Gerry Duffy - Online Memorial Website

I traveled to Caribou in March of 2008 for the first time in 15 or so years.   My first stop was to the high school and the gym that held so many wonderful memories for me.  I only spent two years in Caribou, but they were by far the two of the best years that a small down kid from Maine could have ever hoped for.  Coach Duffy was a big part of that for me.  While we didn't ever get past the Eastern Maine finals game (darn that Cony), the two seasons of 80-81 and 81-82 were about as successful as you could get.  We were undefeated both years until that last game. (and maybe a game in Fredrickton).  Anyway, he was a great coach and mentor and I would have loved to have been his friend in later years.  When I heard he had passed, I wept for him and for me and those wonderful memories.  Dan Winters '82

CLAYTON DUFFY CARIBOU - Gerry Duffy "The Coach," 77, died March 16, 2007, with his family by his side in Portland, after a valiant and courageous fight against pancreatic cancer.
He was born Jan. 21, 1930, in East Millinocket, to James and Genevieve (Surrette) Duffy. His loving and devoted wife, Jean, supported him each and every step of the way for more than two years during his cancer battle and for over 52 years as his wife; she is and will continue to be his most significant and loyal fan.

To doctors and nurses he was a medical marvel, who won the daily and weekly battles that cancer brought. To family and friends he never stepped on a court or field without the intent, the heart and the drive to win.

Gerry's battle against this deadly disease was filled with unbelievable bravery, dignity and even humor in the tradition of one of his idols, Hall of Fame basketball coach, Jim Valvano. Like Valvano, he had both a heart of gold and of a tiger; he never, ever gave up and it was fitting that he passed on during March Madness.

Gerry is a sports icon, gentle giant and hero to many, simply moving on to coach at the next level.

A legend in Maine sports, as one of the best all-around athletes to grace the state, and later a hall of fame coach, Gerry was the consummate sportsman, admired and respected by all athletes, fellow coaches, teachers, officials, parents and fans of Maine and New Brunswick sports.

He is loved and remembered by family and friends from around the state of Maine to Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Florida, Utah, Southwest Asia, New Brunswick, Ontario and many other points in Canada.

Gerry is best known for coaching the Caribou High School Vikings to the state high school large school championship in 1969, in one of the most exciting and memorable runs to the state championship in Maine basketball history.

However, his consistency and vision to the future using innovative styles to match his players' talent, enabled him to compile a sparkling 373-151 record in 31 years of coaching, for a .712 winning percentage. He made seven trips to the regional finals, winning three Eastern Maine championships and one Gold Ball. He is one of the all-time greats.

His baseball feats and records are too many to be listed, but at the age of 42 and batting ahead of his son for the Grand Falls Cataracts in one of his patented, "I can hit anybody moments," he did by drilling a towering 450-foot home run off a Division 1 college pitcher as he coached and played his final year of semi-pro baseball. Even his baseball idol, Ted Williams, would have said, "Now that was something." He always delivered when his number was called.

During his superb career, a Gerry Duffy-coached team was never taken for granted by opposing coaches, because they never quit until the last out or the last whistle. If any did take him for granted, they still have their own unique memories as they left shaking their heads in disbelief after the game.

Gerry graduated Orono High School in 1948 and the Higgins Classical Institute the following year, after turning down an offer to play in the Boston Braves, baseball, farm system. His playing days were delayed by two years, as he enlisted to fight in the Korean War in 1950, earning two Distinguished Service Medals for combat action. After returning in 1952, he traveled north to play semi-pro baseball and basketball

I've only had the pleasure of hearing about the teams that Coach Duffy put out and how great of a coach he was, since his last season coaching was the year before I was born and everything...but he really did sound like a great coach.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Duffy family

COACH

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Where to begin. As a kid growing up in the late 70's and early 80's in Caribou you dreamed of wearing the maroon jersey. The legends and stories attached to them leave a ripple effect that is endless. Leaving the funeral home tonight was like walking out of a shrine. Pictures from championship games, "the shot", game balls, and the gold ball were all on hand. What was impressive were the medals of honor coach Duffy received from the Korean war.

He was genuine. Even though he didn't get my name right half the time (aka Alan Moir). I looked nothing like him. On a personal note, he and Dwight were the reasons I got into teaching PE and coaching. Some of the most comical memories are the interactions he had with Coach Roland Duprey and Dwight Hunter. Priceless.

It was truely an honor. It goes to show the ultimate effect teachers and coaches have on students.

My family's sympathies go out to Jean and Coach's family.

What it means to coach...

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The line from the paper(BDN) This morning in Ernie Clark's article I read Mike Thurston's Quote:

He was a wonderful man. I will be forever grateful to him for making basketball fun for me, and I didn’t have a clue at the time he was doing it."

That is the greatest thing a coach can do.

Deepest sympathy to the Duffy family.

Sounds like this guy was my kind of coach. Respect and prayers to the Duffy family.

His difficulty remembering names was hilarious. You knew that you had arrived at CHS when the Coach could remember your name! Before he got it right, he just used his own version of your name. In the huddle he might say "Be sure to get a body on the lefthanded kid". we'd walk out on the floor trying to figure out which one of their guys was lefthanded. He once told me to stay close to "the kid with the hair" In the late 70's, that was just about everybody.

Mr Duffy kept Caribou on the map for years.

He never realized how much he meant to the community.

I never knew Coach Duffy. Only heard the great stories about the man. A great coach and a great person.
My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

One of the classiest men I've known in the game. When FF used to play against Caribou, I probably had a different opinion; that opinion changed when the following 2 things occurred:

1) When Gerry got done as varsity coach and became the freshman coach at CHS, in my little mind I thought, Oh, now I get it; he does this for the fun of working with kids. Before that happened, I assumed all varsity coaches wandered the sidelines either for the money or their egos.

2) When I coached at the Aroostook Basketball Camp at NMCC during the summer, I was fortunate to get to know Gerry, again, as a man who loved working with kids (even if he couldn't remember their names from one game to the next!) and other coaches. The game of basketball was the tool he used to do this.

It can't be overstated that Gerry was one of the best athletes ever in Maine. Both my dad and Commissioner Webb have told stories of Gerry's exploits, and both had tremendous respect for the man and his family.

My condolences to the Duffy family and Gerry's extended family of former players and students.

George Ayoob