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Conley, Steve (1999)

Writer: Maine Baseball HOF
Maine Baseball HOF
Aug 12, 2019
2 min read


Consistent all-star from Little and Babe Ruth Leagues through hign school and American Legion play to college and semi-pro baseball, Steve Conley was a literal tower of strength on the pitching mound.

The 6-7 former Deering High School and University of Maine (Orono) ace was no mean swinger of the bat to boot.

And championships were coin of the Conley realm at every level.

Steeple Steve’s schoolboy highlights:

Posted a 7-1 record in a key role for Deering’s 1972 Telegram League and state Class A champions. Named to the All-Telegram team. Hit 474 as well. Wins included title-deciders in league regional and state showdowns.

Held Bangor to three hits in 7-2 state crown triumph.

American Legion features:

Compiled a perfect 11-0 record for Caldwell Post's state champs; batted .393. Won two complete-game victories in the New England tournament.

Named to the NE tournament all-star team.

University of Maine highlights:

Career record, 20-4. All-Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association selection, freshman and sophomore seasons; last two years of the league.

Out pitched University of Massachusetts’ Jeff Reardon, future Red Sox and Minnesota Twins stellar reliever, in 10-inning New England playoff victory, 4-3.

Last game and 20th career win, 6-3 decision over Washington state in the 1976 College World Series.

Conley had been drafted out of high school by the San Diego Padres in the 1972 second round but opted for U-Maine on a basketball scholarship.

Steve had been named to the ‘72 basketball all-state third team as center for Deering’s Western Maine Class A semifinalists.

He was a hoop starter his freshman and sophomore years at Maine before concentrating exclusively on baseball.

Champions or strong contenders and Conley were close associates in action in the high-caliber Portland Twilight League, along with a stint with Harwich in another premium circuit, the renowned Cape Cod league.

Steve’s Twi affiliations: Yarmouth Townies, South Portland, Delta Body and Maine Merchants.

He posted a 9-3 card and led the league In strikeouts one season with the Merchants.

Conley update:

District representative for a national mattress company, Steve has coached soccer, basketball and baseball in the Winthrop YMCA youth leagues for the past two years, involving son Thomas, now 8. Father adds, “and I'll continue to do as long as he lets me!”

 
 
 

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Meet the 2026 Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
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Portland Press Herald 4/10/2026
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/10/meet-the-2026-maine-baseball-hall-of-fame-inductees/?copylink=true

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Former St. Dominic and current Gray-New Gloucester coach Bob Blackman and Cony coach Don Plourde are among the 11 members of the newest class. Four coaches currently preparing for the upcoming high school baseball season are among the 11 inductees in the 2026 Maine Baseball Hall of Fame class.

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Gray-New Gloucester’s Bob Blackman, Brewer’s Dana Corey, Hampden Academy’s Jon Perry and Cony’s Don Plourde are all part of the class that will be inducted on Oct. 4 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. Blackman coached St. Dominic High School to nine state championships in 22 seasons before the school closed at the end of the last school year. He was named the coach at Gray-New Gloucester in September. Corey hit .359 at the University of Maine in 1971. He played two seasons in the Chicago Cubs system and has been the head coach at Brewer for 18 seasons.

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Perry hit .381 at the University of Maine in 1981 and helped the Black Bears reach the College World Series. He has coached for the past 45 seasons at the high school, American Legion and collegiate levels. 

Plourde is in his 17th season as the coach at Cony High School and has been named the KVAC Coach of the Year five times. He has been coaching at various levels for more than 30 years. 

Others earning induction are: 

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• Al Cloutier, who has been involved in baseball in Augusta as a player, Cony High and American Legion coach, Babe Ruth League director and volunteer. 

• John Kolasinski, who was a college coach at for 37 years, first at Husson and later at Siena Heights University in Michigan. He is a five-time New England Coach of the Year winner.

• Mark Littlefield, a Portland High graduate, who is now in his 36th season working on the medical staff of the New York Yankees organization. 

• Scott Littlefield, a Portland High graduate, who will be inducted posthumously. Littlefield coached at Florida State University and the University of Southern Maine before working for 34 years as a Major League Baseball scout, including 16 as a player personnel special assistant for the Texas Rangers.

• J. Ronald Livington, who will be inducted posthumously. Livingston was an All-Star infielder for the semi-pro Presque Isle Indians in the Northern Aroostook League in the 1930 and 1940s. He also coached and was a director in the South Portland National Little League.

• Mike McCullum, of Portland, who hit .338 at the University of Southern Maine and earned ABCA Division III All-American honors in 1999. 

• Jim Taylor of Lewiston, who was a founding member of the Central Maine Board of Approved Baseball Umpires and was instrumental in starting the Maine chapter of the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Association.

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Maine Baseball Hall of Fame day  Delta Dental Park aka Hadlock Field 7/19/2026
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