It almost takes a math teacher to keep track of Jim McAbee’s many accomplishments. Fortu­nately Jim is a math teacher and a very good one at that.

Jim knew exactly what he wanted to do when he graduated from Talent High School in 1955. He wanted to be a coach! His experience as a three-sport letterman in high school developed his keen interest in football, basketball and baseball.

He lettered in baseball and basketball at the University of Oregon in his first two collegiate years. In his junior and senior years at Southern Oregon college, he again lettered in his favorite sports, football, basketball and baseball.

His first coaching job came the year of his college graduation when he was tapped by Brookings-Harbor High School. Two years later, he was selected to coach basketball and football at Elmira High School. After two years there, he came back to his favored Rogue River Valley in 1967 to coach baseball at Medford Senior High School. Two years later, he became assistant basketball coach in addition to his baseball coaching. Jim is now in his 18th year of coaching at North Medford High School.

Jim was a two-time winner of Oregon State AAA Baseball Coach of the Year and a 1982 nominee for National Baseball Coach of the Year. McAbee­ coached teams won the State AAA Baseball championship in 1984 and his teams have been in state playoffs for the last 8 years. He has compiled winning seasons in 16 of the 17 com­pleted seasons at Medford and has twice coached State-Metro All Star series.

Jim has done an outstanding job of assisting his ball players in obtaining college scholarship or other financial assistance to further their education through baseball. He has developed a rapport with various college and junior college/ community college coaches throughout Oregon and California that leads to them calling each year about “Medford Baseballers.” His reputa­tion for developing the player is highly regarded.

Jim has always availed himself to the ser­vices of summer youth baseball programs in Medford. He has served on the Babe Ruth Board of Directors, worked on improving playing fields, held baseball clinics for both youth participants and the coaches of these programs and has as­sisted with coaching several all-star teams.