Wayne Terwilliger didn’t waste a single moment of his 95 years.
He was a World War II veteran, serving in combat with the Marines in Sapian, Tinian and Iwo Jima. He attended Western Michigan for three years and followed that with a nine-year Major League Baseball career, where he was once teammates with Jackie Robinson.
He then spent 50-plus years as a minor league manager and MLB coach that saw him work under another all-time great, Ted Williams, and later win two World Series with the Minnesota Twins.
He was also a Charlotte native, the son of Ivan and Doris Terwilliger, a three-sport star at Charlotte High School who graduated in 1942 and spent numerous offseasons back in his hometown, including a short stint running a local bar during his lone year away from coaching.
Source : Phil Friend, “‘Ride of a lifetime’: Wayne Terwilliger, World War II vet, World Series champ, Charlotte native, dies at 95”, Lansing State Journal, February 22, 2021.