Chuck Wilson was a blue-collar pitcher, Others called him “the kid with the rubber arm.”
Ask him about his playing days, and he simply states: “I was just a ballplayer. All I knew was that I wanted to play baseball.” And, he did it well.
For four seasons from 1989-1992 at Atlantic Christian/Barton College, the left-hander rose from a benchwarmer to the rock of the Bulldogs’ staff, amassing a record of 25-17 with an earned-run average of 3.75. Amazingly, 30 of his 42 starts were complete-game performances.
After graduating from Barton with a Bachelor of Science degree in math and a minor in computer science, he moved his way up to the information technology ladder. Wilson eventually started his own software development company, AcroSoft, in 1996, in a room over a garage with a friend. AcroSoft, located in Columbia, S.C., now has 25 employees, and Wilson is executive vice president of software development.
For his perseverance on the field and off, Wilson, who was a two-time NAIA Academic All-American, he was inducted into the Barton College Hall of Fame.
Wilson was a solid pitcher at Southwest Guilford High School in High Point, but didn’t get many looks from college coaches. He played American Legion baseball with Donnie Maness, who was being recruited by AC head coach Todd Wilkinson. Current Ragsdale athletic director Bob Shook led Wilkinson know about Wilson as well. Both Maness and Wilson were offered scholarships to play for the Bulldogs.
Manass accepted, but Wilson opted to attend UNC Charlotte, where he could major in computer science.
However, he was cut from the baseball team “without being giving much of a chance,” he recalled, so he phoned Wilkinson to ask if he could enroll at AC. He joined the Bulldogs mid-year of his freshman campaign.
He threw a complete game against East Carolina in his college debut, but the Bulldogs were no-hit and lost 6-0. Wilson gave up three home runs and a double. He only pitched five more innings his freshman season. Upset with his performance, Wilson went to work on his game.
Wilkinson said Wilson’s forte was his smarts. His pitching repertoire featured a fastball, curve, split-finger and change-up. The latter was his “out” pitch. Academically, his 3.82 GPA speaks for itself. Athletically, his pitching ability was average. It was his will to do his best every time he pitched that made Chuck special. He was a winner and a team player. Wilson’s numbers would have been better, but the programs was in a building stage his first few seasons. However, by his senior year, the Bulldogs had arrived, posting a 31-18 record in 1992. Wilson was 9-5 with a 3.57 ERA. He struck out 85, walked 21 and yielded 119 hits in 116 innings. He pitched a complete-game, a five-hitter, late in his senior year against Pfeiffer, striking out a career-high 14 and walking none. That feat allowed him to earn Carolinas Conference and NAIA District Player-of-the-Week honors.
Later, in the CIAC Tournament, Wilson put on a show that locals will not soon forget. He went the distance and won two nine-inning complete games the first day of the tournament against Pfeiffer and Belmont Abbey, then came back the next day to pitch two-plus innings in an extra-inning loss to Mount Olive.
The 1992 team Most Valuable Player finished his career with 197 strikeouts and just 68 walks in 326.1 innings. He allowed 353 hits, but he worked out of jams like few pitchers ever have in a Bulldog uniform.
Wilson, who lives in Columbia with his wife, Stacey, said earning All-America status as a junior and senior was important to him. “I was there for school first,” he said. “I took the responsibility of making the most of my parents’ investment because I wanted to have an opportunity in the business world if baseball didn’t work out.” As it turns out, he had a Hall of Fame baseball career, and it appears he’s doing pretty well.
