Calvin Wilson - A Real Gee Bees Stalwart

by John Terrell

The Oxford dictionary describes a stalwart as someone who is strong, courageous, resolute, uncompromising and partisan.
Gee Bees life member Calvin Wilson amply fits that description, having displayed each of these qualities at various stages of his long cricket career.
In his younger days, Calvin was a powerful hitter of the ball.
His courage has never been questioned, having borne the brunt of many a hostile bowling attack in his day, from fast bowlers such as Colin Trezona (who always seemed to revel at the sight of Calvin’s blood), Neville Youlden, Daryl Wilkinson and Brian Macgregor.
Calvin was definitely resolute, having top scored in three grand final innings for the Gee Bees (51 in 1971-72), 53 in 1975-76 and 114 in 1981-82, and equal top scored in a fourth grand final with 27 in1963-64).
On the question of being uncompromising and partisan, well, there are few people in Goldfields cricket who would argue about that — even his old adversary from Hannans, John “Jumbo” Lewis, who shared the same birth date as Calvin.
Calvin’s greatest joy came from Gee Bee successes in A-Grade grand finals. He was very much a part of that success story, accruing the perfect record of ten premierships from ten grand final appearances along the way.
His biggest personal triumph came in the twilight of his playing career when he made a magnificent 114 in the 1981-82 grand final. It remains to this day as the only century scored by a Gee Bee in an A- Grade grand final, and one of only a few centuries ever scored in an EGGA grand final.
However, it wasn’t Calvin’s only century in Goldfields cricket. He has the distinction of scoring the only century made in a night cricket match on the Goldfields. It happened during the 1981-82 season in a match played under lights at the Kalgoorlie Oval.
For the record, Calvin played 199 games for the Gee Bees, batted 260 times, made 4,098 runs at 17.3 and took 135 catches and six stumpings.
But, those figures only tell part of the story.
He has been a true dub stalwart through thick - and - thin, being a member of the club’s very first premiership victory, and being one of the greatest all-round contributors to the club, both on and off the field, in its entire 40-year history.
They say that behind every good man, is a good woman. And, this is true in the case of Pat Wilson who also qualifies as a Gee Bees stalwart. Her contributions at social events, many of which took place at her own household in White Street, South Kalgoorlie, have been enormous over the last 20 years or more — and greatly appreciated by literally hundreds of Gee Bee supporters.

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