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The addition of Gary Burns to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame completes the induction of a troika of extraordinary benefactors of Augusta youth baseball. Joining Dick McGuire (1996) and Joe Linscott (1998), Gary Burns takes his place not only with those fellow Capitol City gems, but with a long list of Hall of Famers whose dream was to make it possible for others to dream. Gary s.devotion to promoting youth leagues in Augusta, together with~ his tireless efforts in spearheading the development of the Capital Area Recreation Association Complex, earn him this well-deserved tribute today. A lite-long resident of Augusta, Gary's Little League and Babe Ruth years were highlighted by, a state championship Babe Ruth team in 1959. Gary fondly recalls that the New England championships were played in Bangor Brewer that year and the teams were housed in the barracks at Dell Air Force Base. Gary went on to play three varsity seasons at Cony High School, captaining the team his senior year. Gary joined the U.S. Army in 1967 and served his country with distinction. As a twenty-three year old sergeant he was nearly crippled by shrapnel while in Vietnam. During an arduous recovery following that incident, Gary made a promise to himself to “put something back in the pot” if he was allowed to survive just one more day. It turned out to be the promise of a lifetime and a pot of proportions. More like an overflowing kettle of compassion for his fellow veterans and Augusta youth. Gary became a national service officer for Disabled American Veterans working out of Togus, and was a respected and tireless advocate for disabled veterans until his retirement just this year. Gary also decided to put something back into the baseball "pot," becoming an active Little League and Babe Ruth coach and working tirelessly to expand playing fields and opportunities for Augusta’s boys and girls. In typical ‘Burnsie fashion, Gary threw his heart and soul into the CARA complex and inspired a loyal cadre of volunteers who proudly regard that facility as one of the finest in New England. Gary has served as president of CARA since 1994. As testimony to both his “can-do” attitude and Yankee thrift, Gary recalls that the bleachers at the Morton Babe Ruth field were in use at Hadlock Field before the arrival of the Sea Dogs. Gary convinced the City of Augusta to purchase them for $5,000 and spearheaded a largely volunteer effort to install them at Morton Field. On May [9th Gary was honored by the Calumet Club of Augusta as its “Outstanding Citizen" of 2001. Gary lives today in Augusta with his wife of thirty-two years; Carolyn, and spends his time overseeing CARA, coaching and tending his formidable baseball card collection. Not content with an already laudable legacy, Gary continues to make good on that promise of thirty-four years ago and the “pot” continues to overflow. When asked to submit information about his career for inclusion in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame program, Gary noted, "I don't enjoy this blowing my own horn routine’, Sonny.” Not to worry Gary. Countless veterans and youngsters in the Augusta area are more than happy to do it for you.

Irving (Jack) Burns, veteran Boston baseball scout with strong Maine connections . First baseman Burns, played between | 1930 and 1936 with St. Louis and Detroit, and had a .280 major league batting average.

Ipswich Mass, Burns, like Sidney Graves, was a far-ranging centerfielder. He was plucked from Manager Hughey Duffy's Portland team in August 1913 by Detroit scout Fred Lake. He was Ty Cobb's scheduled replacement. Cobb, however, had a starry major league career from 1905-1928. Burns batted .357 in a brief Detroit stay.

