March 2, 2009

MEMPHIS, TENN. - James Earl Wright, who played quarterback for the Memphis Tigers from 1958-61, died February 26. He was 69 years old. Shackelford Funeral Directors (www.shackelfordfuneraldirectors.com) is handling all arrangements.

Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, from 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., at Lebanon Methodist Church in Saltillo, Tenn. The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Directions to the church are provided on Shackelford's website.

Wright was born in Columbus, Miss., on March 27, 1939. He is the son of the late Jay and Edna Wright.

He earned his degree from then Memphis State University, where he lettered four seasons. He led the Tigers to an 8-2 record in 1961, passing for 604 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named an honorable mention Williamson All-American in 1960. During his four-year career, the Tigers were 26-13 and had back to back eight win seasons in 1960 and 1961. Wright was selected in the third round of the 1961 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, and later in the 14th round was selected by the AFL's Boston Patriots. He went on to play football for the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos and for the Denver Broncos (1964). In 1994, he was inducted into the Tennessee State Sports Hall of Fame.

He retired as a supervisor for Cargill Steel and Wire.

Wright was featured in a story by Time Magazine on October 27, 1961. The link to the story is below.

Click Here to read the story on Time.com .