Thomas E. Wilson (July 11, 1868 – August 4, 1958) was a Canadian-born American businessman. In 1926, he created one of the most recognizable sports brand names in the world, known as

Wilson Sporting Goods The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball, badminton, American football, basketball, fastpitch softball, golf, racquetball ...

. He served as President and Chairman of the Board of Wilson & Co for 35 years.

Early life

Thomas Edward Wilson was born on a farm near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Middlesex County,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, on July 22, 1868 to Scottish parents, Moses and Mary Ann Wilson (née Higgins). He went to the United States as a young man working as a railroad car checker in the bustling stockyards of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Career

Wilson spent 25 years working his way up the ranks of Morris & Co, becoming Vice-President of the packing house in 1906, and president in 1913 following the death of its founder, Edwin Morris. In 1916, bankers succeeded in luring Wilson away from Morris & Company, in order to run a failing New York-based meat packer Sulzberger & Sons. Originally founded by Ferdinand Sulzberger 1853 as Schwartzchild & Sulzberger, it was often called S&S for short. Wilson renamed the firm eponymously as Wilson & Co., Inc. on July 27, 1916, and moved its headquarters to Chicago's

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was formed by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a vast cen ...

. It soon joined

Armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

and Swift at the top of the U.S.

meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...

. From 1916 until the 1950s Thomas Wilson built the company rapidly into one of 50 largest industrial corporations in the United States. Wilson was an important influence on the branding of processed meat foods, having developed many of today's popular value added beef and pork products. Wilson & Company was responsible for introducing numerous well-known brands, such as Wilson Certified Hams, Wilson's Continental Deli and Wilson's Corn King. He was an important figure in both the

American Meat Institute The American Meat Institute (AMI) was the oldest and largest trade association representing the U.S. meat and poultry industry. In 2015, it was merged into the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). Overview Founded in 1906 in Chicago as the Ame ...

and in the sporting goods industry. He was a leader of the national 4H program and breeder of shorthorn cattle. In a real estate transaction in the 1920s, Wilson & Co. bought the Ashland Manufacturing Company, including its inventory of sporting goods products. The contents were offered to Spalding, among others. There was insufficient interest by buyers, so Wilson & Co. decided to enter the business on its own. The subsidiary was called

, and was eventually spun off into an independent company, which continues to do business in 2022. After Wilson's death, in the 1960s Wilson & Co. taken private by conglomerate LTV Corporation., LTV later the sporting goods division to WESRAY, with successive buyers

PEPSI Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

and AMER GROUP.

Civic awards

In 1946 Wilson received the United States Government's

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was the highest civilian decoration of the United States in the gift of the president. Created during World War II, it was awarded by the president of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptiona ...

from President Harry Truman for his services to the U.S. economy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Death

Wilson died at age 90 in Illinois on August 4, 1958.

Personal life

He married Elizabeth L. Foss on November 1, 1899. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. An archive of Wilson's personal papers exists at the Special Collections Research Center of the

University of Chicago Library The University of Chicago Library is the library system of the University of Chicago, located on the university's campus in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the seventh largest academic library and the fourth largest private library in th ...

.Guide to the Thomas E. Wilson Family collection 1850-2005, University of Chicago Library website (2019).https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.WILSONTE

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Thomas E. 1868 births 1958 deaths American people of Scottish descent Canadian emigrants to the United States Wilson Sporting Goods Businesspeople from Chicago American company founders