The Company

Wilson & Co. evolved over the years to adapt to a changing market and changing leadership. The business began in 1916 when founder Thomas Edward Wilson took control of the Chicago meat packinghouse, Sulzberger & Sons Co., and rebranded it as Wilson & Co. By 1917, the company ranked as one of the 50 largest industrial corporations in the United States, and continued to employ thousands of workers at its plant in Chicago until the 1950s.

Wilson & Co. held several subsidiaries that utilized animal by-products for the manufacture of sporting goods, pharmaceuticals, and industry chemicals. Ashland Manufacturing - a subsidiary of Sulzberger & Sons Co. established in 1913 - manufactured athletic gear under the Thomas E. Wilson brand and became Wilson Sporting Goods in 1931.

View more documents about Wilson & Co.

Color illustration from Wilson & Co. company magazine. The illustration depicts a sheep, cow and pig standing on a globe in the foreground. Behind them are three landscapes in tones of red, white, and blue. The landscapes show a packing plant adjacent to a railroad, a farm field, and a stock yard.
Illustration from Wilson Certified News, 1941

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 34, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Timeline of Wilson & Co. History

1916

March 22, 1916

Thomas Edward Wilson is named President of the Chicago meat packing firm Sulzberger & Sons Co. after banks force a change of management. Sulzberger & Sons had been accused of German sympathies when a shipment of meat was intercepted by a British blockade.

July 21, 1916

Sulzberger & Sons Co. is renamed Wilson & Co.

Ashland Manufacturing – a subsidiary manufacturing athletic gear – is renamed Thomas E. Wilson & Co.

1917

Wilson & Co. ranked as one of the 50 largest industrial corporations in the United States.

1927

Thomas E. Wilson’s son, Edward Foss Wilson, enters the family business, starting in the stock yards.

1931

Edward Foss Wilson named Vice President of Wilson & Co.

Subsidiary Thomas E. Wilson & Co. is renamed Wilson Sporting Goods.

1934

February 27, 1934

Edward Foss Wilson is named President of Wilson & Co., and Thomas E. Wilson becomes Chairman of the Board.

1953

Edward Foss Wilson becomes Chairman of the Board of Wilson & Co.

1967

January 5, 1967

Wilson & Co. is acquired by Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc., and its headquarters are transferred from Chicago, Illinois to Dallas, Texas.

Ling-Temco-Vought reorganizes the company into three publicly-traded divisions: Wilson & Co. Inc. (meat), Wilson Sporting Goods Co., and Wilson Pharmaceutical & Chemical Corp.

1969

Wilson Pharmaceutical & Chemical sold to American Can.

1970

Wilson Sporting Goods is acquired by PepsiCo.

Ling-Temco-Vought further subdivides Wilson & Co. Inc. into Wilson Certified Foods, Wilson Beef & Lamb, Wilson Laurel Farms, Wilson-Sinclair, and Wilson Agri-Business Enterprises.

1976

Wilson & Co. is renamed Wilson Foods Corporation.

1981

LTV Corporation (Ling-Temco-Vought) divests itself of Wilson Foods.

1988

Wilson Foods is acquired by Doskocil Companies, Inc.

1989

Amer Group of Finland (later Amer Sports Oyi) acquires Wilson Sporting Goods.

1990

Doskocil files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sells off Wilson Brands division.

1995

Doskocil changes its name to Foodbrands America, Inc.

1997

IBP, Inc. acquires Foodbrands America, Inc. (including Wilson Foods).

2001

Tyson Foods acquires IBP, Inc. (along with remaining Wilson meat brands).

2018

A Chinese investor group led by Anta Sports Products acquires a majority stake in Amer Sports Oyj.

