Ken Wilson

1927- 2008

Coach Kenny Wilson

The beginning of a lifelong affair with sports.

Ken was raised in Philip, South Dakota. His lifelong affair with sports was groomed at an early age listening to St. Louis Cardinals re-created baseball games on the radio. While in the 5th grade he and a school mate pooled their money together to buy the only copy in town of the Sporting News. They took turns on who would get to read paper the paper first. He would memorize every box score and player stat from both leagues!! Ken graduated from Philip High School in 1945. He excelled in football and basketball. While in the 8th grade Ken would hang out after school watching the High School football practice. One day the coach told him if he was going to be there every day watching he might as well suit up!! The High School coach, Howard Kennedy, turned out to be a big influence on Ken’s life and they remained lifelong friends.

After High School

After High School Ken served in the Army and after his discharge relocated to Puyallup. One of the first things he did after settling in Puyallup was to join the Puyallup Eagles Fast pitch softball team. Not long after he met and married his wife Val in 1950. Together they raised three boys (Mark, Kelly and Scott) and two girls (Marcia and Betty).
Ken’s first year of coaching starting in 1959 when he and Bob Ryan (the PHS football coach at the time) started a 10 & under Baseball team. Ken’s son Mark and Bob’s son Mike were on this team. This 1959 team was the first of many teams Ken would coach. From here he went on to coach youth baseball from 10 & U to 12 & U, 14 & U, 16 & U, Connie Mack and finally American Legion. He coached his last team in 1980. Besides Puyallup Youth baseball Ken also coached CYO Football, Basketball and Baseball teams for All Saints School for over 10 years.
In 1969 the American Legion in Puyallup was the only place for 17 and 18 year olds to play baseball. There were limited roster spots on the Legion team. Ken decided that he would start a Connie Mack team also made up of 17 & 18 year olds thus giving 20 more young men a chance to continue their baseball experience. He coached Connie Mack for 3 years until he took over the American Legion team in 1973. He coached American Legion baseball through the 1980 season. After coaching his last game he remained with the Puyallup American Legion program serving as their Team Commissioner.
In 1971 the new North/South bypass was to be built. This road ended up going right through Grayland Park, which at the time was the heart of Puyallup youth baseball. Ken and a group of volunteers made arrangements with the Puyallup school district to build two new baseball diamonds, one at Kalles and one at Aylen Junior High Schools. These two fields served Puyallup Valley Youth Baseball for over 30 years.

Service to the Community

Ken served on the Puyallup Recreation Board from 1976-1980. In 1983 he became the Youth Activities Chairman for the Puyallup Eagles. Through his leadership the Eagles were able to sponsor many youth baseball teams and also girls drill teams. He made sure funding for these teams were continuous. In May of 2001, The Tacoma-Pierce County Baseball and Softball Association (sponsored by the Tacoma Athletic Commission, Columbia Bank and the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club) honored Ken at its annual banquet held at the Tacoma Elks with its Meritorious Service Award. This event was attended by 175 fans, pros, amateurs and other people interested in America’s Pastime – BASEBALL!! Also, to show their appreciation for Ken’s dedication and service to their Youth Activities, the Puyallup Eagles inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2007.
In the summer of 2009 the Puyallup City Council unanimously voted to name one of the little league fields at Wildwood Park the Ken Wilson Field in honor of his dedication and work on behalf of youth athletics.

His Legacy

The Ken Wilson Foundation for Youth Athletics was founded in November of 2008 after Kenny’s passing to honor and carry on his legacy. We are an earmarked fund within the Puyallup Eagles Aerie 2308. Our goal is to foster participation in youth activities in the Puyallup/Pierce County area. We will provide financial donations to those organizations that in turn can use these funds to help underprivileged youth that otherwise could not participate in athletic activities.

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Puyallup to honor youth sports icon

By Niel Pierson of the Herald

For Ken Wilson, baseball was about much
more than hitting, pitching and fielding. It was about
serving children and teaching them how to serve others.

During his 21-year coaching career for several
Puyallup teams, Wilson became one of the most respected
and beloved members of the community. When he passed
away last November, his son Kelly, along with several family
members and friends began efforts to memorialize Wilson’s
legacy.

The city of Puyallup’s parks and recreation
department was quickly contacted about the possibility of
naming a youth field after Wilson. At the April 7th city council
meeting, that possibility became a reality when council members
unanimously approved a parks board recommendation to stamp
Wilson’s name on a field at Wildwood Park.

“I believe my father was in a class by himself,” Kelly
Wilson told the council. “His fundamental reason for coaching
was not because of any personal agenda.

“Rather, he had an unconditional love for the game
of baseball and he wanted all the kids, regardless of their athletic
ability, to have a place to play summertime baseball here in Puyallup.”

Wilson’s coaching days began in 1959 when he teamed
up with Puyallup High School football coach Bob Ryan to lead a baseball
squad for 9- and 10 year-olds. For the next two decades, he devoted
himself to several age groups of American Legion and Connie Mack
participants and coached football and basketball at All Saints School.

Tony Anderson, a three-time past president of the Tacoma
Athletic Commission (TAC), benefited from Wilson’s tutelage when he
moved to Puyallup as a youngster. Anderson told the council that
lessons learned from Wilson manifested themselves in his own life:
Along with volunteering at TAC to honor athletes from Pierce
County’s 33 high schools, he heads up a sister-city baseball exchange
program that will allow four local players- three from Puyallup High
School and one from Emerald Ridge High- the chance to visit and
compete in Japan this summer.

“What Mr. Wilson taught us as young people, as not just
a coach but a teacher, a great role model and a mentor, are the reasons
why good things are being done today by some of his little guys,”
Anderson said.