SMCC retires the jersey number worn by
Timothy Hagerman of Scarborough, who died in December at age 26.
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| Coleman Findley displays the tattoo he wears in memory of Tim Hagerman, his friend, college basketball teammate and brother-in-law. |
SOUTH PORTLAND — Moments after Southern Maine Community College
retired the No. 44 jersey worn on the basketball court by Timothy Hagerman in a
special ceremony Saturday, Athletic Director Matt Richards sought out a quiet
corner of the HUB Athletic Center.
“A coach should never outlive his players. It
should never happen,” said Richards, as he knuckled away the beginnings of a
tear. “He was such a special guy. This was the least we could do, from the
college’s perspective.”
Hagerman, of Scarborough, helped the Sea Wolves
charge to back-to-back championships in the Yankee Small College Conference, in
2007 and 2008. Still, Richards admits, Hagerman, who died in December of cancer
at the age of 26, was not the best player on the court. In fact, he was the
back-up center, with no stats in the SMCC record books, which may make it seem
strange that his is only the second athletic number taken out of circulation in
the college’s history, following the 1982 retirement of the No. 24 worn by
men’s basketball player Mark Dudley.
But Hagerman’s legacy is about more than being
the best athlete – it’s about being the best person one can be.
"Timmy was one of those guys that pumped
life into your team," said Richards, shortly after Hagerman’s death on
Dec. 26. "He was full of energy, cared for his teammates, and always
strived to make himself and others around him better.”
Commemorative T-shirts sold – and sold-out – at
the retirement ceremony will seed a memorial scholarship in Hagerman’s name at
the college. According to Hagerman’s widow, Molly, the annual award, in an
amount yet to be determined, will go to a freshman basketball player entering
his or her sophomore year.
“We going to be looking for someone who embodied
the characteristics that Tim brought out,” she said Tuesday. “That means
someone who is maybe not the best player but who is enthusiastic, a leader who
brings out the best in others.”
Timothy Hagerman was born July 21, 1985, in
Malden, Mass., to Reis and Catherine Hagerman. He was raised in the Old Mill
Brook neighborhood of Scarborough and went on to become a four-sport athlete in
school. In college, his 6-foot-6-inch frame made basketball his natural focus.
It was through his Sea Wolf teammates, twins
Matthew and Coleman Findlay, that he met Molly, who attended classes at Saint
Joseph’s College in Standish, where Ries Hagerman is dean of students.
Described as a “natural and gifted
entrepreneur,” Hagerman later parlayed his SMCC business degree into multiple
ventures. While working as a claims specialist for TD Bank, he founded both TDH
Landscaping and Snowy Days Plowing.
But just four months after what Hagerman’s
friends say he claimed as his proudest accomplishment – his marriage to Molly
on Oct. 9, 2010 – he was diagnosed with “cancer of unknown primary
origin,” something that occurs in only about 2 percent of all cancer patients.
Ten months later, he was dead, his brief life drawing more than 800 people to a
standing-room-only Mass of Christian Burial at Holy Cross Church Dec. 30.
For Hagerman’s cadre of friends, his death has
not been easy to deal with. Many report being “heartbroken.” Such a horrible,
wasting sickness, when a person is supposed to be at his most vital, is a hard
hurdle to clear.
“It’s not something you prepare for,” said Molly
Hagerman.
“I’m kind of speechless right now, to be
honest,” said Hagerman’s former college teammate, James Liebowitz, shortly
after the ceremony. “This was the first time I ever had anyone close pass away.
The whole team was so close, it was like losing a brother.”
“It’s not fair. Why him?” said another Sea
Wolves alumnus, Eli Madsen.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” agreed Matt
Findley.
“His sense of humor was awesome,” said Coleman
Findley, when asked what he’ll remember most about Hagerman, which caused his
twin to respond, with a wide grin, “He always said the stupidest things.”
Then Matt Findley started to say something,
before trailing off, choosing instead to retain some private memory for
himself.
“He could always pick you up,” said Coleman
Findley, picking up the thread.
“If he were here right now,” agreed Madsen,”
even with something like this, I guarantee he’d find a way to make us all
laugh.”
“You could kind of feel Tim there, in all of his
friends,” said Molly Hagerman, thanking SMCC President Dr. Ronald Cantor for
speaking at the event, and the alumni for putting on a “really beautiful”
post-game reception at JP Thornton’s.
“Everything was absolutely lovely,” she said.
“It was perfect. It was one of those days where we all knew Tim was there
looking over all of us, and smiling.”
“We’ll never forget him,” said Madsen, noting
that 16 of Hagerman’s 19 teammates at SMCC – all who remain in touch –
came forward to ask that his number be retired in tribute.
“We didn’t know if it was possible, but it was,
like, just do it,” said Matt Findley, describing his class as “the best team,
ever,” and Hagerman as the leader/joker of the group.
“He was whatever you needed him to be,”
explained Madsen. “If you needed laughter, he gave laughter, if you needed him
to be serious, he gave that. He did whatever anyone needed him to do. He was a
phenomenal guy.”
Hagerman’s teammates agree that retiring his
jersey number was the right thing to do.
“It can never be enough,” said Liebowitz. “He
deserves way more than that, but there’s only so much you can do.”
Hagerman’s friends say that while they
appreciate that his No. 44 will hang in the HUB center “for all time,” they
won’t need to visit the display case to remember him, no matter how much time
passes.
As proof, Matt Findley lifted up the memorial T-shirt
he wore and thumped his chest, where the tattoo of a cross with the initials
“T.D.H” lays over his heart.
“He’s with me forever,” he said.
A CLOSER LOOK
Donations to the Timothy D. Hagerman Scholarship Fund can be made by sending a check or money order to:
Hagerman Scholarship
SMCC Athletic Department
2 Fort Road
South Portland, ME 04106
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