Steve Wright (American football, born 1959)


Stephen Hough Wright is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Raiders. He was also a member of the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League. He played college football at Northern Iowa and then played ten professional seasons for four teams from 1981–1992. He also appeared on where he placed tenth and became the third jury member.

Early years

Wright attended Wayzata High School, where he practiced football, basketball, track and hockey. He was an All-American in the shot put and discus throw.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Northern Iowa. He played offensive tackle during his first three years. As a senior he was switched to tight end, registering 8 receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown.
In 1997, he was inducted into the Northern Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Wright was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 1981 NFL Draft. He appeared in 16 games, playing mainly on special teams and as a backup offensive tackle.
In 1982, he was moved to the backup guard position. Because of an injury to Kurt Petersen, he was the right guard in the offensive line that blocked on Tony Dorsett's record 99-yard touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings. Also while with the Cowboys, Wright additionally blocked for another future Survivor contestant, Gary Hogeboom, who was the team's backup quarterback.

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (first stint)

On August 26, 1983, he was traded to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for a sixth round draft choice. In his first year with the Baltimore Colts he started ten games at right guard. He missed 3 games with an ankle injury. In 1984, when the team moved to Indianapolis, he replaced an injured Chris Hinton at left tackle and started nine games.

Oakland Invaders (USFL)

In December 1984, he signed with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League. Before the start of the next season, the Panthers decided to merge with the Oakland Invaders. 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

In 1987, he signed with the Los Angeles Raiders and was released on September 7. After the players went on a strike on the third week of the season, those games were canceled and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Wright was re-signed 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 of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. On Day 30, he was the 13th person voted out of the main game and was sent to Redemption Island. He was eliminated on Day 31. He's best remembered for his disagreements with Phillip Sheppard throughout the season, where Phillip claimed their rivalry was racially motivated.