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Ann Marie (Molek) Wilson, 1932-2018, was Ted Wilson’s girlfriend (20
years), his wife (starting 1986 until his death in 1996) and his widow
(starting in 1996 until she died in 2018). Read about Ann here:
http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2018/02/ann-marie-molek-wilson-died-feb-6-2018.html
In 2005, she shared information (slightly edited in 2023 by Wildcatville) about Ted Wilson.
“I
knew Ted for 20 years before we married and, of course, he was the most
outstanding person in my life. He was my "ROCK OF GIBRALTAR" and I
can't believe what a "LUCKY" person I was and still am,” Ann said.
(At the same time, but the context not included here, she used one of Ted’s favorite expressions: “SON OF A BUCK!”)
(1) Ted was born in Cecil, Morrow County, Oregon and raised in
Boardman, Morrow County, Oregon, on 20-acres which is now Wilson's Willow Run
Executive Golf Course in Boardman.
(2) He attended Boardman Grade School and graduated in 1938 from Boardman High School (now Riverside High School.)
(3) Ted graduated in 1946, with a bachelor of science degree, from Eastern Oregon College of Education (EOCE) in La Grande, Union County, Oregon. EOCE is now Eastern Oregon University. (See photo of Ted as an EOCE student.)
(4) While he was in high school and college he assisted in coaching basketball.
(5) He learned to fly an airplane while he was in La Grande.
(6) During World War II he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
(7) He went flight training in the Corps and became a 2nd lieutenant. He was promoted to captain and held that rank at discharge.
(8) Ted became a flight instructor on the AT-6, a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train military pilots. He wanted to go into combat duty, but his commander said he was too valuable as a flight instructor.
(9) After World War II he returned to La Grande.
(10) He was offered a job as a commercial pilot for one of the airlines but he preferred to have a career teaching and coaching.
(11) In Eugene he attended the University of Oregon and earned his master’s degree in 1952. Thesis title: “A study of the development of balance through certain controlled methods.”
(12) After the UO he returned to La Grande and taught and coached for/at La Grande High School.
(13) From La Grande he moved to McMinnville High School as a coach and teacher. He was there for five years. Then he moved to Beaverton High School for another five years before he started at Linfield College in 1961.
Read more about Ted Wilson here:
https://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2015/08/ted-wilson-biographical-info.html
……………..
See these ….
Sunday Oregonian - April 23, 1944 – Instructor Flies During Furlough
Oregonian – May 25,
1950 – Prep Patter
Oregonian – Feb. 5,
1961 – Northwest Notes
Oregonian – April 17,
1977 – Perry’s Basketball Camp
Oregonian – April
13, 1982 – 20 years at Linfield, Ex-coach misses competition
… at the URL below:
https://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2023/05/ted-wilson-oregonian-1944-1982-1946.html
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
(a.k.a. Ted Wilson)
Former Linfield College men’s basketball coach Ted Wilson, 76, died of a heart attack suffered Friday (May 10, 1996) while he was playing handball at the McMinnville, Ore., school.
In 1988 he was enshrined in the athletics Hall of Fame of his alma mater, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, Ore. He graduated from EOU, then Eastern Oregon College of Education, in 1946.
Eastern Oregon University men's basketball records show that during
the 1945-1946 season, the team played 19 games. Two former star Eastern Oregon College (E. O. C.) players
coached the team. Ernie Rostock coached four of the games with E. O. C. winning all of them. Ted Wilson coached the 15 other games
with E. O. C. winning seven and losing
eight. A story in the Dec. 25,
1945, Oregonian, says "Intercollegiate basketball will be resumed at
Eastern Oregon College..." It also says, "Bob Quinn, regular E. O.
C., coach, will direct the coaching, dividing time with La Grande high school,
where he is teaching and coaching the basketball team. Ted Wilson, former
Eastern Oregon college star, will serve as assistant coach of basketball."
==TED WILSON bio for Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
http://www.linfield.edu/sports/hof-member.html?m=12&y=6
Coach 1961 - 1981
Ted Wilson spent 43 years developing, fostering and nurturing countless young athletes as a high school and college basketball coach.
Wilson served as Linfield's head men's basketball coach from 1961-81 and was also an assistant football coach under fellow Linfield Hall of Fame inductees Paul Durham and Ad Rutschman. Wilson, known as a relentless coach and competitor, was also highly regarded for his wit and wisdom.
The old Riley Gymnasium was dubbed the "House of Hustle" in honor of Wilson's particular style of basketball.
His Wildcat teams won or shared 10 conference championships and compiled an impressive 324-213 overall record. His teams set numerous school records, including longest home winning streak (25), longest road winning streak (6), single-game scoring record (141) and single-season scoring average (99.3).
Wilson was inducted into the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame as a player and coach. He was also inducted into the Eastern Oregon College Hall of Fame, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the National Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame as a player. Although Wilson did not play high school football or baseball, he was an outstanding athlete in those sports, as well as basketball at Eastern Oregon College in La Grande. By his senior year, Wilson was serving as player-coach in both basketball and baseball. Following college, he coached basketball at La Grande, McMinnville and Beaverton high schools and was a pilot during World War II. He turned down pro baseball opportunities to return to Oregon and coach.
Wilson was honored by Linfield College when the gymnasium within the athletic complex was named for him during the building's dedication in 1989. Wilson died in May, 1996, at age 76. He was still teaching one class at the college and remained an active member of the Linfield community.
