Benjamin Franklin “Spec” Wilson
MGA Hall of Fame 2023
Benjamin Franklin “Spec” Wilson was a native of Hot Coffee, MS born on April 1, 1914. He graduated from Laurel High School in 1932 and attended Louisiana State University before coming back to Mississippi where he worked in the family agriculture business. A lifelong resident of Mississippi, Spec’s golf game was well known around the Magnolia State. Known to never have taken a golf lesson, Spec made a name for himself in local tournaments which included twenty (20) Club Championship Titles at Laurel Country Club, a City Open Title, and a victory at Laurel Country Club Four-Ball Championship; Spec saw success on a state, regional, and international level as well. Included in his numerous state title victories are three (3) State Open Championships, two (2) Colonial Invitationals, two (2) Greenwood Invitationals, two (2) Northwood Invitationals, and four (4) Mississippi State Amateur Titles. To this day, the Mississippi Amateur Champion is awarded the B.F. “Spec” Wilson Championship trophy in his honor. Outside of state lines, Spec also found success winning the 1959 Southern Golf Association’s Southern States Four-Ball Championship. In 1945, while enlisted in the US Army, Spec added an international victory to his resume as he won the 1945 Paris Open as an Amateur. Throughout his life, Spec was a Political and Charity activist. He also had a major role in the forming of Dixie Golf Club in Laurel, MS, and Waynesboro Country Club in Waynesboro, MS. Spec Wilson was the President of the Mississippi Golf Association from 1955-1958 and in 1967 was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Benjamin Franklin “Spec” Wilson passed away on May 25, 1967, in Laurel, MS.