Legendary Coach and Teacher I.J. Pinkham Passes On

Legendary Boothbay Region High School coach and teacher Irving “I.J.” Pinkham is perhaps best known around the state as the winningest boys basketball coach in Maine history, but in the Boothbay region, he is also known as a passionate math teacher who had a lasting impact on all students, including those who struggled with the subject.

Pinkham, a soft-spoken leader on and off the court who coached three generations of Seahawks at Boothbay Region High School, died April 15 at the age of 77.

“Coach Pinkham’s dedication and heart on the basketball court were unmatched,” Boothbay Region High School posted on its official Facebook page. “Coach Pinkham was deeply loved by his students and widely respected by his colleagues and the community. He leaves behind a legacy as a legendary basketball coach and an inspiring educator.”

Pinkham played basketball for Milbridge High School and went on to attend Farmington State Teachers College – now University of Maine Farmington – where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. While there, he also played basketball and became a student of the game under coach Len MacPhee.

Pinkham would later get his master’s degree in education from the University of Southern Maine.

Pinkham began his teaching career in 1970 at Buckfield, where he also launched his coaching career. Pinkham had a 52-54 record while coaching boys basketball at Buckfield High from 1970-1976.

In 1976, he married Peggy Grover. The couple moved to the Boothbay area, where he taught math and social studies at BRHS and coached boys basketball for the Seahawks. He also served as the athletic director from 1980-1992.

Pinkham intended to coach a few years in Boothbay before moving up to a position at a Class B school, but he and Peggy fell in love with the area and the community. They couldn’t see themselves living anywhere else, so they put down roots. Pinkham ended up teaching until his retirement in 2017 and continued coaching until 2020.

“I.J. was a gentleman of principles, common sense, fair play, and a wit filled with humor and wisdom that I so appreciated. As well, he maintained a realistic, clear-eyed view of human nature and the world around him,” said Carol McKenna, who taught alongside Pinkham for 32 years. “(He was) a cherished family man, a respected community member and an esteemed colleague who taught far more than math and coached far more than basketball. He taught minds and he coached hearts so fortunate to have been within his reach. I.J. was a gift to us and we grieve our loss; however we will delight in his memory and embrace his legacy.”

Boothbay Region Athletic Director Allan Crocker, who knew Pinkham as a student, co-worker, coach, and friend, said Pinkham was “a legend in every sense of the word.”

“He had an understated, cool demeanor and when he spoke, people listened,” Crocker said. “People that knew him knew that he didn’t speak much, but when he did it was thoughtful, it was intentional and it was usually 100% correct. He could sum up the ideas and feeling on a topic in just one sentence that was so accurate and so to the point that it left very little room for argument or opposition.”

Pinkham was one of two major influences on Crocker that led him to pursue a career in education, he said.

“I.J. was every bit as good of a teacher as he was a coach and provided a high quality math experience to thousands of students,” Crocker said. “For 40 years very few students went through BRHS without I.J. positively impacting their life in some way. In addition to being a great teacher, I.J. found other ways to connect to the students. He ate lunch in the cafeteria with the students every single day of his career. He would participate in a staff beard-growing contest (and win) as a class fundraiser, despite none of us ever seeing him with facial hair before. He was a perfect teacher in many ways.”

Former students remember Pinkham for his humor and character.

“I was lucky enough to know I.J. as a teacher, a coach, and most impactfully, a friend,” Tanner Grover said. “I’m not sure everyone knew how funny he was in the classroom, He would crack dad jokes before they were cool. He had a dry wit and could make you laugh just by raising an eyebrow. He could also motivate you on the basketball court by raising that same eyebrow.”

“Coach Pinkham was more than a coach and math teacher to me. He was my role model,” said Dan Hallinan, who succeeded Pinkham as the Seahawks boys basketball coach. “I wanted him to be proud of me and wanted his approval for everything I did.”

Hallinan remembered how, during summer camps at the Y, Pinkham would address the players by their last names.

“I remember I couldn’t wait for the first time he addressed me by ‘Hallinan.’ I looked up to him so much that when I was on the JV team my freshman and sophomore years, I did anything to be part of his team,” Hallinan said.

One day, on a quiet car ride to a summer basketball game, Hallinan asked Pinkham who would be starting the following year. Pinkham looked at him as serious as could be “and said, ‘If I told you, I would have to kill you,’” Hallinan said. “He then smiled and we got a laugh out of it.”

In his 43-year tenure leading at the helm of the boys basketball program at BRHS, Pinkham was an old-time coach with old-fashioned values who wanted his players to have standards and respect for the game. He had a low-key coaching style, quiet and respectful. He held his players to a high standard, requiring short haircuts, no facial hair, curfews, and exemplary behavior on and off the court.

“Coach Pinkham was a man of tremendous character and integrity, who demanded the same of his players. He taught us to be better players, students, and men by holding us accountable for our actions on and off the court,” said Bobby Deetjen, who played for the 2001 state champion Seahawks team. “Coach built one of the most successful basketball programs in Maine that emphasized fundamentals, hard work, discipline and tradition. He taught us that details matter and can be the difference between success and failure.”

