Bio

Joe Pinson

Perkinston Agricultural High School & Junior College (1956-1958) / Baseball, Basketball

Having a minister as a father meant Joe Pinson moved around a lot when he was younger. One of the moves his family made was to South Mississippi in the mid-1950s. That is how Pinson and his older brother Jay ended up at Perkinston. Along with Jay, Pinson was a standout two-sport athlete at Perk, playing baseball and basketball. In 1956, the Bulldog baseball team earned a third-place spot in the Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges South Division. But in 1957, Pinson played second base on a Perk squad that ended winning the state title by beating Itawamba 9-7.

“We did well, and we had good teams both the years I was there,” Pinson says. “Winning the state title was fantastic. I’ve never experienced anything like that. In high school I didn’t get to play baseball, so that was a first for me.”

He was also on the 1956-57 basketball team that was the last to play its home games in the Old Gym on the Perkinston Campus. That team, says the team’s head coach Mel Carpenter, racked up more than 2,450 points that season and ranked second in the nation in scoring. Also during that season, Perk lost a game to Co-Lin 134-113, which, at the time, set a new scoring record in the Mississippi junior college conference.

Pinson remembers that being able to play in the new gym (later named the Weathers-Wentzell Center) was a great transition for the team. “That was a big deal back then,” Pinson says. “Playing in the new gym was like playing in a palace. I enjoyed being at Perk much more than I liked senior college.”

After Perk, Pinson enrolled at William Carey and played baseball with several of his Perk teammates, including 2007 Gulf Coast Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Fred Weems and 2006 inductee George Rosetti. Upon graduating from William Carey, Pinson embarked on a 23-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps. “While in the process at Officer Training School, I woke up one day and realized I wanted to fly airplanes.”

Specifically, Pinson flew small planes and helicopters. His expertise led him to a couple of tours in Vietnam — the second coming in the turbulent year of 1968. For his efforts, Pinson earned the Distinguished Flying Cross during a mission on June 3, 1968. Pinson was flying as escort to three Vietnamese helicopters when the group came under heavy enemy fire. Pinson’s ship returned fire and made sure the mission was successful. According to the award document, “Major Pinson’s courage, superior airmanship and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger were instrumental in saving the life of the reconnaissance team leader and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”

“There was plenty of action going on at that time,” Pinson says. “There was the Tet Offensive and many other things. I just wish we could’ve finished what we started over there.”

While active duty for anyone serving in Vietnam was tough, Pinson said he was able to unwind through a variety of sports he played in the Marines. “In the Corps, I got to play baseball, basketball, fast-pitch softball and tennis. I tore up my knee playing basketball, so tennis became my top sport.”

Pinson says he was surprised by the news that he was selected as a 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame honoree. “It’s a tremendous honor,” he says. “I met my wife at Perk, and one of my sons went to school there for a short time, so I’m proud of my family to be part of the college’s legacy.”