Ruth Wilson moved to Vancouver at an early age and was soon actively immersed in what was to become an all-round lifelong involvement with sports. At UBC, she received five Big Block Awards for her athletic achievements and was President of Women’s Athletics on the student council. In recognition of her thirty-five years of coaching basketball, Ruth was made an Honourary Life Member of the BC Girls Inter-High Basketball Association.
Elsewhere in her basketball career, she won four consecutive Canadian Championships (1943-1946) with the Vancouver Hedlunds. She later coached the Vancouver Eilers to two national titles (1949 and 1950) and the Vancouver Buzz Bombs to the title in 1973. She served as Vice-President of the Canadian Amateur Basketball Association and Manager of the Canadian basketball team at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. She coached the BC All-Stars in their famous exhibition game against Russia in 1966 and the National Women’s basketball team to bronze at the 1967 Pan Ams in Winnipeg. (It was the only Canadian basketball team to win a medal in a Pan American competition to that date.) In recognition of her thirty-five years of coaching basketball, Ruth was made an Honourary Life-Member with the BC Girls Inter-High Basketball Association.
Her softball career saw her play in two Women’s World Series with the Western Mutuals (1943) and the Vancouver Neons (1945). She took part in a third World Series, coaching a Canadian team in Portland.
Wilson was a member of eight BC golf teams that competed at the Canadian Ladies Inter-Provincial tournament, with four of the teams winning titles. In 1954, she represented Canada in an exhibition series against the British Curtis Cup team. She was the Runner-up in the Canadian Closed Championships of 1961.
Wilson played competitive tennis during the 1930s, winning the Vancouver Junior Girls Singles and Doubles titles in 1936 and the Vancouver Girls Doubles in 1937.
Wilson is also inducted in the UBC Sports Hall of Fame. For his UBC biography, please visit www.ubcsportshalloffame.com