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This week in history: Baseball player Johnny Wright was born [1]

['Shannon Stecker', 'More Shannon Stecker', 'Verite News']

Date: 2023-11-27

Johnny Wright, the second Black baseball player signed to a major league-affiliated team, was born in New Orleans on November 28, 1916. Though he entered the minor leagues shortly after Jackie Robinson, Wright never made it to the majors, and his career is often overlooked.

Wright grew up in the Lafitte Housing Project and attended McDonogh 35. He started his baseball career playing with the New Orleans Zulus, which The Times-Picayune described as a “local baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters.”

In 1937, Wright signed with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. He would spend nearly a decade in the Negro Leagues as a pitcher playing for six teams, including the Homestead Grays, a team he pitched for in the Negro Leagues World Series in 1942, 1943 and 1945. During World War II, Wright served as a sailor in the Navy where he pitched for the Great Lakes Naval Station.

A 2022 article in Cresent City Sports features a quote from former Negro Leagues pitcher Walter Wright, who died in 2002. Walter Wright described seeing a young Johnny Wright play: “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.”

Wright’s pitching skills during his tenure in the Negro National League caught the attention of scouts including Branch Rickey, an executive for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who had recently signed Robinson.

On January 29, 1946, Wright signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and joined the team’s AAA farm club, the Montreal Royals, joining Robinson. Robinson famously went on to play for the Dodgers beginning in 1947, breaking the major league’s color barrier. But Wright didn’t perform as well for the Royals as anticipated, which resulted in his demotion to a Class C Dodgers affiliate just two months after he started.

Wright returned to the Negro Leagues in 1947 and helped the Homestead Grays win the 1948 Negro League World Series.

He soon after retired from baseball and worked as a porter. He died on May 4, 1990, in Jackson, Mississippi.

A 2013 Times-Picayune article quotes Jackie Robinson’s take on Wright from the book, “Only the Ball Was White,” by Robert Peterson., “John had all the ability in the world. But John couldn’t stand the pressure of going up into this new league and being one of the first,” Robinson said of his minor league teammate. “The things that went on up there were too much for him, and John was not able to perform up to his capabilities.”

In 2022, Wright was inducted posthumously into the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame for his outstanding career and the role he served, breaking barriers for African-American baseball players.

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If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @VeriteNewsNola on Facebook @VeriteNewsNola on Twitter. If you have any other questions, contact managing editor Tim Morris. This week in history: Baseball player Johnny Wright was born <h1>This week in history: Baseball player Johnny Wright was born</h1> by Shannon Stecker, Verite News November 27, 2023 Johnny Wright, the second Black baseball player signed to a major league-affiliated team, was born in New Orleans on<a href="https://64parishes.org/entry/johnny-wright"> November 28, 1916.</a> Though he entered the minor leagues shortly after Jackie Robinson, Wright never made it to the majors, and his career is often overlooked. Wright grew up in the Lafitte Housing Project and attended McDonogh 35. He started his baseball career playing with the New Orleans Zulus, which The Times-Picayune <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/on-jackie-robinson-day-remembering-new-orleans-johnny-wright/article_13058f3a-abd6-5a54-86b5-db2e192e3c10.html">described</a> as a “local baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters.” In<a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/john-wright/#_edn1"> 1937</a>, Wright signed with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. He would spend <a href="https://64parishes.org/entry/johnny-wright">nearly a decade</a> in the Negro Leagues as a pitcher playing for six teams, including the Homestead Grays, a team he pitched for in the Negro Leagues World Series in <a href="http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/newspapers/00000344.txt">1942, 1943 and 1945</a>. During World War II, Wright served as a sailor in the Navy where he pitched for the<a href="https://64parishes.org/entry/johnny-wright"> Great Lakes Naval Station</a>. A<a href="https://crescentcitysports.com/negro-leagues-legend-johnny-wright-to-be-inducted-into-greater-new-orleans-sports-hall-of-fame/"> 2022 article</a> in Cresent City Sports features a quote from former Negro Leagues pitcher Walter Wright, who died in 2002. Walter Wright described seeing a young Johnny Wright play: “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.” Wright’s pitching skills during his tenure in the Negro National League caught the attention of scouts including <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/rickey-branch">Branch Rickey</a>, an executive for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who had recently signed Robinson. On<a href="https://crescentcitysports.com/negro-leagues-legend-johnny-wright-to-be-inducted-into-greater-new-orleans-sports-hall-of-fame/"> January 29, 1946</a>, Wright signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and joined the team’s AAA farm club, the Montreal Royals, joining Robinson. Robinson famously went on to play for the Dodgers beginning in 1947, breaking the major league’s color barrier. But Wright didn’t perform as well for the Royals as anticipated, which resulted in his demotion to a Class C Dodgers affiliate just two months after he started. Wright returned to the Negro Leagues in 1947 and helped the Homestead Grays win the 1948 Negro League World Series. He soon after retired from baseball and worked as a porter. He died on May 4, 1990, in Jackson, Mississippi. A 2013 Times-Picayune article quotes Jackie Robinson’s take on Wright from the book, “Only the Ball Was White,” by Robert Peterson., “John had all the ability in the world. But John couldn’t stand the pressure of going up into this new league and being one of the first,” Robinson said of his minor league teammate. “The things that went on up there were too much for him, and John was not able to perform up to his capabilities.” In 2022, Wright was <a href="https://crescentcitysports.com/negro-leagues-legend-johnny-wright-to-be-inducted-into-greater-new-orleans-sports-hall-of-fame/">inducted posthumously</a> into the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame for his outstanding career and the role he served, breaking barriers for African-American baseball players. This <a target="_blank" href="https://veritenews.org/2023/11/27/this-week-in-history-baseball-player-johnny-wright-was-born/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://veritenews.org">Verite News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/veritenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-Verite-icon.png?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://veritenews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=10861" style="width:1px;height:1px;"> Copy to Clipboard

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