Brian Wilson (baseball) - Early Life

Early Life

Wilson was born in Winchester, Massachusetts and raised in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Today, he talks little of his childhood except to discuss his father. Mike Wilson, an Air Force veteran, was a demanding perfectionist, but Brian said in a 2011 interview, "I think that's how you need to be raised. It's not your friend, it's your dad. And he's going to be strict. And one day you're going to understand why. And sometimes, it's a little too late. They might pass away, and you might not get that chance to say thanks or understand why you did those things. But when you become a man, you understand why."

When Wilson was 12 years old, his father was diagnosed with cancer. His father fought the disease for five years before dying while Wilson was attending Londonderry High School; Wilson today says he had to become a man when his father was diagnosed. In a 2011 story, ESPN.com writer Elizabeth Merrill said about Wilson's high school years, "He was an honor roll student at Londonderry, but clashed with various authority figures who didn't appreciate his occasional lack of a filter." In the same story, a number of Londonderry faculty speculated that some teachers didn't understand Wilson's life situation at the time. Art Psaledas, an assistant principal at the school, would add, "It happened at probably the worst time anybody could lose your dad. Watching his dad deteriorate over the years was probably the singular thing that formed his personality."