Wilson Sporting Goods

The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. From 1989, it has been a subsidiary of the Finnish group Amer Sports, since 2019 itself a subsidiary of the Chinese group ANTA Sports.[3] Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball, badminton, American football, basketball, fastpitch softball, golf, racquetball, soccer, squash, tennis, pickleball and volleyball.

Wilson Sporting Goods Company
FormerlyAshland Manufacturing Company
(1913–31)
TypePrivate (1913–67)
Subsidiary (1967–present)
IndustrySports equipment
FateAcquired by Ling-Temco-Vought in 1967, then other owners
Founded1913 (1913)
FounderThomas E. Wilson
Headquarters
Chicago
,
U.S.
ProductsBalls, rackets, uniforms, apparel
BrandsWilson Staff
$930 million (2010)[1]
Number of employees
1,600 [2]
ParentAmer Sports
Subsidiaries
Websitewilson.com

The company owns the brands Atec, DeMarini, EvoShield, Louisville Slugger, and Luxilon to provide sports equipment and protective gear for baseball, lacrosse, softball, and tennis.

History
Thomas Wilson founded the company, also serving as its president and chairman for 35 years

The company traces its roots to the "Schwarzschild & Sulzberger" meatpacking company (later changed to "Sulzberger & Son's") based in New York, that operated meat packing slaughterhouses.[4]

Sulzberger & Son's founded the "Ashland Manufacturing Company" in 1913 to use animal by-products from its slaughterhouses. It started out in 1914, making tennis racket strings, violin strings, and surgical sutures, but soon expanded into baseball shoes and tennis racquets.[1]

In 1915, Thomas E. Wilson, former president of meatpacker Morris & Company, was appointed President by the controlling banks and renamed the company "Thomas E. Wilson Company". The company acquired the Hetzinger Knitting Mills to produce athletic uniforms and a caddie bag company which produced golf balls but soon expanded into footballs and basketballs.[1]

In 1918, Wilson left to concentrate on the beef-packing business, changing the Sulzberger company to Wilson & Co. (which would ultimately become Iowa Beef Packers and then be taken over by Tyson Foods). The packing company continued to have control in the company until 1967 when it was sold to Ling-Temco-Vought.[1]

Under new president Lawrence Blaine Icely, it acquired the "Chicago Sporting Goods Company" and struck a deal to supply the Chicago Cubs. It also hired Arch Turner, a leather designer who would design the leather football.[1]

In 1922, it introduced the Ray Schalk catcher's mitt which later became the standard. It worked with Knute Rockne to introduce the double-lined leather football and first valve football and the first waist-line football pants with pads.[1] In 1925, it was renamed "Wilson-Western Sporting Goods" following a distribution agreement with "Western Sporting Goods".

After Rockne's death, the company focused on golf, introducing the R-90, a sand wedge golf club inspired by Gene Sarazen's victory in the 1932 British Open.[1]

In 1931, it renamed itself "Wilson Sporting Goods Company". During World War II it introduced the Wilson Duke football, featuring high-quality leather, ends that were hand-sewn, lock-stitch seams, and triple lining, which was adopted as the official ball of the National Football League.[1]

Horween Leather Company has supplied Wilson with pebbled cowhide since 1941 for use in the manufacture of footballs and basketballs. Wilson is Horween Leather Company's largest customer.[5][6]

Wilson American football signed by the Green Bay Packers in 1975. Wilson became official supplier of the NFL in 1941

In 1941, Wilson became official provider of game balls for the National Football League (American football), a partnership that continues to this day.[7] Wilson became the official NBA ball supplier in 1946, in a partnership that would last 37 years.[8]

After the World War II, Wilson focused on tennis and signed Jack Kramer, who developed its line of Jack Kramer signed tennis rackets. L. B. Icely died in 1950, but the company continued to expand. In 1955, it acquired Ohio-Kentucky Manufacturing for making footballs.

Wilson steel racquet T2000, used by Jimmy Connors

In 1964, Wilson acquired "Wonder Products Company", which made toys and custom-molded items. The company transformed the custom-mold section to make protective equipment for American football and baseball, such as face masks for football helmets and leg guards for baseball catchers.

In 1967, the company was acquired by Ling-Temco-Vought. Only three years later, PepsiCo became new Wilson's owner. In those days, the company manufactured and commercialized the official balls of both, NBA and NFL, and provided most of the uniforms of teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the United States Summer Olympics teams.

In 1979, Wilson tennis balls were first used in the US Open,[9] and still are used to this day. In 2006, the Australian Open began using Wilson Tennis Balls.[10] In 1985, Wilson was acquired by Westray Capital Corporation through subsidiary WSGC Holdings. In 1989, WSGC merged with Bogey Acquisitions Company, which is affiliated with the Finnish group Amer Sports.[1]

In May 2020, it was announced that Wilson became the NBA official ball supplier, starting with the 2021 season. Wilson will return as NBA ball maker, replacing Spalding, after over 30 years of partnership with the league.[8]

Products

Wilson manufactures and commercializes a variety of products for several sports. The following chart contains all the product lines by the company.[11]

Some of the Wilson products, fltr: American football, basketball, tennis racquet, volleyball, baseball bats and baseball glove
Sport Range of products
American footballBalls
BadmintonRackets
BaseballBalls, bats,[note 1] batting gloves, uniforms, protective gear (Batting helmet, shin guards, shoulder pads)
BasketballBalls
Fastpitch softballBalls, protective gear
GolfClubs, balls, bags, apparel
Paddle tennisPaddles
PickleballPaddles
Platform tennisPaddles
RacquetballRackets, balls, shoes
SoccerBalls
SquashRackets
TennisRackets & strings, grips, balls, shoes, apparel, bags
VolleyballBalls
General accessoriesBags, gloves, shin guards
Notes
  1. Manufactured and commercialised through its subsidiary brands, DeMarini and Louisville Slugger.

