George Wright was baseball's first franchise player. His older brother Harry was asked to form the first pro team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, and the first player Harry recruited was George, a shortstop. The Wrights transferred operations to Boston when the National Association was formed, and won four of five pennants. George was the team's sparkplug, Harry the manager. They joined the National League in its first season, 1876, and won pennants in 1877 and 1878, with George leading the league in at-bats. George managed Providence to a pennant in 1879, with Harry's Boston club finishing second.

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George gave up baseball almost entirely to establish a sporting-goods business. Since Albert Spalding and A.J. Reach already had strong footholds in baseball, Wright looked to other sports for development. He was helped in this goal when his son, Beals, became an early tennis star. When the Hall of Fame opened in 1939, Wright was one of its first inductees. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » March 31, 1880: Worcester offers Providence $1,000 for the right to negotiate with George Wright. » April 21, 1880: George Wright turns down Providence's final contract offer. Since the club has turned down Worcester's offer and will not allow any other club to negotiate with Wright, he will sit out the entire season (except for one game), the first player victimized by the reserve system. » May 29, 1880: With George Wright in its lineup, Boston upsets Chicago 11–10. Wright scores two runs and fields flawlessly, but will play no more games because of protests from Providence, which still has him "reserved." The loss snaps Chicago's win streak of 13, which they will top in a little more than a month (June 2–July 8). » February 22, 1881: George Wright signs a contract with Boston that he claims will only require him to play games in New England and Troy. He feels his business commitments will not allow him to accompany the Reds on their western road trips. » March 17, 1884: The UA admits a Boston club organized by George Wright, bringing the number of teams to 8. The UA decides to stick with the 7-ball walk rule. » December 7, 1937: Five of baseball's pioneers are added to the Hall of Fame: Connie Mack, John McGraw, Morgan Bulkeley, Ban Johnson, and George Wright. » May 18, 1999: In Boston, Joseph Schnabel pleads guilty to stealing wills signed by baseball Hall of Famers George Wright and 1920s umpire Tom Connolly and selling them for more than $15,000. The discovery of the missing documents led authorities in other parts of the country to realize they had experienced similar thefts.