Well-known sports figure Joe Paul dies Friends fondly recall ex-coach, administrator

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BY PETE WARNER

Joe Paul loved young people and he was especially fond of following their successes in athletics.

Through his dealings with people as a coach, administrator and observer, Paul was able to impart his vast knowledge and experience of sports, and life.

The Maine sports community suffered a tremendous loss Monday when Paul died in Boston from complications of heart problems. He was 67.

Paul, the son of a railroad man, grew up in the small town of Derby near Milo as one of nine brothers. He dedicated his life to raising a family and working with young people and he left a lasting impression on those whose lives he touched.

None may have been more influenced by Paul than Mark Hackett, an Orono native who grew up across the street from the Pauls.

“He’s like a dad to me,” a shaken Hackett said Monday night. “I loved the man. He’s the reason I coach.”

Hackett, the football coach at Bangor High, guided the Rams to the Class A football state championship last fall. He had played freshman basketball and football under Paul, who was an assistant at Orono, in the ’70s.

“He always believed that a game was a game. You compete like crazy, then when it’s over, it’s over,” Hackett said. “He was tough on us, but he always did what was right.”

And Paul the coach wasn’t involved in sports for personal glory.

“He never needed any credit,” Hackett said. “He was comfortable with what he did and what he did, you can’t measure it.”

Paul had a history of heart trouble and had successful bypass surgery 13 years ago. While that hastened his retirement from his job as an administrator at Orono High, he utilized his people skills as a salesman and spokesman for Wight’s Sporting Goods.

He joined the business when it was bought nine years ago by co-owners Bob Fortier and Andy Nickerson, the latter of whom learned many lessons from Paul.

“It’s a sad day for the Eastern Maine sports community,” said a devastated Nickerson. “He wasn’t really a salesman, just a great person that everyone trusted and loved.”

Paul’s territory included Aroostook, Washington and Piscataquis counties, where he stayed in touch with old friends and made many new ones in his work.

“Joe was a nice fellow who loved people and he liked to talk sports,” said Caribou AD Dwight Hunter. “Joe was well-liked in the County among the ADs. We had a lot in common, so we used to have a lot of long conversations.”

Even though Paul was semi-retired, his commitment was never in doubt during his time at Wight’s.

“He knew he had to go in [to the hospital] Tuesday [Feb. 26] for his heart procedure and he worked Monday [Feb. 25],” marveled Nickerson, who pointed out Paul’s amazing rapport with the people with whom he worked.

“I owe the man a lot of gratitude,” he said. “When I bought my company it had been around forever but it was about ready to fail. If it wasn’t for Joe Paul, I don’t know if I would have made it successful.”

Paul was a fixture for nearly three decades at University of Maine basketball home games where he ran the game clock and later took over the shot clock for men’s and women’s games.

“We were looking for someone who was reliable, honest and dependable to work the clock,” recalled former UMaine coach Peter Gavett, a longtime friend.

Paul handled those duties as skillfully as he did his coaching, administrative and sales positions.

“He’s kind of an old-school type of guy in the sense that he’s so dependable and hardworking and loyal,” Gavett said. “I think everybody got something out of being around Joe. He didn’t say a lot; didn’t have to. He just commanded respect.”

Paul, who played high school baseball and basketball at Milo High School, went on to attend Husson College in Bangor, where he also had been a fixture for years at basketball and baseball games.

According to Nickerson, Paul’s first teaching and coaching job was at Higgins Classical Institute in Charleston. From there, he moved to Greenville High and then landed at Orono in 1974.

His sports knowledge and affinity for coaching quickly translated into a position as a coach at UMaine’s summer basketball camps for many years.

“He was very fair and kids loved playing for him,” Gavett said.

Paul was always on top of the Maine sports scene.

“He was a wonderful guy,” said veteran sportscaster George Hale. “He was a very knowledgeable guy about sports. He knew it from all the angles: as a coach, an administrator, a player, as a father.”

Paul is survived by his wife Nancy, sons David and Jeff, and daughter Stephanie. Funeral arrangements will be announced later today.