Sponsorships

Associations
  • NFL – Official ball
  • UFL – Official ball
  • AAF – Official ball
  • CFL – Official ball [12]

Former teams

Many teams of the NFL have worn uniforms provided by Wilson, such as:[13]

Baseball

Wilson makes a variety of baseball gloves for several different patterns: Wilson has 3 series of baseball gloves. The A2K, The A2000, and the A1K, as well as many other models for younger children. The A2K is made from Wilson’s Pro Stock Select leather, which is made from triple sorting their famous pro stock leather. A stock A2k retails for US $360. The A2000, made from Wilson’s Pro Stock leather is the oldest glove series Wilson offers. The a2000 retails for US $260. The A1k is made from Wilson’s top-shelf leather and retails US $130. Some of Wilson’s most famous patterns include the Dp15, 1787, 1776, 1788, 1799, 2800, M1, 1791 Pudge, and many others.

Players

[14]

Associations

Club teams

Leagues

Golf
Main article: Wilson Staff

Wilson Staff is the golf division of Wilson Sporting Goods. The company designs and manufactures a full range of golf equipment, accessories and clothing using the Wilson Staff, ProStaff and Ultra brands.

Many of the worlds top professional golfers have used Wilson equipment including Nick Faldo, Arnold Palmer and Ben Crenshaw; the latter two of whom used Wilson 8802 putters. Crenshaw's even received the moniker Little Ben due to his proficiency with it. Current Wilson Staff players include British Open and PGA Championship champion Pádraig Harrington, and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland.

Associations

Club teams

Tennis
Roger Federer used Wilson racquets in the Wimbledon championship of 2009

Wilson is a major manufacturer of tennis rackets. The original kevlar Pro Staff model racket, known for its use by Pete Sampras, was heavy (more than 350g strung) and small-headed (85 sq. in.); Roger Federer also used the same racket model. As of 2015, he uses the Pro Staff RF97 Autograph model that is heavy (340 g/12 oz unstrung) and larger (97 sq. in.). Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg also used the Pro Staff Original, Edberg later switching to the Pro Staff Classic in 1991, which was the same racket (85 sq. in. with slightly rounded frame edges) but with different paint work. In late 2009, Wilson unveiled their latest line of rackets, codenamed 20x, which they would later rename BLX. This line directly replaces their previous K-Factor series with all new technologies.[20] Also, many pros use custom-made rackets that perform differently from the mass-produced versions.

Aside from tennis rackets, the Wilson sporting goods company also makes tennis balls (including the official balls of the US Open and starting in 2020, the French Open major championships), shoes, balls, strings, clothes, and racquet bags.[21]

Male players

Female players

Former players

Active players

Former players

Associations
  • AVP – Official ball

A Wilson volleyball "co-starred" alongside Tom Hanks in the film Cast Away. Hanks' character named the ball, to which he became deeply attached to, "Wilson" in the film. After the success of the film, Wilson Sporting Goods actually created and marketed volleyballs with Wilson's "face" printed on.[22]

See also

References
  1. "History of Wilson Sporting Goods Company". Funding Universe.
  2. "About Wilson Sporting Goods and Sports Equipment". Wilson.
  3. Freudenheim, Milt. Amer Group to Acquire Wilson Sporting Goods, The New York Times, 1989-02-21
  4. Norris, Frank; Henry, O (1905). Everybody's Magazine.
  5. Schmid, John (May 28, 2008). "Getting a grip". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  6. Wolinsky, Howard (May 16, 2008). "Horween Leather Faces an Uncertain Future". Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  7. Wilson & the NFL since 1941 on Wilson website, 13 Mar 2019
  8. NBA drops Spalding as maker of official basketball after more than 30 years by Jabari Young on CNBC, 13 May 2020
  9. "Wilson Tennis Balls". Wilson.
  10. Australian Open Sponsors, 2007-06-23
  11. Company products Wilson, 13 Mar 2019
  12. "CFL To Roll Out New Ball For 2018 Season" (Press release). Canadian Football League. 19 March 2018.
  13. NFL uniform providers at the Gridiron Uniform Database
  14. Wilson baseball advisory staff on Wilson, 18 Aug 2020
  15. "Wilson to provide the Official Game Ball for FIBA" (Press release). Amer Sports. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  16. Wilson, NCAA extend basketball partnership through 2020-21 on NCAA, 23 Apr 2018
  17. NCAA, Wilson extend soccer partnership through 2021 on NCAA, 21 Feb 2018
  18. Camisas do centenário do ABC de Natal 2015-2016 Wilson on Mantos do Futebol, 22 Jul 2015
  19. Camisetas Wilson del Club Guaraní 2011 on Todo sobre Camisetas, Feb 2011
  20. Latest Wilson Rackets - CuzGeek
  21. "Wilson Tennis Rackets, Equipment and Accessories". Wilson.
  22. Price, Annie. Tom Hanks is emotionally reunited with his beloved Wilson from Castaway Daily Express, London, 6 February 2015.

Other

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