As a young man, Carl B. Anderson, Jr., made a name for himself in sports. As a student at Georgia Military Academy, he set the Georgia state record for high hurdles. He then moved on to West Point where he studied engineering and his athletic skills earned him letters in football, baseball, basketball and track each of his four years of school.
After spending a few years in the Army Air Corp. and achieving the rank of lieutenant , he decided to go back to school for a graduate degree. He chose the University of Oklahoma for the unique opportunity to be the offensive backfield football coach under Bud Wilkinson.
After graduating, Anderson decided to stay in Oklahoma and together with his father, founded An-Son Corporation in 1948, which would grow to become one of the state's largest oil and gas companies. Business quickly became Carl's life as he built one of the largest drilling companies in South America and founded the Oklahoma Refining Company and a hazardous waste trucking company. Carl had a special fondness for the contract drilling business providing great leadership and insight to many business organizations.
One of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation's earliest donors, he established a fund on behalf of An-Son Corp. to support an organization dearest to his heart: World Neighbors. Carl died in 1998, but his contributions continue to support the international nonprofit organization working to support communities and alleviate hunger, poverty and disease in developing countries throughout the world.