Community mourns loss of legendary Brockton High School basketball coach Victor Ortiz
The Brockton community is mourning the loss of legendary Brockton High School basketball coach Victor Ortiz, a longtime educator who advocated for students learning English as a second language.
Ortiz, a Vietnam veteran, died Monday at his home following a long illness, according to his obituary. He was 74.
For over 2 1/2 decades, Ortiz led his boys basketball teams to victory, winning 71 percent of their games. Among the winningest coaches in the state’s history, he chalked up a record of 385-160, the second most wins of any Brockton High basketball coach. Ortiz’s teams won five South Sectional titles and one state championship, in 1985.
In 2020, Brockton High School renamed its basketball court in honor of Ortiz.
In 2008, Ortiz was inducted into the Brockton High School Athletics Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ortiz was born in East Chicago, Indiana, and grew up in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, where he graduated from Santo Tomas High School in 1967, according to his obituary. Soon after, Ortiz enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam, followed by duty in the Mediterranean Sea and assignment on the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor.
Following his military service, Ortiz earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stonehill College, and later on, a master’s degree in counseling from Boston College.
In 1976, he began working as a school counselor for Brockton Public Schools and also began as assistant coach for the boys basketball program. He was named head coach in 1983 until his retirement in 2007, according to his obituary. Ortiz also established summer coaching clinics for national teams in Colombia, Bolivia, and Guyana.
He was married to his wife, JoAnn, who also worked as an educator for Brockton Public Schools, for 43 years.
In 2008, Ortiz underwent a double kidney and liver transplant. That year, he spoke of his gratitude for the man who gave him a new liver and kidney.
“I’m alive because somebody gave me the ultimate gift, and he’s alive in me and continues to be alive in me,” Ortiz said at the time. “I’m very grateful for that.”
A funeral Mass was held Friday. Donations to the following organizations that were close to Ortiz’s heart may be made to: Brockton Sports Foundation, c/o Kevin Karo, Athletic Director, Brockton High School, 470 Forest Ave., Brockton MA 02301; and the American Liver Foundation www.liverfoundation.org or American Kidney Fund www.kidneyfund.org.
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