Joplin Sports Hall of Fame inductee Tom Hilton dies Dec. 22

Dec. 28—MIAMI, Okla. — Tom Hilton, a long-time baseball coach in the area and a 2008 Joplin Sports Hall of Fame inductee, died suddenly at his home in Miami, Oklahoma, on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.

Hilton pitched at Joplin Parkwood High School before his graduation in 1971 and pitched for the Missouri Southern Baseball Lions until his graduation with a bachelor's degree in education in 1976.

He earned his master's degree in education at the University of Arkansas and later taught and served as baseball coach at Diamond High School.

Hilton moved up to the college ranks as pitching coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks and head baseball coach at Labette County Community College in Parsons, Kansas.

He lead his Diamond teams to conference championships and his college teams to the college World Series; the college teams compiled a record of 627 wins and 221 losses.

Hilton also served as a pitching coach at the Olympic Festival in Los Angeles in 1991 and was an assistant coach on the USA Junior National team in 1992.

After his marriage to his wife, Jay Hilton, in 2000 the couple moved to Miami where he worked as an insurance agent.

He was inducted into the Joplin Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 along with long-time football coach Mickey Heatherly, golfer Virginia Laas, basketball player Jimmy Dailey and former Joplin Globe sports editor and columnist Porter Wittich.

Services for Hilton will start with the family receiving friends at 1 p.m. today at the One Church in Miami and the funeral service itself starting at 2 p.m.