Gary Peter Dube was born in 1966 in Biddeford and grew up the youngest of his two sisters and one brother on the East Side of the city. Gary is the son of Arthur and Annette Babineau Dube who still reside in Biddeford. Gary has lived in Gorham since 1991 with his wife Candice and their two young sons, Andre and Antoine. Professionally, Gary is a National Sales Director for Tyler Technologies of Falmouth, Maine.
As a youngster, Gary showed a great aptitude for baseball. From playing “home run derby” each day, to setting several records while playing Little League for East Biddeford. As a nine-year-old, Gary had a flawless tryout and was chosen first at the highest “bid” level ever. During his Little League years, Gary twice won the annual “Pitch, Hit & Run” contest for the State of Maine. While still in Little League, Gary was the recipient of the 1980 Robert H. Stirrat Summer Camp Scholarship presented annually to a Little Leaguer, nationwide, writing the best essay on his impression of Little League. For this honor, he received a free scholarship and two week all expense paid trip to baseball summer camp in Williamsport, PA, home of the Little League World Series. His essay and photo appeared in the official World Series program.
In high school, Gary was part of an exceptional team coached by Ron Cote that won the first ever State Championship for the Class-A Biddeford Tigers in 1984. In the state championship game, Gary got two hits, walked twice, stole two bases and scored three runs. As the shortstop and leadoff hitter that year, Gary received the Telegram League’s Harlow Award for “dedication, determination and hustle.”
In 1985 Gary followed his baseball career path to the University of Maine at Orono, coached by the legendary Dr. John Winkin. As a freshman, he earned a starting spot on a very talented team that had appeared in 4 straight Division 1 College World Series and in the pre-season was ranked in the Top 20 nationally. During his freshman year, Gary started 50 games at 2nd base while batting .264 for the season.
The highlight of the year came in March before a national TV audience on ESPN; Gary had the game winning RBI hit in the 10th inning to lead the Black Bears over the #1 ranked University of Miami Hurricanes, breaking their 24-game winning streak. During the league tournament at the end of the season, Gary was the middle man of an around-the-horn triple play, UMaine’s first ever. In 1986, his second year, Gary and his UMO teammates went to the College World Series in Omaha, NE. In his junior year, Gary batted .319 despite a broken wrist during the middle of the season. As a senior he led his team to the regular season league championship. Gary ended his 4-year career at UMO with 81 runs scored in 163 games.
During his college days, Gary had the opportunity to play with and against some great players, many that went on to play in the Major Leagues including: Mike Bordick, Jeff Plympton, Mark Sweeney, Deion Sanders, John Olerud, Robin Ventura, Pete Incaviglia and Jeff Bagwell.
After college, Gary’s leadership, stamina and character were displayed during his fifteen seasons, about 450 games, of semi-pro baseball in Southern Maine. While playing in the Twilight Baseball League, Gary won three league championships, several Gold Gloves for his infield play and was named the league MVP in 1996 when he batted .439. In his last season, at age 36, he was a member of the league All-Star team and was named Most Valuable Defensive Player of the championship series.
Gary was also involved in many other capacities as well. He served as a player/coach from 1997 to 2002. He also served as the league president and as a member of the Board of Directors for three seasons. While league president, Gary was interviewed and cited in the book Bushville, Life and Time in Amateur Baseball by Jerry Kelly.
Success and championships followed Gary throughout his playing days. His baseball teams won 2 league championships in Little League, 2 in Senior League, the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade league championships, and the state championship his senior year (also his senior year Gary was selected as a First Team, All-State halfback from the Tiger’s 1983 Class-AA state championship football team), 3 league championships in college, and appeared in 10 Twilight League championship series.
According to Gary’s brother Donald, what separated Gary from most of the other players was his instinct of the game and his good sportsmanship. Gary will surely be remembered by his coaches, teammates, and the tens of thousands of fans that saw him play as a tough competitor and a winner.
Gary Dube exemplifies the best of what Maine baseball is all about. He played baseball at its purest level, for the love of the game.
