CHARLIE DWYER His supposedly owning the state's first set of catching equipment was not the reason Charles Clarke (Pop) Dwyer was chosen to enter the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
It is what the now deceased Dwyer accomplished with that catching equipment during the four years at both his beloved Hebron Academy and Colby College that led to his enshrinement. His monumental effort of having caught every game during his collegiate career is still a state record.
Amazingly so, considering he was only a wiry 5-5, 140-pounder.
Earning the title, “Mr. Hebron Academy, for 55 devoted years there as student, teacher, coach and athletic director, Dwyer, born on Oct. 22, 1878 in Cushing, entered Maine's then only independent school for boys in 1900.
Outstanding offensively and defensively, hitting best in the clutch, he also was a standout at halfback and a savage tackler in football, something he also excelled in at Colby. Combined with long hours in sports, he also spent long hours working his way through Hebron.
In exchange for such chores as stroking the huge furnaces and stoves which heated some classrooms and sweeping dorm halls and the old barn gymnasium, Hebron helped him with his tuition and dormitory expenses.
This hard work had an impact on Dwyer. Later on, as baseball, basketball, track and football coach at Hebron, he demanded similar hard work and dedication from his teams.
In 1926, when Hebron dedicated its new athletic facilities, Edward Jeremiah, class of 1926 at the Academy summed up Dwyer's career this way:
“To me, Charlie Dwyer was a saintly father-coach guiding his boys not only in the destiny of a particular game but also in the destiny of the game of life. . sense every athletic field is dedicated to men like Charlie Dwyer.”
From Hebron Academy
HEBRON'S FOUNDING FAMILIES
Charles and Amy Dywer
Charles Dwyer was Hebron Academy’s longest tenured teacher: an astounding 59 years, beginning in 1908 until his death in 1967 when he was an emeritus faculty member. He was the only faculty member to span the eras before and after the school’s closure during World War II. (He was joined by Harry Williams, Superintendent of Building and Grounds from 1922 to 1962, who stayed on campus during the war.) He created a modern athletic program for the school, adding many sports to the program during his tenure.
He arrived on campus from his home on the Maine coast in the winter of 1900 at age 20 as a laborer on a dormitory construction project. By April, he was registered for classes. He graduated in 1904, Hebron’s Centennial year. He played baseball, was the football team captain, and leader of the Young Men’s Christian Association. He left to attend Colby, returning in 1908 to teach anatomy.
Amy Mariner, his wife, joined him and together they moved into Atwood Dormitory and later, Long Cottage. She was the school librarian, a tutor, and a counselor; he was a science teacher and coach.
In 1963, the school’s new athletic fields were dedicated to Charlie Dwyer. Jesse Owens, the Olympic star, came to deliver a speech at the dedication. Today, the school presents the Charles and Amy Dwyer award to an outstanding scholar-athlete in the senior class, honoring more than a half-century of the couple’s dedication to the school community.