The man who grew up on Monticello Avenue in Salisbury and made Wi-Hi a perennial contender in high school basketball won his 773rd game last Thursday with a 78-64 victory at home against Easton High School.

A mentor to thousands of local athletes in a variety of sports, 76-year-old Butch Waller surpassed longtime Annapolis High School coach John Brady to take the crown as the winningest basketball coach in Maryland Public Schools’ history.

He has spent the last 50 years prowling the courts each fall and winter. He led his team to a state title in 2002 and has seen high school basketball evolve in it tactics and playing styles. His team made the Final Four in the state two years ago.

Waller’s career record now stands at 773-354. “I have to be the only coach in the United States who can have over 350 losses and still have a job,” Waller said.