Legendary Oliver Ames basketball coach William Nixon remembered as 'a major influence'

The Brockton area is mourning the loss of a local basketball legend.

Longtime Oliver Ames High boys basketball coach William Nixon died peacefully at home surrounded by his family at age 95 on Friday.

A service will be held at Kane Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Easton on Thursday from 4-7 p.m.

Nixon, a 1946 Brockton High grad and Stonehill College alum, took over the Tigers' varsity program in 1970 and won 11 Hockomock League titles and was a Division 2 South finalist three times (1975, 1976, 1980) in 24 seasons. At its height, the team boasted a 38-game win streak against Hockomock League competition from 1974-77.

Nixon retired in 1994 as the league's winningest coach with a 377-175 record. He spent a total of 39 years within the program, as he spent 15 years as the junior varsity coach (1955-70) prior to taking the varsity job. The school's gymnasium was named in his honor in 2008.

"Oliver Ames basketball is steeped in great tradition. Coach Nixon was a major influence on OA athletics for close to four decades," current OA boys basketball coach Eric MacKinnon said. "The Nixon gymnasium is filled with championship banners due to the passion and commitment he gave to the program."

"Coach Nixon was a legend," OA girls basketball coach Brian Costello said. "Oliver Ames basketball, and all of the basketball programs in Easton, will always owe a debt of gratitude to him for all he did for the game in our town."

Nixon was inducted into the Stonehill College Hall of Fame in 1991, the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Oliver Ames High School Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2016, Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.

Amidst his J.V. basketball coaching tenure, Nixon also served as the Tigers' varsity baseball coach from 1958-60 and the team won the Hockomock League championship in his first season. He also spent time as an assistant football coach (1954-1983) and varsity track coach (1987-1993) in his 40-year career.

Among his collegiate achievements, Nixon was Class President at Stonehill College from 1951-1952, a time he earned the title of College Middleweight Boxing Champion (1951, 1953) and Intercollegiate Middleweight Boxing Champion (1953). He graduated from Stonehill in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and began teaching history at OA in 1954. He later earned his master's degree in education at Bridgewater State in 1958.

He and his wife Helen, who died in 2007, lived together in Easton for 55 years.

"Many OA alums still speak about the impact Coach Nixon had as a coach and educator," MacKinnon said. "His loss is felt by many in the Easton community and beyond."