Jim Mallon
Mallon, a three-time all-district baseball player at Abilene High from 1960-62, died in 2012 at age 67. He batted .402 at Abilene High and then played two years at Baylor before signing with the San Francisco Giants in 1965. He played five years in the Giants’ farm system. He was named the head coach at Southwestern University in 1971, a position he held until his retirement in 2004. His Southwestern teams won 1,197 games against only 601 losses. The Pirates finished third in the 1984 NAIA World Series and advanced to seven NCAA Division III regional championships. Nine times he was named the district or conference baseball coach of the year. Eight of Mallon’s players advanced to compete in professional baseball with four reaching the major league level. He is a member of the NAIA and Southwestern University halls of fame.