John “Tardy” Burns “I’ve often wondered about that myself,” said “Tardy” Burns in response to a question concerning the origin of his nickname. “I was born John, Jr.,” said Burns. “I had a cousin who was 6 or 8 months older who was learning to talk and that is what he called me.” When the topic turns baseball, it’s clear that “Tardy” Burns was anything but a later bloomer. A 6 foot, 3 inch left-handed pitched at Cony High School, he blossomed early. Among the first to notice was Donald Brennen, a friend of the family. He placed some bottles on a fence and watched the lefty pick them off. “I amazed him,” said Burns. “He died before I graduated. But his wife, Dorothy, kept in touch with the scouts.” One of the major league scouts, Jeff Jones, was in the stands the night that Burns pitched a 1-hitter. Not long after, Burns signed a contract with the Milwaukee Braves. Sent to Waycross, Georgie, Burns was scheduled for a minor league assignment, but developed back trouble and was released. He tried again the following year to no avail. “It just wouldn’t work,” said Burns. “I had no feeling in my legs. I was released and wore a back brace for four years.” Burns remembers some of the good times in the Braves’ camp. Assigned to the “Orange” team, Burns worked with a catcher from Texas who professed good-natured amusement at the style of his Maine friend. “How did you get here,” the backstop drawled after catching Burns for 3 innings. “You don’t have a clue on how to pitch.” That night he took Burns out on the practice field, a policy strictly against team rules. Interrupted by some coaches, Burns laughs at the memory. “We almost got a bus ticket home right there,” he said. Some of the Milwaukee coaches Burns members include Charlie Root. He’s the Cubs’ right-hander who served up a home run to Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series on an 0-2 pitch. Baseball folklore records the drive Ruth’s “called shot” Root went to his grave denying Ruth ever called it. Another coach was Billy Southworth who later manage the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. It wasn’t the fist time Burns had rubbed shoulders with baseball legends. As a young boy, he played for the Augusta Millionaires. Burn’s teammates included Harry Agganis “The golden Greek” who played for the Red Sox in 1954-55 and Ted Lepcio (Boston 1952-59 and later with Tigers, Phillies, White Sox and Twins). Burns’ performance at Cony High made him an attractive addition to the Millionaires. He lettered for four years and pitched the Rams to the Eastern championship in 1952. A game in 1953, his senior season, stands out. “I struck out 19, including four in one inning,” Burns said. That same inning extended by errors and passed balls, three runs scored. “I think I allowed 1 or 2 hits,” he said. “The catcher had some trouble hanging on to the ball. His hands looked like they had been run over by a truck” Burns is humble about his baseball accomplishments deflecting credit to his teammates. “The team made me look better than I was,” he said. “I was just part of the team and never did anything famous. When I screwed up, they covered me.” Today Burns joins his brother, Gary P. Burns, as a member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. 2001.

Has anybody ever brought more dedication to baseball into our Hall of Fame than the indomitable, enthusiastic Jim Burrill? From 1950, when he his first sneakers and donned his Little League cap, until 1987 - 37 continuous years - when he closed out a successful American Legion coaching career, the Burrill name was linked to Westbrook baseball. The Burrill baptism in baseball began with the 1951 Little League playoffs - the first held in Maine. Jim Was a leading member of the Cumberland County Suburban League State Championship team that became Maine's only Little League nine to play in the Williamsport World Series. Jim pitched a 2-nit shutout with 10 strikeouts in the State final 3-O win over South Portland. re was the victor in the regional win at New York, 2-1. And at 4’10” and 67 Ibs., he was the smallest member of the squad! At Williamsport the young curveballer pitched 2 1/3 innings in Maine's 3-1 loss to Texas. Playing for Mickey Dolan (HoF) at Westbrook, Jim contributed to Telegram League titles in 1955 and 1957. In 1956, he won three games in four days, pitching 25 innings. After a 2-0 nine-inning whitewash of South Portland, he went five innings for a relief win over Biddeford and closed the remarkable skein with an 11-inning 3-2 victory over Portland. As a Legion pitcher, Burrill was #1 for Joe Morse’s Manchester Post club and had a fine career. Jim was so competitive that Morse employed him at second base when not on the mound. ‘He was such a hustler’, Joe recalls, we had to have him in the lineup every day." Jim, pastimed in the Twilight League before turning his attention to coaching. From 1963 to 1987, Jim devoted his time, when not working at Warren, to the development of the Paper City's budding baseballers. He was a tough taskmaster and an always-learning teacher. He was a real student of the game. He brought the same feisty manner he displayed as a player to the coaching lines. He pursued excellence himself, and he demanded his players do the same. Those who got the message - and many did benefited immeasurably from his tutelage. His Sebago-Moc Babe Ruth team was 39-17 from '63 to '66 and contributed four members - Gary Randall, Bruce Libby, Steve Fournier and Mark Flaherty - to the State Championship club of 1963. And Jim, himself, was a valuable coach on that club. From 1967 to 1987, he coached the Manchester Post American Legion team with an overall total of 241 wins. His 1981 team copped the State Championship led by Ernie Webster, Brad Wise, Bruce Crosby and Gary Two of Jim's Legion performers - Don Douglas and Mark Woodbrey - are already enshrined in the Maine Hall and Tony DiBiase, John Mullen, Larry Theriault, Art Boothby and Jim Philbrick all starred for the Manchester Post. Jim and his wife, Ellen, will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in October. They have two children, Krista and James, and two grandchildren.

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).