Sulzberger writes "Since the European war began, the packing industry has been called upon to supply the increased wants of other countries, and this demand is certain to continue, even should the war end, as the present food supplies now on hand in Europe will be largely used up. The increased demand in this line of business has required the packers to greatly increase their stock of merchandise..."
1914 Sulzberger & Sons Co. financial statement, page 1.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Sulzberger & Sons was the predecessor to Wilson & Co. In this 1914 financial statement, Vice President M. J. Sulzberger reflects upon the effects of WWI on the business. The company was later accused of German sympathies, paving the way for Thomas E. Wilson to take over the company and rebrand it as Wilson & Co.
Newspaper clipping includes black-and-white photograph of Thomas E. Wilson who is a young white man with dark hair. The headline reads "SULZBERGER IS NOW WILSON & CO.: Big Pure Food Product Concern Takes the Name of Its President."
Newspaper clipping announcing company name change, July 27, 1916

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 29, Folder 11, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Pages include black-and-white illustration of the general offices and headquarters of Wilson & Co. in Illinois. Text begins "It is apparent from the Government reports just issued and it is reflected somewhat by our volume of business, that there has been a substantial increase on the farms both in hogs and cattle due to the efforts of the Food Administration an the Department of Agriculture together with the generous co-operation of producers. There is every prospect ahead of us for an increased and unusual demand for food products by our allies that will justify greatly increased production."
1917 Wilson & Co. annual report to stockholders, pages 4 and 5.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 32, Folder 1, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Three years later, WWI is still impacting the meat packing industry. In this Wilson & Co. annual report, stockholders are informed of the United States Government's control over the business through the Food Administration, beginning November 1, 1917.
Pages include black-and-white illustrations of a typical branch house in Jersey City, NJ, and of Wilson products. Text includes "Although Government control at this writing has been in effect a little less than three months, the wisdom of the plan has been thoroughly demonstrated by the fact that through the United States Food Administrator the Government knows almost to a pound the available meat supply in all parts of the country..."
1917 Wilson & Co. annual report to stockholders, pages 6 and 7.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 32, Folder 1, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Pages include black-and-white illustrations of Thomas E. Wilson, & Co. sporting equipment, including golf clubs, basketball, tennis racket, football, baseball glove, and baseball bats. Text includes "During the past year the Thos. E. Wilson & Co. has developed its business to a point where it has become a big, vital factor to be recognized within the Sporting Goods Line.
1917 Wilson & Co. annual report to shareholders, pages 18 and 19.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 32, Folder 1, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

The 1917 annual report also highlights the booming business of the company's subsidiary, Thomas E. Wilson, & Co., which would later be renamed Wilson Sporting Goods.
Page includes black-and-white illustration of a company refrigerated train car painted with the Wilson W and an advertisement for Liberty Bonds. Text lists many products made by the subsidiary including phonographs and ukuleles, sporting and athletic equipment and apparel, bicycles, camping gear, automobile tires and accessories, and gut strings for musical instruments.
1917 Wilson & Co. annual report to shareholders, page 20.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 32, Folder 1, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

The report highlights a wide range of products produced by Thomas E. Wilson, & Co., including phonographs and ukuleles, sporting and athletic equipment and apparel, bicycles, camping gear, automobile tires and accessories, and gut strings for musical instruments. All made with byproducts of the meatpacking side of the business.
Full-page color advertisement for Wilson & Co. catsup and chili sauce in "The Companion - For All the Family" magazine. Depicts fresh tomatoes alongside bottles of the sauces. Slogan reads "Wilson's Certified Brand Catsup and Chili Sauce watched from tomato seed to bottle." This, and the following food ads, also includes the slogan "The Wilson Label Protects Your Table."
Wilson & Co. advertisement for "Wilson's Certified Brand Catsup and Chili Sauce," 1918

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 35, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Print advertisements for Wilson & Co. illustrate the breadth of products offered by the company over the years, including packaged meats, condiments, canned vegetables, eggs, cooking fats, even mattresses stuffed by the "curled hair department."
Full-page color advertisement for Wilson & Co. canned peas in "The Companion - For All the Family" magazine. Depicts a can of Wilson peas alongside peas in a white serving bowl. Slogan reads "Wilson's Certified Brand Canned Pease, The best you ever tasted - or your money back."
Wilson & Co. advertisement for "Wilson's Certified Brand Canned Peas," 1919

