By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

 Although he lived in Scarborough for more than 50 years, it was no secret Richard Plummer, who was originally from Fort Fairfield in Aroostook County, would always be a “county boy.” Plummer passed away at age 74 Nov. 18 after a year-long battle with cancer, leaving behind friends and family members throughout both parts of the state.  

“He was extremely proud,” his daughter and Scarborough resident Jen Dadiotes said.

If Plummer was a “county boy” first, he was a Scarborough “Redskin” second. After graduating from the University of Maine in Orono in 1957, he immediately went to work as a physical education and history teacher at Scarborough High School. Dadiotes said he quickly went above and beyond in his work by staying after school to coach basketball and baseball teams and began Scarborough’s soccer program. While she and her sister, Julie Cloutier, weren’t on the team roster, Dadiotes said her father’s devotion to the sports program was a family affair. 

“We were always a part of it, managing teams from the sidelines and taking care of those kind of things,” she said. 

Scarborough Fire Chief Mike Thurlow – who played for Plummer during his high school years – said his old coach had a “direct” coaching style. 

“As long as he knew you were trying, he would warm right up to you,” Thurlow said. “You didn’t have to be a great athlete.”

Dan Warren, another one of Plummer’s former athletes, said his former coach could be a “hard-headed guy,” when compared to other coaches.

“Growing up in Scarborough there were three giants you had to deal with in sports,” Warren said. “There was Packie McFarland, Phil Martin and Dick Plummer. Packie McFarland could be warm and fuzzy, but coach Plummer treated a lot of kids as if they were adults. As a combination it was great.”

Plummer may have treated his players as adults, but Cloutier said her father commonly referred to his players as “kid” or “son,” even long after they stopped playing for him.

“He was my dad, and their coach, but your best friend too,” she said. 

Being a good athlete wasn’t just about physical fitness for Plummer. Dadiotes said many practices on the soccer field began with a 10-minute session where players would pick up any loose rocks or glass from the field.

“Those are the kind of lessons he passed on to a lot of people,” she said.

Plummer’s values paid off in 1973 when the Scarborough soccer team took the Maine state championships with his daughters at his side. Dadiotes said the team went on to win the state championships the following three years in a row. 

“I’ll never forget it,” she said.

Plummer’s attitude resonated with the many athletes he coached during his 39-year career at Scarborough High School – now including lawyers, parents and Scarborough town officials – even if they didn’t know it at first, Dadiotes said. 

“He was respected by a lot of kids, maybe not while they were in school, but once they were out they realized he had taught them the lessons of life,” she said.

After retiring in 1996, Plummer began his own landscaping business but stayed actively involved with the soccer team as timer and score keeper and followed them to their recent 2008 state championship, nearly 40 years after he began the program. 

When he wasn’t on the sidelines, Thurlow said Plummer “kept busy” as the caretaker of the Scarborough Memorial Cemetary, a position he held for 22 years. 

“[The cemetery] was his pride and joy,” Dadiotes said.

A service in remembrance of “Coach Plummer” took place last weekend at the Scarborough High School, but memorial contributions may still be made to a memorial sports scholarship, the Richard A. Plummer Scholarship Fund at Maine Bank and Trust, PO Box 6835, Scarborough Maine, 04074-6835.