The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-27
GEO. WRIGHT OF
 BASEBALL FAME IS
 ON 70 YEAR MARK

It was just three-score and ten years ago-on Jan. 28, 1S47-that George Wright, honored throughout fandom as one of the fathers of professional baseball, was born in Harlem, New
 York City. Since retiring from base ball in 1880 he has become wealthy manufacturer of Boston, and he still takes a keen interest in tennis and golf, as we'll as in his first loves, cricket and baseball.
 The name of Wright looms large in the history of the diamond pastime. George Wright's brother, Harry, now dead, organized the first professional baseball club, the immortal Cincin- nati Red Stockings of '69, and was
 one of the, greatest managers and players the game has ever had. A splendid monument in Philadelphia marks his last resting place.
 The father of Harry and George Wright was an Englishman, Sam Wright, a professional cricketer of wide fame. He came to America to act as coach for a team of gentleman cricketers who played on the lElysian Field in Hoboken, where the first match game of baseball was played. Cricket was the first love of George and Harry Wright, but baseball early appealed to them, and they adopted it in spite of the protestations of their father, who insisted that the new fangled American sport was crude and uninteresting as compared with his beloved cricket.
 George Wright began playing eric ket at the Red House in Harlem when he was only nine years old, and later he became star with the St. Georges Cricket club at Hoboken, being a member of the team that played visit ing cricket clubs from England. He played baseball with 8 junior outfit at sixteen, and couple of years lat CT joined the Gotham club of New York, one of the pioneer teams, while Harry Wright was with the Knicker- lockers, the first regular ball club ever organized.
 Just half a century ago George Wright transferred his allegiance to that team held the championship. In 1869 he joined his brother Harry in Cincinnati, as a wearer of the Red the emblem of the pioneer professional club. Before that MT. Wright had made tour of the West with the Washington Nationals, the only defeat suffered on the trip be- ing that at Rockford.
 In his early days on the diamond George Wright was catcher, but an injury he sustained while playing that position cured him of any desire to backstop. He then went to left field, and later became a shortstop, W1n- ming his greatest fame in that job.
 When the National Association or professional clubs was launched in VI, Harry Wright became captain and manager of the Boston club, and George Wright was a shortstop.A The Bostonians won four straight pen nants. George was shortstop of the Boston club which won r:so National league penant in ", and again Tn '78. The following year he was en- gagged as mana ger and captain of the Providence club of the National league, which won the pennant. He retired from baseball in 1880, and en- gagged in the sporting goods business in Boston.
 Harry and George Wright were members of the Boston club which, by the Athletics, made a trip to England in 1874. They play ed cricket as we'll as baseball and won every game with the crack Eng fish teams, except one, which was a draw. George Wright made the rec ord for the largest score in a match, rolling up fifty runs at Manchester.