Oglethorpe University

Wilson Pershing Franklin was a center (lineman) on one of Oglethorpe’s last football teams, and an outfielder in baseball. He came to Oglethorpe on an athletic scholarship. 

In baseball, Franklin mastered playing right field and centerfield. He was a member of the Business Administration Club and Alpha Lambda Tau fraternity. 

Franklin worked with the Coca-Cola Company for his entire career, beginning in fountain sales right after he graduated. Franklin worked his way up to regional manager and worked out of New York, Cleveland, Dallas, and Atlanta. He remained in Atlanta for the latter half of his career, and served as one of the company’s vice presidents from 1970 until his retirement in 1980. 

Later in life, Franklin took up golf and was a member of several clubs along the east coast. In the spring of 2004, an endowed scholarship was established by the Georgia State Golf Foundation under his name. 

In 1996, Franklin and his wife Anne established the Wilson P and Anne W. Franklin Foundation, also known simply as the Franklin Foundation. The non-profit awards scholarships to students, creates grants for educational and medicinal ventures, and supports the Franklin family’s home church; St. James United Methodist Church. In 1998, Franklin made significant donations to his former high school, Duluth High School, for renovations to their baseball field. The field was dubbed Franklin Field in his honor.

Franklin passed away aged 85 on August 4th, 2004 after a battle with leukemia. He and his wife Anne were married for 54 years and had two sons.