Hilton White (1932–1990) was an American basketball coach who was a recreation and playground director for the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

and head coach of the

American International Yellow Jackets The American International Yellow Jackets is composed of 22 teams representing American International College in intercollegiate athletics, including men’s and women's basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, track and field, and vol ...

men's basketball team and

Westfield State University Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class. Ran ...

's men's and women's basketball teams.

Early life

White graduated from

Dewitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across the liberal arts ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. At Benedict, he earned letters in basketball, football, baseball, and track. After college, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and was stationed in Europe and at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas. He remained involved in sports, playing and coaching basketball and managing athletics and recreation for his battalion. He became a private first class in the Army.

Cauldwell Playground

After his discharge, he returned to New York City and became the recreation supervisor at Cauldwell Playground. He founded a local basketball team called Bronx Falcons, which played in a number of big tournaments in the city. Three of White's former players,

Willie Worsley Willie James Worsley (born November 13, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player who was one of the guards for the Texas Western Miners basketball team during their now-legendary 1966 NCAA championship game against Kentucky. Al ...

Nevil Shed Nevil Shed (born April 26, 1943) is an American former basketball player. He attended Morris High school in 1962.http://alumniweb.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=739 He was a member of the Texas Western Miners (now named University of Texas at El Paso ...

, and

Willie Cager William Cager Jr. (August 24, 1942 – March 19, 2023) was an American college basketball player for the Texas Western Miners (now UTEP Miners men's basketball, UTEP Miners). He was a member of 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball te ...

, played for the

Texas Western Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

and in 1966 were part of the first all-black starting five to win the NCAA Division I championship. Another one of his protégés,

Nate Archibald Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings ...

, played 14 years in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

American International

In 1966, White joined

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who sough ...

as an assistant basketball coach and director of the school's intramural athletic program. In 1970 he was promoted to head coach. After seven seasons he resigned to become a full-time member of the school's faculty, serving as an assistant professor of psychology and sociology and as the school's affirmative action officer.

Westfield State

White returned to coaching in 1979 at

. The Owls compiled a 56–68 record in his five seasons as head coach and appeared in the

1985 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament The 1985 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was the 11th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the Unit ...

. He then served as coach of Westfield State's women's program from 1985 to 1990.

Death and legacy

White died in the summer of 1990 from complications of a stroke. He was 57. In 2009, Cauldwell Playground was renamed Hilton White Playground and the stretch of Cauldwell Avenue from 161st Street to 163rd Street was renamed Hilton White Way.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Hilton 1932 births 1990 deaths American International Yellow Jackets men's basketball coaches Benedict Tigers football players Benedict Tigers men's basketball players DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Sportspeople from the Bronx United States Army soldiers Westfield State Owls men's basketball coaches