Kenneth Leon "Tug" Wilson (March 27, 1896 – February 2, 1979) was an American

track and field athlete Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and athletics administrator. He competed in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

, finishing tenth in the discus throw competition. Wilson served as the second commissioner of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

, from 1945 to 1961, and as the president of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

from 1953 to 1965.

Early life

Wilson graduated from Atwood High School in 1914 and began a career in education the following school year by teaching in a country school for two years. He enrolled at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1916 and studied agriculture.

College athletics

Wilson was a multi-sport athlete, playing for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

on the 1919 team and named captain for the 1920 team. During the 1920 season, Wilson would play with

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Chuck Carney Charles Roslyn Carney (August 25, 1900 – September 5, 1984) was an American football and basketball player. Carney was born in Chicago in 1900. He enrolled at the University of Illinois where he excelled in both football and basketball. ...

. He also played end for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and was best known for his prowess in track and field. Wilson threw the discus,

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

and

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

, making the U.S. Olympic Team in javelin and discus. He competed in the

held in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

by throwing the discus and placing tenth.

Post-graduate

Wison graduated from Illinois in 1920 but remained at the university as an assistant to the athletic director, George Huff. He utilized his experiences at Illinois to take the role of athletic director and head track coach at

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

from 1922 to 1925. All of these experiences catapulted Wison into the athletic director position at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

where he remained until 1945. In 1945, Wison would be named

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

, remaining in that position until 1961. Wilson also served as a member of the President's Council on Youth Fitness under

President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary ...

and

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

Personal information

Wilson married Dorothy Estelle Shade in 1924. His nickname, ''"Tug"'' was passed down from his father, Charles Wesley ''"Tug"'' Wilson.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kenneth 1896 births 1979 deaths American male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Big Ten Conference commissioners Drake Bulldogs athletic directors Illinois Fighting Illini men's track and field athletes Northwestern Wildcats athletic directors Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee Olympic track and field athletes for the United States People from Atwood, Illinois Track and field athletes from Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen