John Harrison Wylde died February 23, 2009, in Wareham, Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on April 2, 1938, the son of John Irton and Mary Harrison Wylde, and prepared at Milton Academy.
He lived in Winthrop House while at Harvard, where he was a goalie on the varsity hockey team and a ranked player on the varsity tennis team; he left the College in his senior year to play tennis professionally.
In 1962 he joined his family's business, Patterson, Wylde & Company, an international steamship agency based in Boston, serving as president from 1972 until his retirement in 1988.
He and his wife moved to Wareham, his summer home of many years, in 1974, and there his passion for college and minor-league baseball came into full flower. Over a quarter century's association with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, he volunteered as president, general manager, treasurer, announcer, scorer, recruiting officer, purchasing agent, statistician, college sports information liaison, travel agent, and chief infield grass cutter.
Under his leadership, the Gatemen became the only franchise to receive the league Commissioner's Cup twice (in 2004 and 2007). He was instrumental in establishing the Cape League tryouts, giving local college players a chance to demonstrate their level of play and sign with a Cape League team. He received the league's Richard Sullivan Executive of the Year Award and the Andrew Baylock Distinguished Service Award of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association, and was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2007.
A former finance committeeman and selectman in the Town of Wareham, he also supported several local charities, including the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Wareham Land Trust, the Wareham Free Library, and Champs, an animal shelter. He had a lifelong interest in Civil War history.
He was survived by his wife of forty-six years, Patricia (Plum), and a sister, Laina Swiny.
Reprinted courtesy of the Harvard Alumni Association Class Report Office from the Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1960 Fiftieth Anniversary Report.
GOCRIMSON.COM noted John's contributions to baseball at Harvard and beyond.
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