finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date hofdate death_place finaldate hofvote image statlabel debutteam name throws birth_place debutdate bats position article_title
1877 3 october 1895 1871 .272 222 111 boston red caps 10 january 1835 1953 atlantic city , new jersey september 29 veteran 's committee harry_wright_baseball_card . jpg batting average hits rbi boston red stockings harry wright right sheffield , england may 5 right center fielder/manager harry wright

harry wright

william henry `` harry '' wright -lrb- january 10 , 1835 -- october 3 , 1895 -rrb- was an english-born american professional baseball player , manager , and developer .
he assembled , managed , and played center field for baseball 's first fully professional team , the 1869 cincinnati red stockings .
it was there where he is credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters ' tendencies .
for his contributions as a manager and developer of the game , he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1952 by the veterans committee .
wright was also the first to make baseball into a business by paying his players up to seven times the pay of the average working man .
