Icehouse Wilson

George Peacock "Icehouse" Wilson (September 14, 1912 – October 13, 1973) was an American football and baseball player. He was a star halfback and baseball player for St. Mary's College of California. He also played professional baseball from 1934–1935, including a brief stint in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers and stints with minor league teams in San Mateo, California, Sioux City, Iowa and Sacramento, California. He later worked as a teacher and coach at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California for 34 years.

Early years Wilson was born in Maricopa, California. At age 16, he played for the Montgomery Wards baseball team that won the 1928 American League Junior Series. The team, considered "Oakland's first World Champion Baseball team", won 18 straight games, including 14 by shutouts, in the national junior baseball tournament sponsored by the American Legion. When the team returned to Oakland, the headline in the Oakland Tribune read, "Welcome Home World Champions", and the team was greeted at the train station with a victory parade: "Straight up Broadway the lads were paraded, led by a band and drum corps and surrounded by thousands of cheering Oaklanders." During the 1930s, St. Mary's football coach, Slip Madigan (later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame), was an active and colorful promoter of the exploits of his players. One of the tactics Madigan used to promote his players was by "bolstering their reputations with nicknames that promised to titillate the fans and writers in distant cities." Johnny Podesto became "Presto Podesto from Modesto", and it was Madigan who reportedly bestowed the nickname "Icehouse" on his star halfback.

The most important game of the year for St. Mary's "Galloping Gaels" football team was an annual rivalry game against Fordham, played each year at the Polo Grounds in New York. In 1933, Wilson was "heralded" by some as "the best ball-lugger on the west coast." When Wilson led St. Mary's to a win over Fordham in 1933, he was described by reporters as "the best halfback ever to play at the Polo Grounds."

Though he became famous as a football player, Wilson was also a star outfielder for the St. Mary's baseball team. As a sophomore, he compiled a batting average of .411.

Professional baseball

Major leagues In 1934, Wilson left college despite having a year remaining in order to play professional baseball.

In late May 1934, after a handful of appearances in San Mateo, Wilson was signed by the American League champion Detroit Tigers. The San Mateo News described the news as both startling and inevitable:"San Mateo fans, if they'll stop and collect their wits a minute, will realize that it was inevitable. Wilson has the makings of a major league sensation. ... That home run clout of his that soared over the left field fence and the double that crashed up against the same fence was proof that Wilson has plenty of power in those husky, broad shoulders of his. ... San Mateo fans will miss Wilson. He was a likeable lad and popular with everyone." Wilson was a member of the Tigers team for ten weeks in 1934, Wilson did not get a hit, resulting in a .000 career batting average in Major League Baseball.

Minor leagues After his time in Detroit, Wilson was sent to the minor leagues to play for the Sioux City Cowboys of the Western League. He played 42 games for Sioux City, mostly as an outfielder. In June 1934, Iowa newspapers reported that Wilson had been "hitting the ball hard and playing a fine fielding game" for the Sioux City club. However, after aggravating an old shoulder injury, Wilson missed the remainder of the season. He later became a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve.

Wilson was a member and served as president of the Berkeley Lions Club. He also worked as a football official of the Pacific-8 Conference.

Wilson retired from Berkeley High School in 1973 and died that fall at age 61. Wilson died in Moraga, California, and was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in San Pablo, California. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mildred Catherine Beauregard, who died in 1948. Wilson was survived by his wife, Marie, two daughters, Jan Alexander and Sondra Cohelan, and five sons, Terry Wilson, Glen Wilson, Rich Wilson, Tom Wilson and Rob Wilson.