For a man raised under the same roof as one of Maine’s most revered coaching icons, it’s no surprise that Orono native Brian Butterfield is earning national acclaim as one of major league baseball’s most respected and admired coaches. The son of the late Jack Butterfield, a longtime University of Maine baseball coach and later vice-president of player development and scouting for the New York Yankees from 1977 until his death in 1979, Brian was a 3-sport star at Orono High School and the starting second baseman at the University of Maine his freshman year. He continued his career for one year at Valencia Community College before moving on to Florida Southern. Florida Southern would go on to win the 1978 NCAA Division II national championship with Butterfield as their second baseman. Brian was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees in 1979. He played in 397 minor league games over five seasons in the New York (1979-82) and San Diego (1983) systems, earning MVP honors in 1981 for High-A Ft. Lauderdale. When his playing days ended, the transition to coaching was a natural move given the family pedigree. “I told myself when I was in pro ball, that somebody would have to release me twice before I thought about doing something else,” said Butterfield. “That time finally came, and I decided that if I wasn’t good enough to play then I would want to stay in baseball and coach.” With his father’s successful career in coaching and player development, it seemed fitting that Brian would follow in his father’s footsteps. Butterfield learned his craft from a lot of great baseball minds but explained that a lot of who he is as a coach and the drills he utilizes today came directly from his father. “I know it’s kind of a skewed view point, but Dad was the best leader, baseball guy and father that a man could be,” Butterfield said. “We are all products of our environment and I was blessed to live and learn under his roof.” Butterfield started his coaching career in 1983 with the New York Yankees as a roving infield instructor. He managed for parts of six seasons in the Yankees organization before finding his way to the major leagues in 1994 as Buck Showalter’s first base coach. When Showalter was fired by the Yankees after the 1995 season and named the first manager of the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks, he brought several Yankees’ instructors with him, including Butterfield, to implement the D-backs player development program. Butterfield was named roving minor league infield instructor and then, in 1997, manager of the D-backs’ rookie league team. Butterfield then became the Diamondbacks’ first third-base coach and served under Showalter through 2000. Butterfield returned to the Yankees as a minor league manager for two seasons before Carlos Tosca, a coaching colleague with the Diamondbacks, who had been appointed manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, hired Brian as his third-base coach in 2002. During his 11-year tenure with Toronto, Butterfield earned a reputation as a premier infield coach and a role model of professional demeanor. “All coaches could want to stand for such a thing as respect for the game and integrity,” Butterfield said. “As a coach, we have to stand for that and instill it in the players.” Butterfield was a finalist for the Blue Jays’ managerial opening after the 2012 season and when John Gibbons got the job, Brian joined John Farrell and the Boston Red Sox on October 30, 2012 as third-base coach. He served during the Red Sox’s 2013 world championship season, positioning infielders defensively, working with young players Will Middlebrooks and Xander Bogaerts, and helping convert Mike Napoli from catcher to first baseman, in addition to third-base coaching duties. Returning to the Red Sox in 2014 and now in his 18th year of coaching at the major league level, Brian Butterfield’s reputation as a preeminent infield instructor, third-base coach and clubhouse role model continues to grow. “Butter is one of the best third-base coaches in the game and one of the best infield instructors. Not just from a technical standpoint, but how he establishes rapport and routines with individual infielders,” said Farrell. “Endless energy. Just a very, very good baseball guy.” The Maine Baseball Hall of Fame is proud to open its door to this native son who continues to excel at the major league level through a matchless work ethic and single-minded dedication to improving his ballplayers every day.

Butterfield grew up in Westborough, Massachusetts and played college baseball for Maine in the early 1950s and later was the head coach at Maine and South Florida. Butterfield's coaching career began at Maine in 1956, when he assisted head coach Walter Anderson and coached the school's junior varsity team. For the 1957 season, Butterfield was named the head coach. He held the position from 1957–1974 and compiled an overall record of 240-169-2. Maine's best season under Butterfield was 1964, when the team went 21-8 and won the Yankee Conference outright to qualify for the program's first NCAA Tournament. In the best-of-three District 1 Regional held in Boston, Maine swept Northeastern in two games to advance to the College World Series. There, Maine won its opening game against Seton Hall, 5-1, before dropping its second to Minnesota, 12-0. In the loser's bracket, the Black Bears defeated Arizona State and USC but were eliminated by Missouri and finished third.[2] Butterfield was named NCAA Coach of the Year, and Joe Ferris was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.[5] In Butterfield's 17 seasons at Maine, the team won eight Maine State Series (a competition between Maine, Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates) and shared three other Yankee Conference titles, but did not qualify for another NCAA Tournament.[2] Butterfield's players at Maine included Major Leaguers John Cumberland and Bert Roberge, college head coach Jack Leggett, baseball executive Bill Livesey, and New York Yankees manager Carl "Stump" Merrill. Butterfield coined Merrill's nickname during his freshman season in 1963. In 1976, Butterfield left USF at the request of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to become a scout for New York. The following year, he was named the organization's Director of Player Development and Scouting, a position he served in for the next three seasons. Early on November 16, 1979, Butterfield was killed in a car crash in Paramus, New Jersey. Steinbrenner said of his death: "The magnitude of our loss cannot be expressed in words. He was the epitome of what you'd look for in a teacher of young men." Butterfield's son, Brian, played for him at Maine for one season and is currently a Major League Baseball coach for the Chicago Cubs. Brian has also spent time as a coach with the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox and in the Yankees and Diamondbacks minor league systems.[14][15][16] Butterfield's brother, Jim, assisted him at Maine from 1957–1959 and later became the head football coach at Ithaca. Jim was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Following Butterfield's death in 1979, two awards were named for him. At Maine, the Jack Butterfield Memorial Scholarship is given to baseball players who "have demonstrated academic proficiency, athletic leadership and the high ideals and standards" of Butterfield. Past recipients include Major Leaguers Mike Bordick, Mark Sweeney, Bill Swift, and Larry Thomas.[18] Also, the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) gives the Jack Butterfield Award to a coach who exhibits "integrity and dedication to the game." Past recipients include Maine's John Winkin, Vermont's Bill Currier, and Northeastern's Neil McPhee.

