BANGOR, Maine — Bob Cimbollek coached his high school basketball teams to five state titles, six Eastern Maine crowns and a 446-161 record in 29 seasons and was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame two years ago.
But it will be the honor he receives this Saturday when Husson University retires his No. 12 jersey that stands out.
“It’s the most meaningful award that I’ll ever receive, it’s quite different,” said Cimbollek, who coached at Fort Fairfield, Orono, Bangor and John Bapst.
He also served as athletic director at John Bapst and Bangor while enjoying a long career as a high school and college basketball official before recently retiring.
The award will stand out, he said, because it set him on a path to meeting his wife and a career in basketball, which seemed tenuous after he graduated from Bangor High in 1955. He then received a phone call from Husson basketball coach Del Merrill, who believed Cimbollek could make a strong contribution to Husson’s program.
Cimbollek went on to play three seasons as a forward at Husson and held 11 career records despite playing in just 42 games. He became the school’s first career 1,000-point scorer and his records included points (1,152), scoring average (27.4) and field goals made (402).
He still holds school records for most free throws made in a season (173 in 1956) and assists average (8.0 in 1955).
“Bob Cimbollek had a brilliant basketball career at Husson,” former Husson men’s basketball head coach Bruce MacGregor said in a news release.
“He is considered by many as the first superstar to play for the university,” MacGregor added. “His 25 point per game average is an amazing accomplishment when one considers that the clock only stopped on timeouts, fouls, and jump balls, and no three-point shot when he played. Bob’s college teams won the first basketball championships ever recorded by the university. In my opinion Bob Cimbollek and his teams were the founders of the Husson basketball tradition of winning basketball.”
Cimbollek helped guide Husson to two Northeast College Conference championships in 1956 and 1957, one State of Maine Small College Championship in 1956 and a runner-up finish in 1957.
He was a two-time All-NCC selection and was named the NCC Player of Year in 1956 while serving twice as team captain in 1956 and 1957. He was inducted into the Husson Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
Cimbollek’s No. 12 will be the 14th jersey to be retired by Husson University and it will be the second No. 12 as Ray Alley also wore No. 12 as a sophomore and senior. The jerseys worn by Jack Scott (22) and Buster Frederick (50) also have been retired.
Cimbollek said he was nominated for the honor by Maine Basketball Hall of Fame member Keith Mahaney, while Husson also became more aware of his past records while compiling information from past newspaper basketball stories.
The No. 10 jersey worn by Husson career scoring leader Dana Wilson had been retired but it was revoked, along with his induction into the Husson Sports Hall of Fame, in August of 2013 after his no-contest plea on a child pornography charge. His conviction for possession of child pornography recently was upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Cimbollek’s jersey will be retired during halftime of Husson’s game against Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday at Newman Gym in Bangor.
“Bob was one of the great ones to wear a Husson uniform,” current Husson men’s basketball coach Warren Caruso said. “In his era, there were not too many better than him.”
Cimbollek writes a blog and columns for the Bangor Daily News during basketball season.
