Wright man for the job

Gary Wright feature story.Hoover High graduate and Seattle Seahawks’ administrator Gary Wright has worked his way up in 30 years with the organization Long before the Seattle Seahawks team plane touched down in frigid Detroit last Sunday, Gary Wright was ensconced in a small office in the team’s downtown hotel.

With papers scattered across his desk and multiple meetings to attend, Wright has had little free time to bask in the glory of the Seahawks winning their first National Football Conference championship and being on the grandest stage -- the Super Bowl.

It comes with the territory of being the vice president of administration for the Seahawks, who have endured a checkered 30-year history that’s seen Steve Largent, Jim Zorn and Brian Bosworth don the team jersey. Now things are at their apex for Wright and the Seahawks, who will face the American Football Conference-champion Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL at 3:30 p.m. PDT Sunday at Detroit’s Ford Field.

“There’s been no time to step back and enjoy,” said the 61-year-old Wright, who graduated from Hoover High in 1964 and Glendale Community College in 1966. “You have to get ready because there’s a job to do, like coordinating meetings.

“I don’t think it will sink in for me until kick off.”

Wright, who also attended Pepperdine University before graduating from Long Beach State University, has worked in various capacities for the Seahawks since June of 1976. He’s previously served as vice president of administration and public relations, director of publicity and public relations director.

During that time, the closest Seattle came to appearing in the Super Bowl came in 1983 when they lost the AFC championship contest to the Los Angeles Raiders, 30-14, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. To date, Seattle’s only championships came when the SuperSonics claimed the 1979 NBA championship and the Seattle Storm won the WNBA crown in 2004.

Wright, who was promoted to his current position in 1995, will look to see the city’s number of championships expand. The Seahawks, who have had just 13 winning seasons to go along with four division championships, advanced to the Super Bowl following playoff home victories against the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers at earsplitting Qwest Field.

“There’s a tremendous frenzy of excitement after years of frustration,” said Wright, who has assisted the league’s media relations staff at 19 Super Bowls. “We’ve honored our fans by raising a “12th Man” banner in the Stadium.

“The fans can make a difference. That’s part of our mission statement.”

Behind powerful running back Shaun Alexander, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and a defense that leads the league with 50 sacks and has yielded just 24 touchdowns, the Seahawks have been on a mission. Alexander has prospered under the direction of Coach Mike Holmgren, evidenced by him being selected the league’s most valuable player.

“Holmgren brought a renewed enthusiasm to Seattle after coaching the Green Bay Packers,” said Wright, who resides in Sammamish, Wash. “We have people in the front office in [Chief Executive Officer] Tod Leiweke and [General Manager] Tim Ruskell who made the team a family and built the roster.”

Long before Wright arrived in Seattle, he prepared himself around Glendale for a career in sports. He played football at Hoover, but made large strides by remembering Hoover athletes who excelled.

When he moved on to Glendale College, he became the college’s sports information director. He held the same title at Pepperdine and Long Beach State before taking his first two professional positions with the World Football League and World Team Tennis. He also taught and served as an assistant coach at St. John Bosco for several years.

Hoover and Glendale College helped open the doors for Wright to attain success.

“One thing I’ll never forget is always being mentored by great people around Glendale,” Wright said. “My first journalism instructor was Joe Thomas, who I then had at GCC, and he taught me about the importance of making deadlines. It was a word and a bond.

“Then I was raised by Hoover coaches like [track and field Coach] Sam Nicholson. There’s something to be said for that because they were great role models for me.”

Wright’s younger brothers, John and Jim, excelled at sports at Hoover. John was a guard who earned All-Foothill League accolades. Jim was a low hurdle standout for the school’s track and field squad.

Hoover dominated the track and field seen locally and regionally, which was a major reason for the family moving to Glendale from Los Angeles.

“I have such fond memories of those days,” said Wright, who still has relatives living in the area. “We were big track and field fans, and I wanted to go to Hoover.”

Nicholson, who coached at Hoover from 1956-64, said Wright served as the team’s publicity director.

“Gary was a great writer and journalist,” Nicholson said. “He was almost like an assistant coach along with a manager and stat guy.

“He had this enthusiasm and energy toward journalism. We had some great Hoover teams and everybody knew about Hoover track and field. He was the most valuable person in helping me in track and field because he could describe things in energetic terms.

“He’d also keep stats for us. I didn’t have to scout the other teams before a meet because he already had the information available for us.”

What Wright eventually wanted was the opportunity to work for a professional sports franchise.

The National Football League expanded in 1976 with franchises being awarded to Seattle and Tampa. Wright knocked on doors, hoping he’d catch on.

Don Anderson, who was a former sports information director at USC, persuaded the Seahawks to hire Wright.

“I always wanted a career in sports, whether it was coaching or front office,” said Wright, who was chosen by Largent to be his presenter at Largent’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1995.

“I aspired for that from the time I was young.

“I worked the NFL draft in 1976, and then-General Manager John Thompson offered me a job. I promised that I’d finish the semester teaching at St. John Bosco and he put me on retainer.

“I waited for a job that I wanted and made sure it would be one that I could stick with.”

Wright reunited shortly thereafter with Seattle, sticking with the team since.

After 30 years, the Seahawks have finally reached the Super Bowl.

It’s proved to be time well spent for Wright -- especially when kick-off time arrives.

* CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or by e-mail at charles.rich@latimes.com.