Former Flames Baseball Coach Johnny Hunton Passes Away at 97

John Wooden once said, “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”  

There are few people those words better describe than the late Johnny Hunton who dedicated his life to using his passion and talents for baseball as an avenue to share the Gospel with thousands of young men, bringing many to Christ in the process. 

The beloved former Liberty University Baseball head coach went home to be with the Lord at 97 years old Jan. 19. 

Hunton was a prominent figure in Liberty Athletics, but his legacy expands much further than his impact on the diamond. Hunton was a dedicated servant, husband, preacher and more. 

“The thing I remember most about Johnny is that he was so concerned about making sure the players were living the Christian life,” Jerry Edwards, former sports broadcaster at WRVL Radio said. “He would teach baseball, he was very good at that, but he would certainly tie that to Christian living.” 

A lover of the game from his youth, Hunton played baseball for the University of Maryland during his college years and was named Maryland Athlete of the Year in 1950.  

It was also during this year that he married Patricia Hunton (née Koontz), who remained a faithful partner in ministry up until his passing.  

Following his collegiate years, Hunton went on to sign a professional contract with the New York Yankees in 1952 where he played in the minor leagues for the farm system until 1954. In one minor league exhibition game, Hunton got the chance to play against the Yankees, going up against stars like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford. 

During his years in the minors, he played alongside Bobby Richardson where they went to seven All-Star Games together. The two became fast friends, and with Hunton being eight years older than Richardson, he began to take Richardson under his wing. 

“He would make sure I had a chance to go to church with him and come over and eat dinner with him,” Richardson said. “He just became a mentor for me that first year.” 

Hunton was next in line to be called up to play second base for the Yankees, but with Richardson’s youth and athleticism, he ended up taking Hunton’s spot in the majors. Despite being passed up for the role he spent years working for, Hunton saw this as an opportunity to serve God, choosing to disciple Richardson. 

“That did not make Johnny happy, but he was a Christian,” Garry Sims, director of Hope Aglow Prison Ministry said. “He shared how much that really hurt him and how he worked hard to get to this position in the major leagues, but he said the Lord really humbled him. Johnny went and witnessed to him and won Bobby Richardson to the Lord.” 

Richardson shared how Hunton’s faith inspired him and changed the course of his life. The two eventually got together to write a devotional book. 

“He encouraged me in the Lord. He was the one who really helped me so much during that time,” Richardson said. “I was called up to the Yankees, and the Lord used that time and the background I had with Johnny. We wrote a book together called ‘Grand Slam,’ and that was because I had a grand slam in the World Series in 1960.” 

With his years as a player dwindling down, Hunton began to shift his focus towards coaching and working with younger athletes.  

“He just felt that he was older and that they were looking for younger players at that time,” Richardson said. “He understood, so his direction at that time went toward teaching.” 

Following his retirement from the major leagues, Richardson went on to become head coach for the University of South Carolina. Finding himself in need of an assistant coach, he called his friend and former teammate Hunton to offer him the job. 

“When Bobby started to coach, he went looking for Johnny,” Edwards said. 

Despite Hunton having a comfortable coaching job in the Shenandoah Valley, he took a pay cut to go to Columbia and work alongside his friend.  

“My very first call was to Johnny to ask him to come and be my partner and assistant coach at the University of South Carolina,” Richardson said. “He gave up his coaching on the high school level, even though he was making more money than I paid him at the time.” 

Hunton stepped up to this role, remaining there from 1972 to 1989 where he helped lead the Gamecocks to 12 NCAA Regional Championships and five College World Series appearances.  

“We came from nowhere to finishing second in the nation in the College World Series,” Richardson said. 

The two worked together to transform the program, even bringing in professional players to work with the students.  

“We had the New York Yankees and the Mets come play a ball club, so it was just a great time for us as coaches together,” Richardson said. 

In the late 1980s, Richardson became the head baseball coach for Liberty, where he once again remembered Hunton, and brought him along as a partner. Hunton eventually took over and led the program from 1991 to 1997 as the third head coach, leaving his mark as the fourth-winningest coach in the history of the program.  

It was also under Hunton that Liberty Baseball became NCAA Division 1 rated in 1992 as a member of the Big South Conference. In 1993 he went on to lead the Flames to take the Big South title, a feat that no other athletic program had accomplished at that time.  

Though the Huntons never had children of their own, they would “adopt” baseball players over the years, opening their homes to young men and discipling them.  

An impact to many, Hunton coached 15 players who went on to play professionally. Eleven of those players were drafted into Major League Baseball.  

“He not only had an impact as far as the baseball part but on lives,” Richardson said. “I can think of so many kids whose lives were turned around.” 

After moving to Lynchburg, Hunton began attending Thomas Road Baptist Church where he remained an active member until his passing. One Sunday not long after joining the church, Jerry Fallwell Sr. mentioned the Hope Aglow Prison Ministry and called its director Garry Sims to speak about it. Hunton felt the call to get involved, beginning his work in the prison ministry that would span over 30 years.  

Hunton traveled to various prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers from the early 1990s up until a year before he passed, preaching and teaching the Word of God. Hunton often brought athletes into the prisons and tried to minister to the inmates by using the love of sports.  

“He brought the sports aspect to the ministry,” Sims said. “He related the game of baseball back to life. This is life, you cannot be successful at this without the power of God.”  

A dedicated servant of the ministry, Hunton devoted much of his time and money to Hope Aglow while his wife Patricia offered unwavering support as an earnest prayer warrior. 

“I don’t know the thousands of miles that he drove and never asked for a dime,” Sims said. “Johnny not only did not ever ask for anything, but he donated to the ministry on a regular basis. That is rare.” 

Hunton also served as a Gideon for many years, helping to raise money to distribute Bibles across the globe. Each year, he would give a presentation at TRBC, in which he would take up an offering for the Gideons International ministry.  

“It was a huge passion of his,” Charles Billingsley, teaching pastor at TRBC, said. “I think anybody who is so passionate about doing ministry like that well into their 90s, there is a lot to be said for that. What a testimony.” 

During his years at TRBC, he gained the trust of Falwell Sr., who would often give him letters people sent in asking questions about faith.  

“Dr. Falwell was very aware of Johnny’s desire to teach the Bible and that he knew the Bible and could express it very well,” Edwards said. 

Hunton devoted a good amount of his time to responding to these letters and creating pamphlets and devotionals to aid others in their walks with Christ. 

In a pamphlet titled, “I’m Saved! Now what?” Hunton regarded his life verse as Philippians 1:21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Hunton embodied that verse in his life of servitude, turning everything he did into a ministry and winning thousands of souls to Christ during his time on earth. Though the Flames community mourns his loss, rest assured Hunton has moved on to playing catch with his heavenly father.  

White is the sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.