Felix Carl Wright (born June 22, 1959) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1985 to 1992 . He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

Undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

out of

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

, Wright played from 1982 to 1984 in the

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 ...

(NFL) with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

, earning Eastern Division All-Star honors in his last two seasons. In his final year, he

intercepted In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

two passes in Hamilton's

72nd Grey Cup The 72nd Grey Cup was the 1984 Canadian Football League championship game, played November 18, 1984 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Blue Bombers dominated the Tiger-Cats in a 4 ...

game loss. In 1989, Wright led the NFL in interceptions with nine.

Professional career

He signed with the Browns as a free agent on April 13, 1985, spending his first season with the team in a specialization role in the secondary as well as seeing action on the special teams squad. The following season, he intercepted three passes and thrived on special teams, blocking one punt that was recovered for a touchdown, partially blocking another punt and then returning a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown in the Browns' October 26 road victory over the

. Exactly one year after his game against the Vikings, Wright earned Player of the Week accolades in a game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. In the game, he intercepted one pass and returned it 68 yards to set up Cleveland's first score, then later ran 40 yards with another interception for a touchdown. In 1988, Wright ended the year with three multi-interception games, including a pair in the team's loss to the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

in the AFC wild card game, winning AFC Defensive Player of Month in December. The following season, he led the NFL in interceptions with 9. In the November 5 road victory over the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Wright returned a pass 27 yards for a touchdown. Felix's younger brother Charles Wright enjoyed a career in both the CFL and briefly in the NFL. His brother, Joe Wright, played professional basketball in Europe.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Felix 1959 births Living people People from Carthage, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri American football safeties Drake Bulldogs football players Canadian football defensive backs Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Cleveland Browns players Minnesota Vikings players Kansas City Chiefs players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen