AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Steve Wright, who was the model for what is now the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year trophy, has died. He was 82.
Wright died Sunday at a care facility in Augusta, Georgia, the Packers announced.
Drafted by the Packers in the fifth round of the 1964 NFL Draft, Wright played his first four seasons in Green Bay under legendary head coach Vince Lombardi, winning the NFL Championship in 1965 and Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. He also played two seasons for the New York Giants, and one each with Washington, the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams.
Former Green Bay Packers lineman Steve Wright dies at 82
Former Green Bay Packers lineman Steve Wright, #72 at left, alongside teammates Ron Kosteinik #77 and Robert Brown #78 during Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The Packers won the game 33-14. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) Getty Images
In 1969, while Wright was playing for New York, the NFL commissioned artist Daniel Bennett Schwartz to create a sculpture named “The Gladiator.” When Schwartz asked the Giants for a player to model the sculpture after, the Giants sent the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Wright, according to NFL.com.
The NFL debuted “The Gladiator Award” in 1969, and renamed it the “NFL Man of the Year Award” the following year. The award annually “recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field,” particularly for their work in community service, according to its website.
In 1999, the NFL again renamed it the “Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award” in honor of the late Chicago Bears running back. Each of the NFL’s 32 teams nominates one player for the award, and the winner receives up to a $265,000 donation to the charity of his choice, while all 32 nominees receive up to a $55,000 donation to their charities of choice.