==Ted Wilson among 1998 inductees in the first “class” of Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
http://www.linfield.edu/sports/hof-main.html?y=6
Ted Wilson was represented by wife Ann Wilson, who recounted her late husband's 43-year coaching career. The wise and witty Wilson loved developing, fostering and nurturing countless athletes.
Wilson was an Oregon high school coach in La Grande, McMinnville and Beaverton. But, before that, as a Boardman High School (Class of 1938) student, he was a sports star, including a basketball player-coach. He also helped coach basketball and baseball at alma mater (Class of 1946), Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. In 1988, he was inducted into the EOU Mountaineer Hall of Fame as a basketball and baseball athlete. He's also in the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame.
Perhaps least known is Wilson's service as a Linfield assistant football coach. But, best known in his coaching resume was his tenure, 1961-1981, as Wildcat head men's coach. During those years, his fast-breaking teams were point scoring machines, tallying numerous Northwest Conference and NAIA District 2 titles and earning trips to the NAIA national basketball tournament in Kansas City, Mo. During that time, old Riley Gym was packed with fans, hot and at a fever pitch led by the famous student "South Forty."
In 1989, when Riley Gym was retired, after the Linfield athletics complex was opened, it was only natural that the basketball court in the new complex was named for him.
==FORMER LINFIELD COACH WILSON DIES
Oregonian - May 11, 1996
Former Linfield College basketball coach Ted Wilson died Friday after suffering a heart attack while playing handball on the McMinnville school's campus.
Wilson died shortly after 1 p.m. in an area hospital. He was 76.
Wilson coached Linfield from 1961 to 1981, compiling a 324-213 record. He still taught a class at the school.
``We have lost a dear friend and colleague, but we must rejoice in having known him these many years,'' Linfield President Vivian A. Bull said in a news release.
During Wilson's 537-game tenure, the Wildcats won or shared 10 conference titles, but his claim was always that his teams' 196-94 conference record was a greater achievement.
Wilson was inducted into the NAIA District II Hall of Fame as a player and coach, and also was a member of the Eastern Oregon College Hall of Fame, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the NAIA National Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, and the NAIA Hall of Fame as a player.
Raised in Boardman, Wilson got his first coaching assignment as a 17-year-old Boardman High School (now Riverside High School) senior (Class of 1946) when he served as player-coach.
Wilson did not play football or baseball in high school, but he was a three-sport competitor at Eastern Oregon State College. Wilson also was a player-coach in basketball and baseball in his senior season at Eastern Oregon, and also served as student body president.
His background included coaching at La Grande, McMinnville and Beaverton high schools.
In World War II, Wilson was a pilot and later turned down an opportunity to play professional baseball so he could return to Oregon to coach.
In 1989, the gymnasium at Linfield's Athletic Complex was named for Wilson, and later the same year, the Wilson Classic basketball tournament was named in his honor.
Wilson is survived by his wife, Ann.
…………….
==TED R. WILSON
Oregonian - May 13, 1996
Ted R. Wilson, an Oregon Sports Hall of Famer associated with Linfield College athletics for 35 years, died May 10, 1996, of a heart attack at age 76.
A funeral will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, in Linfield's Ted Wilson Gymnasium at Linfield College in McMinnville.
Mr. Wilson was born Nov. 5, 1919, in Cecil. He was raised in Boardman -- Boardman High School Class of 1938 -- and served as a flight instructor in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He played baseball, basketball and football at Eastern Oregon College of Educatioh (Class of 1946). He received a master's degree from the University of Oregon.
He coached at La Grande, McMinnville and Beaverton high schools.
He also played semi-pro baseball for the Drain Black Sox in the 1950s. He was men's basketball coach at Linfield from 1961 to 1981 and continued to teach until his death. He married Ann Molek in 1986.
Survivors include his wife; brother, Dallas of Portland; and sisters, Audrey Smith of Portland, Phyllis Baker and Brick Duffy, both of The Dalles, and Gladys Morrison of Vale.
Burial will be in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in The Dalles. The family suggests remembrances to the Ted Wilson Scholarship Fund at McMinnville High School in care of Valley Community Bank or Macy & Son Funeral Directors in McMinnville.
==Oregonian - May 27, 1950, story says Ted Wilson, boys' basketball coach at La Grande High School since 1947 will become coach of the same sport at McMinnville High School.
==Sunday Oregonian - May 28, 1950, story says Ted Wilson is La Grande High School baseball coach. (Thus, based on info directly above, this indicates Ted Wilson coached boys' basketball AND baseball at La Grande High.)
==Oregonian - December 25, 1945, story says Ted Wilson will serve as men’s basketball assistant coach to head coach E.R. Quinn, who is also coaching the same sport and teaching at La Grande High School. Comment: "E. R. Quinn" better known as Bob Quinn.
==Oregonian - February 3, 1961, story says Ted Wilson will leave his job at Beaverton High School (where he is head boys basketball coach) to become head men’s basketball coach at Linfield College. Story also says Ted was head boys, basketball coach at McMinnville High School, 1950-1956. And, story says Ted graduated from Eastern Oregon College in 1946 and earned a master’s degree in 1952 from the University of Oregon.
==Oregonian - February 28, 1969, Sports column says as an Army Air Corps pilot during World War II, Ted Wilson escaped death more than once. Ted’s basketball philosophy credited to Bob Quinn, his coach at Eastern Oregon College.
