:''This is about the American football player; for others, see

Theodore Wright (disambiguation) Theodore Wright (1883–1914) was a British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross. Theodore Wright may also refer to: * Theodore S. Wright (1797–1847), African-American abolitionist * Theodore Paul Wright (1895–1970), American aeronaut ...

.'' Weldon H. "Ted" Wright (November 15, 1913 – December 1, 1983) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He played professionally as a halfback and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in 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) for the

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the NFC East, East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). ...

and the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

in 1935. Wrightplayed

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 ...

North Texas State Teachers College The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the flagship of the Un ...

Early life

Wright was born in

Savoy, Texas Savoy is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population is 712 as of the 2020 census. Geography Savoy is located in western Fannin County. Its western border is the Grayson County line. Texas State Highway 56 passes through the ...

and attended Sherman High School in

Sherman, Texas Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area, Sherman–Denison metropolitan statist ...

College career

Wright attended and played

at North Texas State Teachers College, now known as the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

. He became the first player from North Texas to play in the NFL.

Professional career

Wright was signed by the

, where he played in and part of . In November, he was purchased by the

, where he played for the remainder of the season.

Military service and coaching career

Wright served as an officer in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He was the head coach of the

1945 Minter Field Atomic Bombers football team 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1913 births 1983 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Boston Redskins players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Kirtland Field Flying Kellys football coaches Minter Field Atomic Bombers football coaches North Texas Mean Green football players United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army personnel of World War II Sherman High School (Texas) alumni People from Fannin County, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Sherman, Texas Military personnel from Texas 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1910s-stub