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 35, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page color advertisement for Wilson & Co. oleomargarine. Depicts a smiling, young, white boy wearing a knit hat and scarf and holding a slice of bread spread with oleomargarine. Behind him are illustrations of other children ice-skating. The slogan reads "Um-m-m! It's Good!"
Wilson & Co. oleomargarine advertisement in "Wilson's Meat Cookery," 1919

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 7, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page color advertisement for Wilson & Co. products. Depicts packaged butter, eggs, cream cheese, swiss cheese, and milk-fatted broilers.
Advertisement for Wilson & Co. produce products in "Wilson's Meat Cookery," 1919.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 7, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page black-and-white advertisement for Wilson's "Restgood" mattresses. Illustration of mattress, along with illustration of two young children in nightdresses climbing into bed. Slogan reads "Sound sleep aids efficiency."
Wilson & Co. advertisement for "Restgood" army and camp equipment, circa 1910s-1920s

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 4, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page color advertisement for Wilson & Co. tinned sausage, tongue, and corned beef. Illustration of a white boy scout in uniform blowing a trumpet. Illustration of boy is within the outline of the Wilson "W." Alongside the "W" are illustrations of tinned meat, and a plate of sausages. Slogan reads "MESS CALL - ready with tempting, nourishing, Certified foods."
Wilson & Co. advertisement for tinned meats, 1920

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 35, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Excerpt from 1921 annual report depicting and illustration of the company's Chicago plant and typical Wilson's products such as ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, butter, oleomargarine, lard, and broilers.
Wilson & Co. 1921 annual report, pages 18 and 19.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 32, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page black-and-white advertisement for Wilson & Co. "Tender Made Ham." Depicts a photograph of a prepared ham on a serving platter with poached pears. The platter rests on a lace tablecloth. Two other inset illustrations include a picture of Wilson tinned meats, and a drawing of a couple dining in a restaurant. Slogan reads "The Pleasure in Good Meat...cannot be gold in pictures, the new "Life" notwithstanding. For, matchless though the art of modern photography may be, no lens can capture and no human eye can see the amazing, butter-like tenderness and indescribable flavor of Wilson's new Boneless Tender Made Ham, IN TINS."
Wilson & Co. advertisement "Tender Made Ham," 1937

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 35, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Black-and-white photograph of a large, docked ship. Cranes are hoisting barrels onto the ship.
Photograph of Wilson & Co. products being loaded onto the S. S. Brazil at Santos, 1938

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 21, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Wilson & Co. was prosperous enough to maintain operations across the United States and in Brazil. Here, Wilson & Co. products are being loaded onto the "S. S. Brazil" for her maiden voyage from Santos, circa 1938.
Black-and-white photograph of a man standing on a dock. He is attaching crates of Wilson products to a crane hook. He is wearing a hat and smoking a cigar.
Photograph of man loading crates of Wilson & Co. products onto the S. S. Brazil at Santos, 1938

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 21, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Full-page color cartoon map of the Century of Progress fair. 12 red dots on the map indicate where Wilson & Co.-sponsored attractions could be found.
"Visiting the Wilson exhibit building" brochure, 1934

Century of Progress International Exposition Publications, Box 14, Folder 14c, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Wilson & Co. sponsored multiple attractions at the 1933-1934 Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago. At the Wilson & Co. Exhibit Building on Northerly Island visitors could see an exhibit of the company's varied products, watch bacon being sliced and packaged, and enjoy a meal on the terrace or roof garden. A six-horse team of the company's prize-winning Clydesdales were also on display in the fair's daily historical pageant, "The Wings of A Century" and in the Wilson & Co. stables. Wilson-Western Sporting Goods Co. tennis rackets and golf balls were also advertised at the fair.

