Falmouth’s Halligan joins 500-win club

Falmouth High School boys basketball coach Dave Halligan joined the exclusive 500- win club Tuesday night as the Yachtsmen scored a 45-32 victory at previously undefeated Biddeford.

Halligan became just the eighth varsity basketball coach in state history to reach the mark, according to the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches. He joins Dick Barstow (614), I.J. Pinkham (615), Roger Reed (573), Gavin Kane (525), John Donato (516), Ordman Alley (511) and Rick Clark (509).

Pinkham, the boys varsity coach at Boothbay, and Donato, now girls varsity coach at Orono, join Halligan as active high school coaches within that group.

Halligan became head coach at his alma mater in the 1987-88 season and has guided Falmouth to six state championships in three different classes during his three-decade tenure at Falmouth.

His teams won three straight Class C gold balls in 1997, 1998 and 1999, captured Class B state crowns in 2010 and 2013 and won the Class A state championship in 2016.

This year’s Falmouth team is 3-1 and ranked among the top teams in Class A South.

The Yachtsmen are scheduled to return to action Friday night at home against top-ranked and undefeated Greely of Cumberland Center, the defending Class A state champion.

Halligan also is one of the most successful high school soccer coaches in state history with 449 victories during 31 years at Falmouth and eight years at Cape Elizabeth.

Next on the list of the MABC’s winningest active coaches is Jeff Hart of Camden Hills of Rockport, who began the current season with 484 victories.

Ernie Clark

About Ernie Clark

I'm a veteran sportswriter who has worked with the Bangor Daily News for more than a decade. A four-time Maine Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, my coverage areas range from high school sports to mixed martial arts.