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Thomas E. Wilson was born on July 22nd, 1868 in Ontario, Canada. -
In 1877 at age 9 Wilson and his family moved to Chicago. -
In 1882 he began his first job working in the stockyards. -
Before creating Wilson Co. Thomas worked as the vice president of Morris and Company in 1906 -
Late into 1913 Thomas Wilson takes over Swarzchild Sulzberger, and changes it to Wilson Co. -
Before Thomas owned Wilson, from 1912-1913 what would soon be Wilson was Swarzchild Sluzberger Meat Packing Concern and was owned by someone else. -
In 1913 Wilson created their first sports products which were tennis racket strings. -
By 1914 Wilson Co. was specializing in making tennis string and baseball cleats which were both in high demand. -
In 1919 Thomas Wilson was appointed onto the board of directors of International Livestock Exposition due to his knowledge in the field. -
By 1923 Wilson Co. had gained a lot of popularity from athletes of all sports and they started to expand across the United States. -
In 1924 Thomas Wilson was appointed as chairman of the Boys And Girls Club (4H Service). -
Up until 1926 Wilson Co. had produced many different types of products, but in 1926 Wilson changes to only producing sporting goods. -
By 1935 Wilson had grown to become the largest tennis brand in America and had become the gold standard in the game. -
In 1950 Wilson officially partnered with professional tennis player Jack Kramer which would help spread the brand's name to the professionals. -
Thomas E. Wilson died on August 4th, 1958, but not without leaving behind one of the most iconic sports brands in the world but an even bigger impact on the culture of sports.