The Boston Braves would rather face a hurricane or a tornado than the likes of Edward (Buddy) Cady. His feats against the Braves and other top Maine and New England opposition were legendary. A Boston Braves scout was 1n the stands 1n 1919 for a game at Westbrook Seminary when Cady stole the show. Portland harbormaster Phil Donnell recalls Cady’s performance. ‘‘Buddy slashed five straight hits and hours later was signed by the Braves.’ He was assigned by the parent team to the Lowell, Mass., affiliate of the New England League. Cady moved right into a starting spot at shortstop. He was the unusual combination of a glove man and a fine hitter. It was no secret that the Braves planned to move him into Boston at the end of the season as chief backup to Rabbit Maranville. It wasn’t to be. Portland outfielder Gene Bailey’s hard slide into second on a steal attempt, with Cady taking a low throw on the wrong side of the bag, gave the promising shortstop a compound ankle fracture. Cady was never the same, even through he still flourished in semi-pro baseball, including a stint with the local Knights of Columbus team. Despite the injury, Cady’s next contact with the Braves proved painful for the Boston ballclub. Cady grabbed the headlines as well as the ball to detour the Braves. He made two acrobatic catches and his timely right-handed hitting also did damage. Playing second base that day on an All-Maine ballclub, the Braves could only moan the fates that took Cady away from them. Cady began his baseball career as a pitcher for Portland’s Cathedral Grammar. He was employed by Portland clothier Arthur H. Benoit for many years, and with the Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Co. until his death in October of 1966. Cady had the athletic ability to play major league baseball but destiny didn’t see fit for that to happen. Nonetheless, those who saw him play were treated to spectacular action 1n the field and at bat.

