Gemalie Perez–The Corsair
Every year a new thread of inductees are selected for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) hall of fame.
As of the new year, PJC’s athletic director and head baseball coach Bill Hamilton became a living legend when he was named into the NJCAA’s hall of fame on Jan. 7, at their annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.
“It’s awesome; I’m a hall-of-famer. I was so shocked. If it would have been proper, I would have hollered,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton is very deserving of the honor, with 23 years of experience as the head coach at the junior college level, with the last 20 years at PJC.
During his career the coach has earned 675 career wins, surpassing another PJC legendary baseball coach, Buddy Kisner, who was coach for 20 years before Hamilton.
Since the start of his career, Hamilton set out to be the best and succeeded first at the state level, coaching the team to the state title in 2004. They then won the Region VIII Championship and NJCAA District Championship. They advanced to PJC’s first ever JUCO World Series and finished 6th out of 10 teams.
The team was also nationally ranked for six straight weeks in 2008. They finished that year 41-6 and went 2-2 at the State for a final 43-8.
“Coach Hamilton’s baseball statistics are impressive, but it is his love and support of student athletics that matters the most,” PJC President Ed Meadows said.
Hamilton’s leadership has also played an important role in Florida.
From 1992-2002, Hamilton served as chairman of the baseball Panhandle Conference and as a member of several committees such as the State Baseball Committee, the NJCAA All-District Selection Committee, and the FCCAA/NJCAA District Baseball Tournament Committee.
Hamilton will be officially inducted into the hall of fame in May at the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.