Earlham College

George Olson was a dynamic athlete who lettered four years in both football and baseball at Earlham. A tackle on the gridiron and a catcher on the diamond, he was a senior captain in both sports. Olson’s coaches noted his exceptional leadership ability and motivational spirit. In 1957, he was the Quakers’ most valuable baseball player and selected to the all-Hoosier Collegiate Conference team after compiling a .526 batting average. Olson received the coveted E blanket as a senior. Immediately following graduation, he signed a professional baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox farm team, the Indianapolis Indians. Olson quickly moved up the farm system and spent the entire 1960 season with the class A team in Charleston, S.C. Considered the brightest spark of the 1961 Indians’ spring training by all-time great Early Wynn, a torn Achilles tendon ended his playing career shortly afterwards. He remained involved in baseball as an assistant high school coach and member of the Little League Advisory Board in his hometown of Northbrook, Ill.