View the entire brochure, or see more digitized Wilson & Co. brochures made for the world's fair.
The souvenir photo is pasted in the middle of a cardboard frame depicting the Paris building at the fair. Edward Foss Wilson is a young white man with dark hair wearing a suit. He stands between two other white men in suits. Two women in coats and hats are seated in front of the men.
Century of Progress souvenir photo, circa 1933-1934

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 17, Folder 12, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Edward Foss Wilson is shown standing in the middle of this group photo taken at the Century of Progress International Exposition.
Black-and-white two-page illustration of a map of the United States with dots for the location of every Wilson & Co. meat packing plant, branch, car route plants, and produce plants. Includes inset photographs of the 1916 and 1941 Pittsburgh branch, a refrigerated rail car, and a refrigerated truck.
Wilson & Co. Certified News, 1941, pages 6 and 7.

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 34, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Illustration showcasing the scale of Wilson & Co.'s business in the United States in 1941, and the refrigerated rail cars and trucks needed to transport Wilson products long distances.
First page discusses "The Wilson Laboratories" and the use of animal gland extracts to produce medicines. The second page discusses the production of "Ideal Dog Food."
Wilson Certified News, 1941, pages 26 and 27

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 34, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

In addition to foods and sporting goods, Wilson & Co. utilized animal byproducts to produce pharmaceutical products. This company magazine later boasts that they make use of "everything but the squeal."
Black-and-white photograph of Edward Foss Wilson standing in front of a sign that reads "Food Will Win the War." He is raising his left hand in the "V for Victory" sign. Underneath the sign is a model of a cow. A cardboard cutout of Uncle Sam stands to Edward's right.
Photograph of Edward Foss Wilson in front of a "Food Will Win the War" sign, circa 1940s

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 16, Folder 4, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

In the 1940s, Wilson & Co. again played an important role in a world war, developing and supplying canned meats to feed U.S. troops and to aid European relief efforts. Thomas E. Wilson organized the nation's fat salvage campaign following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was awarded the Medal of Merit for this work in 1946.
Excerpt from 1942 radio address by Edward Foss Wilson: "Where is All the Meat?"

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 15, Folder 8, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

This address by Edward Foss Wilson was delivered Sunday, May 27, 1945 on "Worth Remembering," a radio program sponsored by Central Republic Company, broadcast every Sunday evening from 9:30 to 10:00 o'clock over radio station WENR, Chicago. In the address, Edward outlined where Wilson & Co. meat products were distributed throughout World War II.
Black-and-white photograph of the exterior of a Wilson & Co. office building in the wintertime (presumably in Chicago). Snow is on the ground. A multi-story brick building is shown with a winter holiday display in front. Fir trees with lights strung on them flank a sign that reads "Seasons Greetings." The Wilson & Co. logo is below the sign. The Wilson & Co. sign is also on the brick building.
Photograph of Wilson & Co. building decorated for holidays, circa 1940s-1950s

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 23, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Color advertisement showing a wooden fence with a little white boy in a baseball cap climbing over it, and a little white girl with braids standing next to it writing "Jimmy Loves Mary Mor" on the fence. The word "Mary" is crossed off. The ad shows Wilson & Co.'s "MOR" ham products at the bottom of the page.
Wilson & Co. advertisement for "MOR pork," 1950

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 35, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
The Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. chart includes basic statistics about each division including products, sales and income totals, and employment numbers.
Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. Mid-Year Report, 1967

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 13, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

This organizational chart from a 1967 Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. report illustrates the reorganization of Wilson & Co. into three divisions: Wilson & Co. Inc. (meat), Wilson Sporting Goods Co., and Wilson Pharmaceutical & Chemical Corp.
Memo includes a black-and-white photograph of the 13 Wilson directors and officers in 1967. All are white men who are seated and standing around a conference table. The title of the memo reads "Established policies to continue."
Memo to Distributors of Wilson Sports Equipment, 1967

Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 33, Folder 14, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

This memorandum to Wilson sporting equipment distributors outlines leadership changes wrought by Ling-Temco-Vought when it acquired Wilson Sporting Goods in 1967.