Negro League World Series title over the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.

John Wright died on May 4, 1990, in Jackson, Mississippi.