Mayors visit Our Sporting Life Exhibitions in Ironbridge Gorge

Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett and the Mayoress, Mrs Linda Gwinnett from Wolverhampton were welcomed by the Mayor of Telford & Wrekin, Councillor Ian Fletcher and the Mayoress, Councillor Veronica Fletcher.

One of the many areas of interest within Our Sporting Life, Sporting Heroes is a display devoted to Billy Wright, also known as the Ironbridge Rocket. He famously captained both Wolverhampton Wanderers and the England side over a hundred times.

Councillor Ian Fletcher explains; “I am sure everyone will agree, there is no greater local sporting hero than Billy Wright who was born here in Ironbridge and later went on to play for Wolverhampton Wanderers. I wanted to share this wonderful celebration of his memory, including many objects from his playing career, with the Mayor and Mayoress of Wolverhampton. I know the Museum is very grateful for the generous support that Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club has given through the loan of so many important artefacts”.

Our Sporting Life, Sporting Heroes is running in the Coalbrookdale Gallery adjacent to Enginuity until 29th February 2012 and is free of charge. It features a remarkable display of images ranging from football, cricket and quoit teams to rowing clubs and coracle racing. It also includes various artefacts celebrating Shropshire’s sporting heroes past and present such as Captain Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, and Richie Woodhall the international boxer.

At Enginuity visitors can enjoy the Our Sporting Life, The Science of Sport exhibition (normal admission costs apply) which uses the Museum’s collections and loan items to demonstrate the science behind modern, high-performance sports. Running until September 2012, a highlight is the Olympic gold medal winning eight rowing boat from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, on loan from the Henley River & Rowing Museum.