Dad would have LOVED to see England at his beloved Molineux... he would have been bursting with pride
VICKY WRIGHT, DAUGHTER OF BILLY WRIGHT
THEY were the original Posh and Becks, a football icon marrying his popstar sweetheart, and the nation was charmed by their love story.
Billy Wright, the first man in history to win 100 caps, and Joy Beverley – one of the Beverley Sisters who used to warble and wiggle in identical outfits – had made every effort to keep their wedding a secret.
With judicious planning, they set a July date at Poole Register Office because Joy was playing down the road in Bournemouth and Wright had just returned from the World Cup in Sweden, where England lost to the Soviet Union in a play-off.
But as the appointed hour approached, with bride and groom marooned in gridlocked traffic, Wright asked a policeman what was holding them up.
The beat copper smiled: “They have all come to see you get married, sir,” and the happy couple realised the cat was not just out of the bag, the grapevine had run amok.
Billy Wright and Joy Beverley set the template for David Beckham, Posh Spice and others to follow when matrimony collides with football and showbiz.
Tonight, when England host Italy at Molineux, they will disembark next to Wolves legend Wright’s statue and enter the ground through the doors of his eponymous stand.
The last time the Three Lions played a full international in the land of Old Gold – a 5-2 win over Denmark in 1956 – Wright was the captain and Duncan Edwards scored twice.
Just 18 months later, he was a pallbearer at Edwards’ funeral after Manchester United’s air disaster in Munich. “Dad told me he was devastated English football lost such a talent with the world at his feet,” said Wright’s daughter Vicky.
“He was always a big supporter of young players who made their way into the international team, and would have loved to see England lining up at his beloved Molineux. It will be an historic occasion for Wolverhampton and he was so patriotic he would have been bursting with pride.
“Every time I go to the stadium his statue takes my breath away, and together with a pub named after him in the city centre, hopefully his name will always be remembered by the people with whom he had an unbreakable connection.
“He would have been thrilled to see Conor Coady become the first Wolves player since him to win an England cap at Molineux if that happens against Italy or Hungary on Tuesday night.”
In her father’s memory, Vicky – born in the year he retired, but still working front of house in a Windsor restaurant – has put together a stage documentary, The Billy Wright Story, which makes its theatre debut in October. First put on three years ago at Molineux, where Wright’s ashes were scattered after his death at 70 from pancreatic cancer in 1994, it was originally intended as a modest family celebration, a 25th birthday present for his granddaughter.
Vicky, who used savings to pay for archive footage and studio edits, realised she wanted a slick production, not just a slide show. She said: “I was only planning a small tribute and a few life stories for my daughter about her grandad so she could have a lasting keepsake of the man he was and what he achieved.
“But the more I put it together, the better I felt it needed to be, as there was so much material I wanted to include. I spent hours on end in the studio going through the archives and editing the grainy footage. All the tributes we gathered made me realise just how respected he was and I thought, ‘Hey, Dad, you kept that quiet.’ England playing at Molineux brings it all back.”
There are still only nine England players to have reached 100 caps. But Billy Wright, pride of Wolverhampton, was the original Lion King.
The Billy Wright Story, Prince of Wales Theatre, Cannock, October 20
Every time I go to the stadium, his statue takes my breath away. I hope his name will always be remembered