He was Detroit’s least known sports owner. Ralph Wilson was a successful insurance agency operator and became a diversified entrepreneur, and owner of the Buffalo Bills NFL team.
The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation is donating $200 million to create new parks and recreational trails in Detroit and in the Buffalo area.
The new west riverfront park will be named the Ralph Wilson Centennial park.
The gift will be split equally between the two regions. The foundation is donating 100-million million to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to build A 22-acre west riverfront park and a trail network.
The new park will be named the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.
Wilson’s business interests included trucking and car hauling, maintenance, stamping and plastics, drilling and entertainment, and financial services.
This would have been Ralph Wilson’s 100th birthday today.