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36-516: The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its nearly 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. Read more about

72-518: A National Player of the Year , as well as All-Region Coaches of the Year and National Coaches of the Year. Each year, over 1,700 All-Region Players and 330 All-American Players are selected. The ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award honors high school and college programs that posted a GPA over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Over 300 programs are recognized annually. The ABCA Century Club recognizes member coaches for every 100 victories they accumulate, awarding each with

108-499: A certificate and recognition in ABCA publications. ABCA Lifetime Membership is awarded to coaches who have been members of the organization for 35 consecutive years and support to amateur baseball across the world. Currently, there are nearly 400 active Lifetime Members within the association. The newest Lifetime Members are honored each year at the annual ABCA Convention. Wilson Sporting Goods The Wilson Sporting Goods Company

144-682: A subsidiary of Finnish retailer Amer Sports since 1989. The company traces its roots to the "Schwarzschild & Sulzberger" meatpacking company (later changed to "Sulzberger & Son's") based in New York , that operated meat packing slaughterhouses. Sulzberger & Son's founded the "Ashland Manufacturing Company" in 1913 to use animal by-products from its slaughterhouses. It started out in 1914, making tennis racket strings, violin strings, and surgical sutures, but soon expanded into baseball shoes and tennis racquets. In 1915, Thomas E. Wilson , former president of meatpacker Morris & Company ,

180-450: Is Horween Leather Company's largest customer. Wilson became the official game ball supplier of the newly-formed Basketball Association of America (BAA; the forerunner league of what would eventually become today's NBA ) in 1946 , this partnership would last 37 years until 1983. After World War II, Wilson focused on tennis and signed Jack Kramer , who developed its line of Jack Kramer signed tennis rackets. L. B. Icely died in 1950, but

216-554: Is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois . Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball , badminton , American football , basketball , fastpitch softball , golf , racquetball , soccer , squash , tennis , pickleball and volleyball . The company owns the brands Atec, DeMarini , EvoShield , Louisville Slugger , and Luxilon to provide sports equipment and protective gear for baseball, lacrosse, softball, and tennis. The company has been

252-462: Is the golf division of Wilson Sporting Goods. The company designs and manufactures a full range of golf equipment , accessories and clothing using the Wilson Staff, ProStaff and Ultra brands . Many of the world's top professional golfers have used Wilson equipment including Nick Faldo , Arnold Palmer and Ben Crenshaw ; the latter two of whom used Wilson 8802 putters. Crenshaw's even received

288-617: Is the highest honor bestowed by the ABCA organization. The ABCA Hall of Fame was established in 1966 with the inaugural 18–member class. Each year's Hall of Fame class is inducted during the Hall of Fame Banquet at the annual ABCA Convention in January. The entire ABCA Hall of Fame can be found online at ABCAhalloffame.org . The ABCA/ Wilson Lefty Gomez Award has been presented since 1962. The award goes to an individual who has distinguished himself amongst his peers and has contributed significantly to

324-910: The American Baseball Coaches Association . In American basketball , several such awards are given: In cricket , awards for the leading international player are the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World and the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy . In Gaelic football , it may mean Donegal GAA#Player of the Year . In ice hockey , in the United Kingdom the Player of the Year Trophy is awarded by Ice Hockey Journalists UK . In lacrosse , two awards are given with this name,

360-580: The Australian Open began using Wilson tennis balls. In 1985, Wilson was acquired by Westray Capital Corporation, through subsidiary WSGC Holdings. In 1989, WSGC merged with Bogey Acquisitions Company, which is affiliated with the Finnish group Amer Sports . In May 2020, it was announced that Wilson became the NBA and WNBA's official game ball supplier, starting with the 2021 season; Wilson replaced Spalding , after

396-645: The A2K, the A2000, and the A1000, as well as many other models for younger children. The A2K is made from Wilson's Pro Stock Select leather, which is made from triple sorting their famous pro stock leather. A stock A2K (Pro Stock select leather) retails for US$ 399. The A2000, made from Wilson's Pro Stock leather, is the oldest glove series Wilson offers. The A2000 retails for US$ 299. The A1000 is made from Wilson's top-shelf leather and retails US$ 149. Some of Wilson's most famous patterns include

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432-742: The General Session, Youth Coaches Session and Expo Theater. The clinics are also live streamed online for members that cannot attend the Convention in person. After the convention, all clinics are available on-demand for members in the ABCA Video Library. At the ABCA Trade Show, over 350 companies fill up over 200,000 square feet of exhibit space with state-of-the-art equipment and products, including coaching aids, apparel, field equipment, pitching machines and software. Many products are displayed for

