John Hilton (American football)

John Hilton (March 12, 1942 – February 2, 2017) was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) who played from 1965 to 1973 for four teams, most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers (1965-1969).

Prep school and college
He played college football for the University of Richmond. He prepared for college by attending Fork Union Military Academy as a postgraduate in the 1959-1960 academic year where he played football and basketball.

NFL career
He was selected in the 6th Round (76th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but did not play for them before making his NFL debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1965. He next played with the Green Bay Packers (1970) and Minnesota Vikings (1971), before returning to the Lions to play his last two years in the NFL (1972-1973). He went on to finish his career with the Florida Blazers of the WFL in 1974 after which Hilton moved into coaching.

Later life and death
In 2008, John Hilton was announced as an inductee to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, joining fellow alumni from Fork Union, Sonny Randle and Rosie Thomas. He developed Alzheimer's disease and was in a period of declining health when he died after a fall on February 2, 2017. Hilton was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.