Rayfield Wright
| Rayfield Wright | |
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Position (s): Offensive tackle |
Jersey numbers: 85, 67, 70 |
| born on August 23, 1945 in Griffin , Georgia | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1967 - 1979 | |
| NFL Draft : 1967 / Round: 7 / Pick: 182 | |
| College : Fort Valley State University | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 166 |
| Fumbles conquered | 4th |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Larry Rayfield Wright (* 23. August 1945 in Griffin , Georgia ) Nickname : Big Cat is a former American American football player . He played for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL) and won the Super Bowl twice ( VI and XII ) with them .
Player career
Youth / college
Wright comes from a humble background and grew up without a father. Most of his upbringing was done by his grandmother. In his hometown he also attended high school , where he played basketball and not, as he wished, American football. At his college , he therefore initially played for the basketball team. To afford college, he was forced to work in a flour mill during the semester break. University football coach Stan Lomax then persuaded him to quit his summer job and join the football team. Lomax later became a father figure to Wright. In the football team, he first played as a free safety , later also as a punter , as a defensive end and as a tight end .
professional
Wright was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round as the 182nd player in the 1967 NFL Draft as a tight end. The late commitment initially gave him no hope of a longer career in the NFL. In the first three years he was given little time by his trainer Tom Landry . He was only able to score two pass catches with a touchdown . In 1969, before a game between the Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams , Wright managed to secure the position of right offensive tackle after the starter in that position, Ralph Neely , was injured. His opponent in the following game was none other than the dreaded future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , Deacon Jones . Wright solved his task with flying colors, already before the 1970 season he was used as a starter in the preseason in this position and kept it until the end of his career.
With his help, the Cowboys managed to establish the running game , from 1970 to 1979 the team was one of the ten best teams in terms of points. In 1972, with Wright as a blocker, Calvin Hill became the first Cowboys running back to run more than 1,000 yards in one season.
Wright won the Super Bowl twice with the Cowboys . In Super Bowl VI , the Miami Dolphins were beaten 24: 3, in Super Bowl XII a 27:10 win over the Denver Broncos . Wright moved into three more Super Bowls with the Cowboys, but they were all lost. He is one of 13 players to date who have played in five Super Bowls.
Wright's career has not been smooth. In 1977 he suffered a knee injury and had to take a break for most of the season. In 1979 he ended his career.
Coaching career
Wright worked briefly in 1992 as an assistant coach for the Arizona Rattlers - a team in the Arena Football League .
Honors selection
Wright is a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team . He was elected all-pro six times and played in six pro bowls . He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 2006, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and was immortalized in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2004 .
Off the field
Since the end of his career, Wright has been involved in youth work and church work. He supports numerous non-profit organizations. Wright is a co-owner of an oil company. He is married with four children and lives near Fort Worth , Texas .
Web links
- Rayfield Wright of the Dallas Cowboys
- Wright's homepage
- Rayfield Wright in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
source
- Jens Plassmann: NFL - American Football. The game, the stars, the stories (= Rororo 9445 rororo Sport ). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-19445-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press report on Wright's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ( Memento from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wright, Rayfield |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wright, Larry Rayfield (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach, entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 23, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Griffin , Georgia , United States |