Chris Wright (August 24, 1972 – July 31, 2005) was a

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL)

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

and

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

champion. Wright played college football at

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

. His first year as a professional was successful, for as kick returner with the

Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

he scored 3 touchdowns on punt returns and added an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown in their

victory. This won him the Frank M. Gibson Trophy as best rookie in the CFL Southern Conference, and an all-star selection. He moved north to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with the Stallions when they relocated and became the revived

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. He missed the entire 1996 season due to injury, but had an impressive 1997 campaign, with 2 punt return touchdowns. He was released after the 1998 season, but resurfaced in 2002 with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

, where he played 7 games. Chris Wright was murdered in a shooting in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

on July 31, 2005.
Former CFLer murdered in Atlanta, Monday, August 8, 2005, ''CBC Sports''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Chris 1972 births 2005 deaths Baltimore Stallions players BC Lions players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Montreal Alouettes players People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) 2005 murders in the United States