The Baseball of Johnny Wright

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) —In one respect, the fight for human rights is like the game of baseball. According to Major League Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner advances by taking a base to which he isn’t entitled. The athlete acts on risk because they know they have a right to advancement. Like baseball, what could be more American than freedom?

Ro Brown is a Hall of fame sports journalist and says, “The Dodgers felt like they should sign him. He must have been pretty good! They signed Jackie Robinson in October of 1946, they signed John Wright on January 9th, 1947. He was the second African American person that was signed.”

Johnny Wright was a pitcher born in New Orleans in 1916, who played for the Homestead Grays before the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him to their minor league team, The Montreal Royals. Despite his significance, not too many people know about Johnny Wright.

“During the 1943, Negro League Champions, while playing with the Homestead Grays; Wright had a record of 26 and four. After he pitched for the Grays, he went into the Navy. He pitched for Great Lakes, Naval Training Center. The Great Lakes team in Illinois, during WWII, had these phenomenal athletic teams. He was obviously a phenomenal pitcher, who I think belonged in the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, because of his story,” says Brown.

After a brief period in the minors, Wright returned to playing with the negro leagues. He remained a quiet man about his sports career and left much to the imagination for those who didn’t know about him, including his own family and most of New Orleans.

Carlis Wright-Robinson says, “my dad lived at 2900 Mistletoe street. I noticed that there was more and more of his story that was popping up as I researched. I couldn’t believe that he was never mentioned. I always heard about Jackie Robinson. My older brother talked about how these guys would come to the house on Mistletoe, whenever they were in town.”

For years, Wrights’ picture would appear in old photos of the Homestead Grays and the Montreal Royals. His picture was also included in the National Smithsonian Collection.

“There was an individual picture of him that was labeled “unknown Negro league player” and that went straight to my heart, and I contacted them and worked with them to update the narrative,” says Wrights’ daughter Carlis.

The mission of Carlis is to make sure everyone knows about her father Johnny Wright and the incredible man that he was.

Recently, John Wright was posthumously inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, with the help of Ro Brown.

“These guys, the negro leagues and players like Johnny Wright… they persevered in the end,” says Brown.