Sid Watson’s remarkable resume includes induction into five Halls of Fame, but he will forever be linked to Brunswick’s Bowdoin College.

Watson, who died of a heart attack at the age of 71 Sunday, was affiliated with the school for 40 years.

He was the men’s hockey coach for 24 seasons, guiding the Polar Bears to four ECAC Division II championships. He was named the national college division coach of the year three times.

He compiled a record of 326-210-11 and his teams qualified for the ECAC playoffs every year but one.

He retired from coaching in 1983 and was the school’s AD from 1984-1998.

“He was a great fit for Bowdoin. He personified Bowdoin to me,” said Husson College baseball coach John Winkin, the former athletic director and baseball coach at archrival Colby College in Waterville. “He was a great role model. He was one of the nicest guys I knew in my days at Colby.”

“He had a great sense of humor. Every time I saw him, I had a good time with him,” added Winkin.

“He will leave a great void in the history of Bowdoin sports. He was certainly a legend,” said former University of Maine football coach and athletic director Walt Abbott. “He was very professional and a very, very friendly person. He always had a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin. He was very fair and very honest.”

Abbott also said Watson felt strongly that academics and athletics went hand in hand and he was “always there to support his coaches and athletes. He was very knowledgeable about athletics. He was a fantastic athlete himself.”

Watson was a great running back at Northeastern University where he still holds the school records for points in a career (191) and a single season (74). He averaged more than 100 yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry.

The Andover, Mass., native played in the NFL for Pittsburgh and Washington before coming to Bowdoin.

He was inducted into the Andover, Northeastern, and Maine Sports Halls of Fame; he received the Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey Award from the United States Hockey Hall of Fame; and he was the inaugural inductee into Bowdoin College’s Athletic Hall of Honor.

“As a coach, he was a fierce competitor,” said Winkin. “His teams always played hard. They symbolized him. He was a very good hockey coach.”

Watson, who is survived by his wife, Henrietta, five children, and 11 grandchildren, held several important positions, including chairman of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Tournament Committee and president of the American Hockey Coaches Association.