Place of birth: St. Louis, Missouri Undrafted: 1981 Height 1.98 m Position Tackle | College: Northern Iowa Games: 129 Weight 123 kg TV shows Survivor | |
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Date of birth: (1959-04-08) April 8, 1959 (age 57) Education University of Northern Iowa, Wayzata High School | ||
Stephen Hough Wright (born April 8, 1959) is a former American football offensive tackle and offensive guard. A 1977 graduate of Wayzata (MN) High School, he played college football at Northern Iowa and then played ten professional seasons for four teams from 1981–1992. He also appeared on Survivor: Redemption Island where he placed 10th and became the 3rd jury member.
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Early years
Wright attended Wayzata High School before moving on to University of Northern Iowa, where he played tight end and offensive tackle. In 1997, he was inducted into the Northern Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.
Dallas Cowboys
Wright was not selected in the 1981 NFL Draft and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys. He was a part of the offensive line on Dorsett's 99-yard touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings during the 1982 NFL season. Also while with the Cowboys, Wright additionally blocked for another future Survivor contestant, Gary Hogeboom (Survivor: Guatemala), who was the team's second-string quarterback.
On August 26, 1983, he was traded to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for a sixth round draft choice (#144-Kurt Ploeger).
Baltimore Colts (first stint)
In his first year with the Colts he started 10 games at right guard. In 1984, he replaced an injured Chris Hinton at left tackle and started 9 games.
Michigan Panthers (USFL)
In December 1984, he signed with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League. At the end of the season the Panthers decided to merge with the Oakland Invaders.
Oakland Invaders (USFL)
In 1985, Wright joined the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League. The team would reach the USFL Championship Game, losing to the Baltimore Stars. Wright, who wore #70 with the Invaders, scored a touchdown in a May game against the Denver Gold when Invaders quarterback Bobby Hebert completed a two-yard pass to Wright, who was tackle eligible on the play.
Indianapolis Colts (second stint)
On July 16, 1986, Wright returned to the NFL, signing with the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent. He was a surprise cut on August 18.
Los Angeles Raiders
He signed with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1987 and was released on September 7. After the players went on a strike on the third week of the season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Wright was resigned to be a part of the Raiders replacement team, that was given the mock name "Masqueraiders" by the media. He ended up playing well in those games as the starter at right tackle and was kept for the rest of the season playing mainly as a backup.
He was waived on September first, 1988, before being re-signed during the second week of the regular season. In 1990, he became a full-time starter at right tackle after replacing an injured Bruce Wilkerson and keeping his job after Wilkerson returned and was moved to left tackle.
In 1992, he missed nine games with a right shoulder injury. On August, 23, 1993, he was placed on the injured reserve list. He retired from professional football in June 1994 at the age of 35.
Personal life
Wright founded Cloudburst, a company that provides sideline misting systems. He sold the business in 2000. Today, Wright lives in Huntington Beach, California.
In 2011, Wright appeared as a contestant on the twenty second season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. On Day 30, he was the 13th person voted out of the game and was sent to Redemption Island. He was eliminated on Day 31.