March 2, 2009

James Earl Wright 69, teacher and coach at CHS in the '60s and quarterback at Memphis State, died Thursday, Feb. 26 at his Memphis home. As of this writing, no news organization in Memphis has any information, but we have these scanty details. Coach Wright's funeral is scheduled for 1 P.M., Tuesday at the Lebanon Methodist Church near Saltillo, Tn. Shackelford Funeral home in Savannah 731-925-4000, has charge of the arrangements. From the WMCT website:

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.