468-598: The P72 model number, Louisville Slugger also promised to give the final 72 P72 bats produced to Jeter to raise funds for his Turn 2 Foundation . Wilson has been the official game ball supplier of the NFL and CFL since 1941 and 1995, respectively, and the now defunct UFL and AAF ; in addition, the company also makes footballs for college and high school levels of play. Wilson makes a variety of baseball gloves for several different patterns. Wilson has three main series of baseball gloves,

504-534: The Wilson Duke football , featuring high-quality leather, ends that were hand-sewn, lock-stitch seams, and triple lining, which was adopted as the official ball of the National Football League in 1941; this partnership between Wilson and NFL has continued since. Horween Leather Company has supplied Wilson with pebbled cowhide since 1941 for use in the manufacture of footballs and basketballs. Wilson

540-497: The Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. In association football , this award is held on both an international and national level. In baseball , publications sometimes issue awards with this name: Several awards for amateur baseball also exist: Publications also issue annual player of the year awards, including Baseball America , Collegiate Baseball , and

576-699: The ability to collaborate with other members in forums and through direct messaging, register for the ABCA Convention and Barnstormer Regional Clinics, update member profiles and access the Coaching Resource Library. The app allows users to view the ABCA Clinic Videos as well as tune in to the ABCA Podcast as well! For members by year of induction, see footnote Induction to the ABCA Hall of Fame

612-563: The association's inception and history. The association has almost 13,000 members hailing from all 50 U.S. states and 25 different countries. The membership includes coaches from all ranks of amateur baseball as well as some coaches with pro affiliation. The membership year for the ABCA runs from September 1 through August 31. Membership Benefits : The ABCA hosts the world's largest baseball convention every January. The convention features coaching clinics, trade show, meetings, several awards presentations and honors. Over 7,000 coaches attend

648-497: The clinic sites are filmed each year with the on-demand videos available on ABCAvideos.org . The My ABCA mobile app was launched in Fall 2019 in both the Apple & Google Play Stores. Members and non-members can download the free app! Within the app, members can access their membership benefits year-round as well as stay up-to-date with ABCA news and content. Additional features include

684-408: The company continued to expand. In 1955, it acquired Ohio-Kentucky Manufacturing for making footballs. In 1964, Wilson acquired "Wonder Products Company", which made toys and custom-molded items. The company transformed the custom-mold section to make protective equipment for American football and baseball, such as face masks for football helmets and leg guards for baseball catchers . In 1967,

720-533: The company until 1967 when it was sold to Ling-Temco-Vought . Under new president Lawrence Blaine Icely, it acquired the "Chicago Sporting Goods Company" and struck a deal to supply the Chicago Cubs . It also hired Arch Turner, a leather designer who would design the leather football. In 1922, it introduced the Ray Schalk catcher's mitt which later became the standard. It worked with Knute Rockne to introduce

756-623: The company was acquired by Ling-Temco-Vought. Only three years later, PepsiCo became Wilson's new owner. In those days, the company manufactured and commercialized the official balls of both the NBA and NFL, and provided most of the uniforms of teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the United States Summer Olympics teams . In 1979, Wilson tennis balls were first used in the US Open , and still are used to this day. In 2006,

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792-439: The convention, which lasts for four days. The convention is on a rotating schedule around the United States. Upcoming locations include Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas. A major draw are the over 50 clinic speakers each year. These include some of the most knowledgeable baseball coaches and minds in the world and are on-hand to share their experiences and expertise with fellow coaches. Clinics run across

828-687: The datdude, 1786, Dp15, 1787, 1776, 1788, 1799, 2800, M1, 1791 Pudge, and many others. Wilson has been the official ball supplier for many FIBA competitions, the NBA , the WNBA , the NCAA basketball championship tournaments , the CEBL , the BAL , and many others. In May 2024, Caitlin Clark signed a multiyear contract with Wilson, the official basketball supplier for WNBA at the time. Clark

864-541: The double-lined leather football and first valve football and the first waist-line football pants with pads. In 1925, it was renamed "Wilson-Western Sporting Goods" following a distribution agreement with "Western Sporting Goods". After Rockne's death, the company focused on golf, introducing the R-90, a sand wedge golf club inspired by Gene Sarazen 's victory in the 1932 British Open . In 1931, it renamed itself "Wilson Sporting Goods Company". During World War II it introduced

900-477: The film Cast Away . Hanks' character named the ball, with a smiling face drawn from a bloody handprint, which he became deeply attached to, "Wilson" in the film. After the success of the film, Wilson Sporting Goods actually created and marketed special edition volleyballs with Wilson's "face" printed on. Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of

