Meet Dr. Doug Wilson ’83

About the Wilson family:

Doug is a native of Middlesboro, Ky. He was a Brown Scholar at Wesleyan and practices medicine in Columbus, Ind. He graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, graduating in the top ten percent of his class, and completed a three-year residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Kathy is from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and graduated from the Wesleyan nursing program in 1984. She became a Certified Pediatric Nurse and worked at Children’s Hospitals in Louisville and Birmingham. She is the administrator of Doug’s medical practice, and in his words, “She tells me what to do.”

Sons Ben ’09 and Matt ’12 were both chemistry majors at Wesleyan. Ben graduated from Indiana University Medical School in 2013. He is in the second year of his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Kentucky. He met his future wife in the Wesleyan chemistry lab, and they have been married four years. Matt is in his third year of medical school at the University of Louisville.

Daughter Stephanie is a college student in Indiana.

Other books by Doug Wilson

“Fred Hutchinson and the 1964 Cincinnati Reds”

McFarland, 2010

“The Bird:  The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych”

Thomas Dunne Books, 2013

“Brooks:  The Biography of Brooks Robinson”

Thomas Dunne Books, 2014

In addition to the players you have featured in your books, are there others who stand out as particularly intriguing?

“I think any baseball discussion has to start with Babe Ruth. He was just an outsized, fascinating person. I always liked Ted Williams for similar reasons. He was John Wayne in a baseball uniform. I have also always enjoyed talking about some of the nastier guys of the game who didn’t always follow the rules; guys like Leo Durocher or Denny McLain. They helped make the game interesting.”

What makes baseball such an appealing sport?

“Sometimes it’s hard to explain the appeal of baseball; it just gets in your blood. One of the best aspects of the game is the history and all the colorful players throughout the years; what made them tick, how they got along or didn’t get along with teammates and opponents and little things that happened in the background and influenced memorable events. So many nuances affect the big picture. It’s something you can share with your kids; it never gets old.”

What other kinds of books are on your bookshelf at home?

“In addition to books about baseball, I like to read a lot of different things, and I enjoy John Grisham and Tom Clancy. I like to reread the classics, such as Sherlock Holmes, ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Catch-22,’ stuff like that.”

Share memories of playing Panther baseball.

“Unfortunately, rumors of my baseball skill have been greatly exaggerated over the years (mostly by me).”

What other memories of Wesleyan stand out?

“I have so many great memories of Wesleyan. The friends I made at Kendall Hall and in the Science Department were some of the best friends I have ever made.

Just sitting around the dorm talking, ragging on each other and splitting a late night pizza . . . great times.

Dr. Magnuson, Dr. Connor and Dr. Flachskam are really Kentucky Wesleyan College to me. They have devoted their lives to the school, and they have always been so willing to do anything for their students.”

Why did your sons attend Wesleyan?

“We let our kids decide where they wanted to go to college. We knew they both wanted to major in chemistry and were interested in medicine. They both wanted to play football and felt they were good enough to play above the Division III level. We visited several other schools with them before suggesting they look at Wesleyan. We knew it was a great fit, but we let them decide.”

How would you describe their experiences here?

“They enjoyed their time at Wesleyan. They both made All-Conference in football at least once, and they were selected for Oak and Ivy, which I think is a pretty impressive combination.”

Why do you still feel connected to the College?

“The experience of those years was so important, and then when our sons attended, it reinforced how much of a role Wesleyan has played in our lives.”

Why do you give back to Kentucky Wesleyan?

“For all the reasons I’ve mentioned above. It is important to give back.”