Thomas E. Wilson

Thomas E. Wilson was a prominent figure in American industry in the first half of the 20th century. In 1917, he was hired to take over the management of a failing meat packing company in Chicago, which was subsequently named after him, and Wilson & Company became the 3rd largest meat packing company in the country. And in 1926, he created one of the most recognizable brand names in the world, Wilson Sporting Goods. He served as President and Chairman of the Board of Wilson & Co for 35 years.

Born on a farm near London, Ontario, Canada, on July 11, 1868, he came to America as a young man and worked as a railroad car checker in the bustling stockyards of Chicago. He spent over 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 Tom Wilson away from Morris & Company in order to run a failing New York-based meat packing company called Saltzberger & Sons (S&S). ["Men, Meat and Miracles", Bertram Fowler, Julian Messner Inc. 1952] . The company's name changed to Wilson & Co., its headquarters moved to Chicago's Union Stock Yard, and it soon joined Armour and Swift at the top of the American meat industry.

Thomas Wilson built the company rapidly into one of 50 largest industrial corporations in America by the end of 1917 [ [http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1512.html Wilson & Co ] ] . Wilson was an important influence on the branding of processed meat products, 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 [Meat Industry News Service, April 22, 2000] . He was an important figure in the American Meat Institute, the labor union battles, ...

Short horn breeding...1919 involved with the formation of the National Boys and Girls Clubs, and a major figure in the development of the 4-H Clubs.

Wilson Sporting Goods....

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