Philadelphia Phillies super fan Ronald Wilson has a love for his baseball team that runs deep. But the man with the best (and most visible) seats for Phillies games also has a huge passion for Rutgers. That was very much on display this fall for the whole world to see.
And Wilson’s appearances on television created some buzz in new Jersey since he was always wearing a Rutgers hat. Given that his seats are right behind home plate, Wilson was seen nationally on nearly every pitch of the baseball playoff games at Citizens Bank Park, proudly sporting his Rutgers gear.
A former executive at Coca-Cola (where he was the chief operating officer and president of the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company), Wilson graduated from Rutgers in 1967 with a degree in history. Wilson’s seats behind home plate date back to the old (and now demolished) Veterans Stadium, the previous home of the Phillies (and the Philadelphia Eagles).
He says the community around Phillies games is special to him.
“These are things money can’t buy so that’s what makes it special and it’s a club there with these people that we sit there with – they’ve been there for almost 20 years,” Wilson said in an interview this fall.
“So it’s our little clubhouse that we have there which is kind of fun. The people that work there we’ve known for years and before the game John Middleton, the owner, he comes up (and we’re) high-fiving each other. When I turned 70 – I’ve been retired (for) 15 years – they had a surprise birthday party for me there. Mike Schmidt was there, Larry Bowa, (and) the owner of the team. My family has a really close relationship with the Phillies for a long time.”
(h/t Eddie Antommarchi for the screenshot as posted on the Rutgers Athletics Tailgating Club)
The Rutgers association runs deep for Wilson, who is there to spend time with his family but says he likes “the visibility his seats afford me to show my Rutgers pride.”
Wilson is very much a loyal son.
He has served as the interim president of the Rutgers University Foundation and Executive V.P. for Development and Alumni and continues to follow Rutgers athletics very closely. Just because he can’t make football games doesn’t mean that he isn’t watching the program’s rebuild, now in its fourth year under head coach Greg Schiano.
“I live in Florida in the winter so it’s hard for me to do both. I mean, that’s tricky. But yeah, I tried to do that if I can, and we’re back -I mean, this is to me, it’s still a transition. year and Rutgers has a pretty good record right now…I think Greg is great at recruiting guys,” Wilson said.
“It’s gonna get better and better and better so I’m not expecting crazy things this year though a bowl is pretty crazy from a couple of years ago to think about that now. So that’s great. But I think the future looks great for all sports at Rutgers. I mean, our Big Ten teams are doing pretty decent. A few years ago, that wasn’t the case. It’s pretty impressive.”