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For the first six years of his professional career, Bill Wright played in the Negro Leagues. He played centerfield for the Elite Giants from 1932-1939 when they represented Nashville, Columbus, Washington, and Baltimore.

In 1940 Wright took his talents south to the Mexican Leagues, where he gained celebrity status because of his play. He continued to bruise pitchers south of the border with his mighty swing until 1956.

Wright found the discrimination in Mexico far less prevalent than in American during his career. For his Mexican League exploits, Wright was inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

In 2005 Cooperstown set out to better recognize Negro Leaguers by forming two committees. The first was a group of five that screened candidates from the Negro League and pre-Negro League era. The screening committee whittled down a list of 94 candidates to form a final ballot 39.

The second committee of 12 men elected 17 of the 39 to the Hall of Fame. If Cooperstown opens its doors to more Negro Leaguers, it would follow that the 22 not elected would be first in line. Among those 22 were second baseman/manager Newt Allen, pitchers Bill Byrd and Chet Brewer. If Wright’s Mexican League stats are considered, he’d be in the same tier.

Because of his decision to live in Mexico most of Wright’s autographs stem from a 1991 Negro League reunion in Cooperstown. Shown here is a pre-reunion autograph in which Wright writes his name and his address in Mexico.

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The Baseball Hall of Fame held a three-day Negro League reunion in Cooperstown in 1991. Baseball fans across the country hailed the event that recognized and honored men who were barred from the big leagues due to the color of their skin.

In the collection is a photo signed at the 1991 Negro League reunion. One can see that Wright’s penmanship had declined a little by this time. One of the top all around players in the Negro League, Wright appeared in seven East-West All Star games including five straight from 1935-1939.