Billy Wright was Molineux’s last English captain and half of the original Posh and Becks

Current Wolves skipper Conor Coady could follow in the footsteps of Wright, whose life and times are celebrated in a theatrical production compiled and hosted by his daughter Vicky

They were the original Posh and Becks, a football icon marrying his pop star sweetheart, and the nation was charmed by their romance.

Billy Wright, the first man in history to earn 100 caps for his country, and Joy Beverley – one of the Beverley Sisters who used to chirp and squirm in identical outfits – had pulled out all the stops to keep their marriage a secret.

With careful planning, they set a July date at Poole’s registry office because the fraternity were playing on the road at Bournemouth and Wright had just returned from the World Cup in Sweden, where England had been knocked out by the Soviet Union in a barrage. .

But as the appointed time approached, with the bride and groom stuck in traffic, Wright rolled down the window to ask a police officer what was holding them back. The battered copper smiled, “They’ve all come to see you get married, sir,” and the happy couple realized the cat hadn’t just come out of the bag: the vine had gone mad.

Billy Wright and Joy Beverley set the model for David Beckham, Posh Spice and others to follow when marriage collides with football and showbiz.

When England host Italy at Molineux on Saturday night, they will disembark next to the statue of Wolves legend Wright and enter the ground through the gates of their eponymous stand.

The last time the Three Lions played a full international in the land of Old Gold – a 5-2 win over Denmark in 1956 – Wright was captain and Duncan Edwards scored two of the goals. Just 18 months later, he would be a pallbearer at Edwards’ funeral after the Manchester United air disaster in Munich.

“Dad told me he was devastated that English football had lost such talent with the world at its feet,” Wright’s daughter Vicky said.

“He has always been a huge supporter of young players who have made their way into the international team, and he would have loved to see England line up at his beloved Molineux this weekend.

“It will be a historic occasion for Wolverhampton and he was so patriotic he would have burst with pride. Every time I go to the stadium his statue takes my breath away, and with a pub named after him in the town centre, I hope his name will be remembered by the people he had an unbreakable bond with.

“And he would have been delighted to see Conor Coady become the first Wolves player to win an England cap at Molineux if it happened against Italy or Hungary on Tuesday night.”

In memory of her father, Vicky – born the year he retired, but still working indoors at a restaurant in Windsor – has put together a stage documentary, The Billy Wright Story, which will make its theater debut at Cannock in October . The original version was staged three years ago at Molineux, where Wright’s ashes were scattered after his death at age 70 from pancreatic cancer, and was originally intended as a modest family, a 25-year-old gift for her granddaughter.

Vicky, who dipped into her own savings to pay for stock footage and studio edits, soon realized she wanted a polished production, not just a slideshow. She said: ‘I was only planning a little tribute and some life stories for my daughter about her grandfather so she can have a lasting memory of the man he was and what he did accomplished.

“But the more I put it together, the better I felt it needed to be, because there was so much material I wanted to include. I spent hours in the studio going through the archives and editing the grainy footage. All the tributes we garnered made me realize how well respected he was and I thought, ‘Hey dad, you kept that quiet.’ England playing Molineux brings it all back.

Reluctant superstar and humble man of the people, Wright was happy to share his trappings of fame.

If the milkman knocked on the door with a young son who wanted his autograph, he would give away one of his English caps. And when his wife gave him a disapproving look, he would say, “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty.” He wasn’t wrong. There are still only nine English centurions who have reached 100 caps.

But Billy Wright, the pride of Wolverhampton, was the original Lion King.

The Billy Wright Story, Prince of Wales Theatre, Cannock, 20 October.