936-594: The first time and some items are even raffled off as prizes. The ABCA hosts 20 regional coaching clinics throughout the United States and Canada each fall. The one-day clinics, known as Barnstormers Regional Coaching Clinics , feature presentations and on-field demonstrations by ABCA member coaches within that region. Presentations vary from video instruction to on-field demonstrations to live practice commentary, and focus on fundamentals, practical position-specific drills, coaching cues, and practice organization tips. The clinics are free for members to attend! At least half of

972-635: The game of baseball locally, nationally and internationally. This award is sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods . ABCA Ethics in Coaching Award honors individuals who embody the ABCA Code of Ethics. The ABCA strives for sportsmanship, ethics, and integrity to the highest degree. The ABCA has selected All-American Teams in each division of the ABCA, as well as an All-American/Coach of the Year Committee, as well as All-Region Teams. Each division also selects

1008-432: The latter company's 37-year partnership with the league ended, thus returning Wilson as the game ball supplier to the NBA. Wilson manufactures and commercializes a variety of products for several sports. The following chart contains all the product lines by the company. The Louisville Slugger brand baseball bat has been manufactured since 1884, and has been very popular in professional baseball for many decades. The bat

1044-602: The mass-produced versions. Aside from tennis rackets, the Wilson sporting goods company also makes tennis balls (including the official balls of the US Open and starting in 2020, the French Open major championships), shoes, balls, strings, clothes, and racquet bags. Wilson is the official ball supplier of the AVP . In 2021, Wilson developed a brand partnership with Crossnet . A Wilson volleyball "co-starred" alongside Tom Hanks in

1080-456: The moniker Little Ben due to his proficiency with it . Current Wilson Staff players include British Open and PGA Championship champion Pádraig Harrington . Wilson has been the official ball supplier for NCAA soccer . Wilson is a major manufacturer of tennis rackets . The original kevlar Pro Staff model racket, known for its use by Pete Sampras , was heavy (more than 350g strung) and small-headed (85 sq. in.); Roger Federer also used

1116-816: The same racket model. In 2015, he used the Pro Staff RF97 Autograph model that is heavy (340 g/12 oz unstrung) and larger (97 sq. in.). Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg also used the Pro Staff Original, Edberg later switching to the Pro Staff Classic in 1991, which was the same racket (85 sq. in. with slightly rounded frame edges) but with different paint work. In late 2009, Wilson unveiled their latest line of rackets, codenamed 20x, which they would later rename BLX. This line directly replaces their previous K-Factor series with all new technologies. Also, many pros use custom-made rackets that perform differently from

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1152-506: The story of Louisville Slugger baseball bats in baseball and in American history. The P72 model Louisville Slugger bat was created in 1954 (while the brand was still under the ownership of Hillerich & Bradsby) for career minor leaguer Les Pinkham , and became one of baseball's most popular bats. Baseball Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Robin Yount are among the players who used the P72 over

1188-474: The years. New York Yankee star Derek Jeter used the P72 for every at bat in his 20 MLB seasons, with over 12,500 plate appearances and 3,749 P72 models ordered. On September 25, 2014, in honor of Jeter's impending retirement, the P72 designation was retired, and the bat was renamed the DJ2 (Jeter wore #2). Descendants of Les Pinkam will still be allowed to get the bat with its P72 designation. In addition to retiring

1224-664: Was appointed president by the controlling banks and renamed the company "Thomas E. Wilson Company". The company acquired the Hetzinger Knitting Mills to produce athletic uniforms and a caddie bag company which produced golf balls but soon expanded into footballs and basketballs. In 1918, Wilson left to concentrate on the beef-packing business, changing the Sulzberger company to Wilson & Co. (which would ultimately become Iowa Beef Packers and then be taken over by Tyson Foods ). The packing company continued to have control in

1260-402: Was designated a brand ambassador for the company and creative director for her basketball collections scheduled to be released throughout 2024. Clark was the first athlete to create and release a signature Wilson basketball collection since Michael Jordan released his with the company in the 1980s and was the first-ever female athlete to have a signature collection with Wilson. Wilson Staff

1296-700: Was endorsed by Honus Wagner in 1905 (likely the first endorsement of a product by an American professional athlete), and was used by Babe Ruth along with many other baseball stars through history. The Louisville Slugger brand was controlled and manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby from 1884 until 2015, when the brand was bought by Wilson. The brand complements Wilson's existing DeMarini subsidiary which also produces bats. Hillerich & Bradsby remains an independent business and continues to manufacture bats as an exclusive supplier for Wilson. The company also operates Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory , an attraction in downtown Louisville, Kentucky which showcases

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