A legend in his profession and a fixture at Bowdoin College for
six decades, Mike Linkovich established and perpetuated Bowdoin's
legacy of outstanding athletic training. A member of the Bowdoin
staff for 40 years, Linkovich joined the College in 1954 as
athletic trainer. Known as 'Big Daddy' to many Bowdoin athletes,
and 'Link' to all others, Linkovich was responsible for caring for
and preventing athletic injuries. He worked closely with Bowdoin's
medical staff and coaches, particularly Dr. Daniel Hanley '39, a
2003 Athletic Hall of Honor inductee.
A native of Monaca, Pennsylvania, Linkovich served in the U.S.
Army from 1942 to 1946, including three years of duty in Europe.
After returning from military service, Linkovich received his
bachelor's degree from Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West
Virginia, in l953; he was then a student assistant trainer as he
finished his graduate work in physical education at Springfield
College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Upon completing his graduate
work, he made what he thought would be a temporary move to
Bowdoin.
An eternally popular member of the athletic staff, Linkovich was
appointed in l961 as a director of the National Athletic Trainers
Association, representing a district that included all six New
England states. In l969, he was elected vice president of the
Eastern Athletic Trainers Association. Linkovich served as a
trainer for the U.S. hockey team at the Winter Olympic Games at
Lake Placid in l980. He was also appointed an athletic trainer for
the U.S. for the l980 Moscow Summer Olympics.
In l982, Linkovich received his profession's highest honor when he
was inducted into the Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in Seattle,
Washington. He is also a member of the Beaver County (Pennsylvania)
Sports Hall of Fame (l983), the Davis and Elkins College Athletic
Hall of Fame (1993) and the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame (2000). In
1995, he received the American College Hockey Association's Jim
Fullerton Award for "one who loves the purity of the sport," and in
1996 received the Maine Chapter of the National Football Foundation
and Hall of Fame's Contribution to Amateur Football Award. In l980,
he received the Bowdoin Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff in
recognition of his "outstanding service and devotion to
Bowdoin."
Highly visible about campus, Linkovich is often seen in the
athletic equipment room and at Bowdoin athletic contests, and he
enjoys weekly dining sessions with current student-athletes at the
College. He and his wife, Virginia, raised two sons- Steven '84 and
Michael.