Hall of Fame
Tom Pile attended McKendree from 1963-65 before serving his country with the United States Army during the Vietnam War. After returning as a decorated war veteran, Tom embarked on a teaching and coaching career that saw him develop one of the most successful baseball programs in the state of Illinois.
For 31 years, Tom taught numerous history courses at the high school level, guiding thousands of students during his three-plus decades in the classroom. He took an active role in the learning process with his students and was rewarded at both Washburn High School and Edwardsville High School with Teacher of the Year honors.
Tom also made his mark in coaching circles as he guided teams in football, basketball and, most notably, baseball. In football, he was part of an Edwardsville staff that coached the Tigers to six consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. On the basketball court, Tom collected more than 500 wins.
It was on the baseball field where Tom made his biggest impression. For 18 seasons (1981-98) he served as the head baseball coach at Edwardsville, where he compiled a record of 508-147. During that time his Tigers' teams made five state tournament appearances, leading the program to the 1990 and 1998 Illinois state championship. Tom led Edwardsville to the 1990 state title by guiding the program to a 32-3 record and a No. 7 national ranking. His 1998 championship team with the Tigers stood out even more as they rolled to a perfect 40-0 record while ending the year as the nation's top-ranked team.
Over the years, Tom received nearly 70 coaching honors for his baseball accomplishments. He earned National Coach of the Year accolades from several organizations, and was a three-time Coach of the Year honoree by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Six times, Tom was selected as the St. Louis-area Coach of the Year by the IHSBCA. He·was also recognized as the area Coach of the Year six times each by both the Belleville News-Democrat and the Alton Telegraph. Tom received numerous honors and awards from local organizations as well, including the Paul Wray Award from the St. Louis Baseball Writers' Association in 1998 and the Special Achievement Award from the Missouri Athletic Club.
In addition to the many honors and accolades awarded for his coaching accomplishInents, Tom coached 10 players who were drafted and played professional baseball.
