BleedGopher
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per STrib:
Michael Wright, a Minnesota football star in the 1950s and 1960s who built Supervalu Inc. in the 1980s and 1990s into the nation’s largest grocery wholesaler, died Monday at his home in Naples, Fla.
Wright, who was 81, died of complications from pneumonia.
He grew up in Minneapolis and became an all-state athlete in both football and basketball in high school at St. Thomas Military Academy. He continued to play both sports at the University of Minnesota, became captain of the football team in 1959 and remained a prominent backer of Gopher sports through his life.
In 1960s, he was drafted by teams in the NFL, AFL and Canadian Football League and decided to take the highest offer, an $11,000 salary from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which was coached by another Gopher alum, Bud Grant.
John Michels, who played and coached for the Blue Bombers and later became the longest-serving assistant coach of the Minnesota Vikings, once called Wright the second-best lineman he ever coached after Ron Yary. Michels called Wright “mean as a snake.”
While playing pro football, Wright also attended law school at the U on an ROTC scholarship. After a stint in the Army to fulfill his ROTC commitment, Wright joined the Minneapolis law firm Dorsey and Whitney. Among his clients was Supervalu, which hired him as chief executive in 1981.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Michael Wright, a Minnesota football star in the 1950s and 1960s who built Supervalu Inc. in the 1980s and 1990s into the nation’s largest grocery wholesaler, died Monday at his home in Naples, Fla.
Wright, who was 81, died of complications from pneumonia.
He grew up in Minneapolis and became an all-state athlete in both football and basketball in high school at St. Thomas Military Academy. He continued to play both sports at the University of Minnesota, became captain of the football team in 1959 and remained a prominent backer of Gopher sports through his life.
In 1960s, he was drafted by teams in the NFL, AFL and Canadian Football League and decided to take the highest offer, an $11,000 salary from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which was coached by another Gopher alum, Bud Grant.
John Michels, who played and coached for the Blue Bombers and later became the longest-serving assistant coach of the Minnesota Vikings, once called Wright the second-best lineman he ever coached after Ron Yary. Michels called Wright “mean as a snake.”
While playing pro football, Wright also attended law school at the U on an ROTC scholarship. After a stint in the Army to fulfill his ROTC commitment, Wright joined the Minneapolis law firm Dorsey and Whitney. Among his clients was Supervalu, which hired him as chief executive in 1981.
Michael Wright, a Gophers star who led Supervalu for 20 years, dies at 81
Former U football star known as tough, savvy and "a friend to everyone."
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
