Ex-NFL star Steve Wright dead at 82
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Former NFL lineman Steve Wright has died at the age of 82, it was announced on Tuesday.
He was a 6ft 6ins, 250-pound tackle who went on to win three championships and play in Super Bowls I and II.
Wright has been already been immortalized in statue as his body was the model for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy.
The former tackle was drafted by both the Green Bay Packers (NFL) and New York Jets (AFL) in 1964 - a few years before the AFL-NFL merger.
He opted for Green Bay, where he played until 1967 under legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Wright helped the Packers win NFL championships in 1965, 1966 and 1967.
That Green Bay team also won Super Bowl I (in January 1967) and Super Bowl II (in January 1968).
Wright was then traded to the New York Giants, before stints with the then-Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was in 1969, while Wright was with the Giants, that the NFL gave artist Daniel Bennett Schwartz the task of creating a sculpture entitled 'The Gladiator'.
The 6ft 6ins lineman was nominated as a model and more than five decades later, he is still the figure on what was initially called the 'Gladiator Award'.
In 1999, it was renamed the Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy in honor of the Hall of Fame running back.
The award 'recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field,' according to the league. Every one of the 32 teams nominates someone who has had 'a significant positive impact on his community'.
Back in February, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead became the latest winner.
