Ron Butland. A highly respected, steady, power-accented hitter and all-round ballplayer, Ron Butland left an enduring mark of excellence on every level of play he attained -- Little League, high school, American Legion and a legendary 16 season Portland twilight League Career.
His Twi circuit longevity is only one of many impressive measurements of this basic outfielder who eventually played all baseball positions.
Butland started by helping Portland Little League Three win the 1959 state championsnhip.
Ron next lent his dependable bat and other diamond skills to Deering High School and Caldwell Legion Post nines (roughly the same entities) as a key a en strong contention fat Tee Caldwells 1961 state legion title.
Butland batted a whopping .648 in the Legion tourney, this after a solid .403 and errorless fielding for runner-up Deering that earned him a position the 1961 All Telegram League team.
Ron began his lustrous Twi career immediately after the Legion season ended, getting in some games with the crack Yarmouth Townies.
Later he played for Harris Oil and Falmouth before returning to Charley Turner's Townies and he had a strong hand in a bunch of championships.
Compilations weren't kept but its estimated that the well-proportioned Slugger (6-1, 175 pounds) hit at least 125 home nuns in that span.
Always up among the pacemakers, Ron led the league twice in batting average and posted many category leads.
As evidence of his versatility, he was pressed into service as a relief pitcher for Harris Oil in an emergency in 1966 for his first mound duly since little league, hurled three scoreless innings in a victory and the next season he led all Twi pitchers.
Said Brian (Ziggy) Gillespie, Maine Merchants player-coach, in the twilight years of Butland's Twi journey, “Ron has been the most consistent player in our league for a long time.
He has tremendous power and although he may be fooled on one pitch, he seems to always come back to haunt you.
| fear his third or fourth time at bat.’
Butland had a chance to join the Red Sox minor league system at age 24 but with impending marriage and a diabetes condition to consider, he opted for the home front.
A skilled craftsman since boyhood (he just completed two tables for his family), Ron has spent most of his adult life in boat yards handling all chores from builder to foreman to executive.
He was a fixture at Handy Boat for many years and is presently with Strout's Point Wharf Co.
He's also a pretty fair tennis player and golfer (7 handicap at Val Halla).