Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Throughout his career, Tommy Paterson has always been a winner. The 2019 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee was an integral part of a successful era of Linfield baseball during the mid-2000s.
A four-year letterwinner, Paterson led the Wildcats to consecutive Northwest Conference championship titles in 2004 and 2005 and was named the Wildcats’ Most Valuable Player each of those seasons. In 2005, he set a single-season record with 61 runs batted in.
Accolades followed his stellar senior season. They included Northwest Conference Player of the Year, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Northwest Regional Player of the Year, and first team All-America recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association. By the end of his career, Paterson held a hitting average of .373, totaled 115 RBI and 114 runs scored.
“I watched Tommy evolve from a great athlete with tons of promise, to a great player fulfilling that promise,” said former Linfield baseball player and coach Scott Brosius. “Tommy was an off-the-charts leader and a terrific teammate. He elevated the players around him and set an example for how Linfield baseball should be played. He conducted himself with professionalism on the field and represented Linfield in an exemplary fashion away from the field.”
After he completed his bachelor’s in finance in 2005, Paterson’s baseball career continued. He spent three years in the minor leagues, competing in the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox organizations.
By the time his pro baseball career had run its course in 2007, Paterson had passed the Series 7 exam to become a licensed financial adviser.
Building off of his new certification and Linfield degree, he entered the financial sector, first at Merrill Lynch in Salem and later joined Mark Wickman, another Linfield Athletics Hall of Famer, at Corrigan Wickman Advisory, which eventually became known as Wickman Paterson Corrigan.
In 2012, Paterson earned his Certified Financial Planner designation, allowing him to blossom into a leadership role within the company. In 2017, after years of growth, Wickman Paterson Corrigan became affiliated with United Capital, a national organization headed by Goldman Sachs. He now leads the only United Capital office in Oregon.
Born in San Diego, California, Paterson moved to McMinnville as a grade schooler and fell in love with the community. He went on to a star-studded athletic career at McMinnville High School where he is already a member of the MHS Sports Hall of Fame.
Paterson has been an involved member in the McMinnville community for decades. Along with being a Linfield alumnus and successful businessman, Paterson serves on the McMinnville Downtown Association, and is involved with McMinnville Noon Kiwanis and McMinnville Young Life programs.
Tommy and his wife, Chelsea, are raising three daughters, Brooklyn and Avery and Reagan.
