Dickey Wright

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Richard "Dickey" Wright (born c. 1953) is the head football coach for Shades Mountain Christian School and a former head football coach for the Homewood High School Patriots from 2006 to 2010.

Wright is the oldest son of Lester and Maxine Wright. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Health and Physical Education.

In 1981, he began working for Homewood City Schools as Homewood Middle School's athletic director and head football coach. He also spent some time as the school's wrestling coach and assistant principal. In 1993, he moved to Homewood High as defensive coordinator. Then, in 1995 he began serving as assistant head coach under Coach Bob Newton in addition to his defensive coordinator responsibilities.

In 2006, Newton developed a staph infection that made him miss that season and Wright was named interim coach. Newton returned for spring training, but stepped down as head coach in June 2007 and Wright became his permanent replacement. The 2006 season also happened to be when Homewood was moved back up from Class 5A to Class 6A in AHSAA Region 6. That season the Patriots went 7-6 and made it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. They did not do as well the following years, going 3-6, 4-6, and 5-5 and failing to make the playoffs. In 2010, Wright's final season, the team went 6-4 but still didn't make the playoffs. Overall, his record as head coach at Homewood was 25-27. At the end of that season, Wright resigned, saying "it was just time."

Wright also served as Homewood High's head wrestling coach, winning 5 state wrestling titles in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. In 2001, the National High School Coaches Association named him the Southeast Regional Wrestling Coach of the Year.

After his resignation as football coach, Wright continued to work for the school system doing this such as coordinating school buses, helping with residence verification, and assisting with general supervision. His wife, Sally Chambers Wright, long-time teacher in the Homewood system, primarily Edgewood Elementary School, died on April 27, 2013 at 69. He then retired from Homewood later that year, but was hired by Class 1A Shades Mountain Christian School as their head football coach, replacing Richard Richardson. In his first year, the team went 2-7, but Wright's only goal was to bring some stability to the team.

Preceded by:
Bob Newton
Head Football Coach of Homewood High School
20062010
Succeeded by:
Doug Goodwin
Preceded by:
Richard Richardson
Head Football Coach of Shades Mountain Christian School
2013–present
Succeeded by:
current

References

  • "Wright Named as New Head Football Coach." (June 20, 2007). Homewood City Schools.
  • Beaudry, Paul. (July 3, 2009). "Homewood AD Bob Newton retires." The Birmingham News.
  • Crenshaw, Solomon Jr. (November 10, 2010). "Dickey Wright says 'it was just time' to step down as Homewood football coach." The Birmingham News.
  • Grabarczyk, Doug. (March 5, 2013). "Shades Mountain hires veteran coach Dickey Wright to lead its football team." AL.com. Accessed February 26, 2014.
  • "Wright Family Death." (April 27, 2013). Shades Mountain Church of Christ (Facebook page). Accessed February 26, 2014.
  • "Sally Chambers Wright" (obituary). (April 27, 2013). The Birmingham News.
  • "Alabama High School Football Head Coaches: Dickey Wright." (n.d.). Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Accessed February 26, 2014.