During his first season in Boothbay, Pinkham led the Seahawks to the Western Maine finals. He went on to lead teams to postseason for 38 years, including a streak of 27 straight years from the 1993-1994 season to the 2019-2020 season. Twenty-seven of his teams made it to the quarterfinal round at the Augusta Civic Center.

Pinkham’s teams won 13 conference championships, and his team played for a regional title 10 times – winning five – and for a state championship five times. He coached the Seahawks to a state championship in 2001, when they won 71-66 over Piscataquis. Pinkham would later say that was his favorite game to coach.

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“Everyone remembers the 2001 state championship team. That was my senior year; to say we were ecstatic to win is underselling it,” Grover said. “A huge part of that gratification came from winning the game for I.J. By that point, he had been in Boothbay for 20-plus years and had a recent string of really, really talented teams who were all state championship-tier teams whose seasons ended with devastating losses.”

It was in the locker room following a few of those losses that Pinkham taught the players how to win and lose with grace and class, Grover said.

“It was in those tough moments where he was truly changing young people’s lives for the better. To finally get it done in 2001, it just felt so rewarding that we could share that with him; no one earned it more,” Grover said.

Hallinan remembered feeling disappointed after a tough loss to Dirigo in a battle for first place during his junior year.

“I felt like I let (Pinkham) down,” Hallinan said. “He looked at me and said ‘We will get them next time.’ That’s all I needed. His confidence and trust in me.”

When Hallinan was selected as a McDonald’s Senior All-Star player, Pinkham pulled him out of class to let him know.

“When he told me, I felt like I had just been drafted into the NBA,” Hallinan said. “Knowing he put my name in and I had his recommendation to be mentioned in that conversation was one of the best things I could have ever asked for from him.”

Pinkham’s most difficult year of coaching came in 2010 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the tonsils. He remained dedicated to basketball, traveling to Brunswick for chemotherapy in the morning and coaching in the afternoon.

After moving to the Boothbay Region in 1976, Pinkham led the Seahawks to 607 wins (.698) for a career record of 659 wins and 316 losses (.676). He was the winningest coach in Maine high school boys basketball history and was a few wins shy of being the overall winningest coach in Maine, a position held by Dick Barstow, with 664 wins.

“As a young kid, I remember going to games and seeing this fiery guy on the sidelines. When I got to high school, we’d see that fire, but he was also kind of stoic, even laid back at times,” Grover said. “To be honest, I think he really enjoyed coaching us, and was having as much fun as we were, though he’d never let us know that, of course.”

Pinkham had many players who went on to play collegiate ball in Division II and III, something he was particularly proud of.

Hallinan later became Pinkham’s assistant coach.

“I was lucky enough to receive his approval for that and apprentice (under) him for many years,” Hallinan said. “There will never be another Coach Pinkham. He meant and continues to mean so much to me. I will honor him as I know how and he will forever be with me as he made a significant impact in my life.”

Grover, who went on to coach Boothbay Region girls basketball team to several successful seasons, said Pinkham offered nothing but support of Grover’s coaching aspirations.

“As an assistant (boys basketball coach), we’d spend hours outside of practice watching film and sharing ideas. At first, I was probably a little too outspoken and I’d get the I.J. eyebrow, but he would almost always both listen and make a note,” Grover said. “That level of trust only grew, and eventually he’d ask me for in-game decisions about switching defenses or where the mismatch was; that dialogue was so validating for myself. He didn’t see a guy with a disability in a wheelchair, he saw someone that was passionate about basketball the same way he was. To go from him being a mentor to having him see me as a peer, and a friend, is something I’ll always cherish.”

Pinkham won many coach of the year awards at the conference, regional, and state levels. He was one of the inaugural McDonald’s Senior All-Star game coaches, which started out as the American Heart Association Senior All-Star game, for Class C/D in 1980. He coached the Class C/D All-Stars for 11 different seasons.

In 2016, he was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame, which honors the legends of the game and strives to preserve the history of basketball in its 124-year history in Maine. He was inducted into the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame the following year.

Pinkham was inducted into the Maine Principals’ Association Hall of Excellence in 2020. Mike Burnham, the association’s executive director, said the award is one of the highest honors the Maine Principals’ Association can bestow.

“Each recipient (including Pinkham) represents the ideals we strive for,” Burnham said.

During the virtual presentation of the honor, Assistant Executive Director Mike Bisson said Pinkham was “always a role model for others. We all looked to him for leadership and advice.”

In 2023, Pinkham was the recipient of the Wooden Award of Excellence from the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame.

He received a Patron of Youth award from the Boothbay Region YMCA, and he received the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award.

“I.J. was never one that talked about his own accomplishments and wasn’t a huge fan of public recognition, so the true extent of the personal accomplishments may never be fully known,” Crocker said.

A memorial service for Pinkham will be held on Saturday, May 17 at the Porter Memorial Gymnasium at the Boothbay Region High School at 10 a.m. A reception will follow from noon to 2 p.m. at Robinson’s Wharf in Southport.

“I.J. was an amazing person. Many people remember him as the basketball coach, but he was so much more than that. He was loved by many and will be missed,” Crocker said.