“Jim , his senior year at UMaine carried the team to a first place tie in the Yankee Conference. He was the leading hitter and hit fourth in the lineup.  He was also the number one pitcher with an 6-1 record. That is rare in division one baseball.” - Dennis Libbey Jim was born in Bar Harbor, Maine on May 22, 1947 the son of Edward L. (Ted) Cameron, Jr. and Eleanor Griffiths Cameron. Ted was a very well-known baseball player from the late 1940’s and 1950’s, playing for the Bar Harbor Collegians in the old Eastern Maine League. “They tell me he was one of the best ball players of his day – hit some of the longest balls they have ever seen.” Jim recalls his younger days as a batboy for the Collegians traveling with his dad around to the respective towns with teams in the League. “I remember riding in the back of Ken Gray’s station wagon – not in the back seat, but way in the backend sitting on the duffle bags that had all the bats, helmets and catchers gear in it (no seatbelt laws back then!). They told some pretty good jokes, too.” Unknown at the time, Ken Gray would eventually become Jim’s basketball and baseball coach during his high school career. Jim has a younger brother, Bob, who resides in Brunswick with his wife, Sue. Growing up in Bar Harbor, Jim spent most of his childhood days “down at the ballfield”. He lived in a neighborhood just a block away from the field, and in a section of town that had many “kids” who loved to play ball. Pick-up games were a daily occurrence, “broken bats held together with wood screws and adhesive tape, warped and water-logged balls and heated arguments were all part of the experience.” Jim recalls his Acadia Little League and Pony League days playing for the Webber Construction and Green Socks teams. On rainy days, the local YMCA was the place where you would find Jim. “I was fortunate to live in a community that had a local Y. Without exaggeration, every day of the week involved some activity at the YMCA – never did learn to swim though!” Jim entered Bar Harbor High School in the Fall of 1961. During his high school tenure he was a four-year letter winner in football, basketball and baseball. He was named to the Bangor Daily News All-State Basketball Team (second team) in 1965. During Jim’s high school days, unlike basketball there were no state classifications in football and baseball – you played to win your conference. “We did pretty well, finished second a couple times in the Little Ten Football Conference and won a couple of Penobscot Valley Conference baseball championships. When the regular season was over, it was over, no post-season.” Jim was selected for many individual honors in all three sports throughout his high school career. In the Spring of 1964, Jim accepted the opportunity to be a camp counselor/coach in the baseball program at Camp Graylag in Pittsfield New Hampshire. Graylag was Bob Cousy’s summer basketball camp. “The Cous” would show up every couple weeks or so to check in. “We (the counselors) would get a pick-up basketball game going under the lights when he was there. I remember a fast-break where he threw a behind the back pass to me. Never saw it coming – whizzed by my head out of bounds. The guy was an absolute magician with a basketball.” Shortly after high school graduation, Jim was accepted for admission to the University of Maine. At the same time, he had also just received two offers to sign professional baseball contracts – the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. There was no MLB draft at this time. “Talk about a dilemma, I had just turned 18 years old in May, had never really been away for any period of time, and I knew my parents wanted me to go to college. So, college it was. Do I ever ask myself the what-if scenario? Sure, who wouldn’t, but I have no regrets.” Jim will readily admit that college got off to a bad start for him. “Thought it would be easy – had my priorities out of order”. Jim followed the career of UMaine’s Dick DeVarney very closely. He was the shortstop of the baseball team that went to the College World Series in 1964 and the quarterback of the football team that appeared in the Tangerine Bowl in 1965. “That was the path I wanted to take, and while at Maine I got to know Dick and had several classes with him. I spent most of my time on sports related activities and not the books – this unfortunately resulted in academic difficulties costing me a year of eligibility and the possibility of other offers for professional baseball. I hope there is a lesson here for young student athletes!” At Maine Jim played for the late Jack Butterfield. “Without question, one of the best baseball minds ever. His knowledge of and passion for this game we all love was second to none.” Jim was Co-Captain of the 1970 UMaine team, along with Bob Curry (MBHOF1999). The 1970 team was Yankee Conference Co-Champions along with the University of Connecticut. Jim, 5-0 at the time, had beaten all Yankee Conference teams that season and was on the mound for the playoff game held on a neutral field at the University of New Hampshire. Maine lost 2-0. “Pitched well enough to win, we just couldn’t get the offense going. I recall it was the only game we were shutout all season.” Jim was selected for the All Yankee Conference Teams in 1969 and 1970 and All Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association (State Series) Teams in those same years. During the 1970 season Jim held the record for most home runs in a season by a Maine player. “That was nice at the time, but with today’s expanded schedules, it would seem pretty minimal.” After his Maine career, Jim continued playing baseball for a number of years for the MDI Acadians, a semi-pro baseball team coached by Dennis Damon (MBHOF 2017) during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when “Town Teams” were still the norm for organized baseball in eastern Maine. “Over those years, there were some great teams: the Mattawamkeag Merchants, Dixmont, Bangor, Old Town, Guilford, to name a few. Sunday double-headers were very common.” After college, Jim married his wife, Donna Newell Cameron, who is an Augusta native. When they met, she had just graduated from nursing school and was a registered nurse at the then Eastern Maine General Hospital in Bangor. “She had been reading about my baseball exploits at Maine and she literally tracked me down when I was working a summer job in Bar Harbor.” They were married in January 1971 and have two children, James and Kristen. Jim and Donna lived in Bar Harbor where Jim was employed by Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (now Emera, Maine). In 1979, they purchased land and built a home in Trenton where they now reside. Jim and Donna will celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary next January. After relocating to Trenton, Jim became very active in the community. He coached Little League and Senior League baseball for 12 years with “Bunky” Dow, the Athletic Director at Mount Desert Island High School. Jim served 11 terms (33 years) on the Trenton Board of Selectmen and is a former member of the Trenton Volunteer Fire Department. Jim and his fellow selectmen were named Economic Developers of the Year by the Finance Authority of Maine in 1998 for their efforts in developing the Trenton Business Park. Jim also served on the Board of Directors of the Down East Family YMCA from 1995 to 2002, sitting as Chair of the Board in 2002. During Jim’s tenure with Bangor Hydro/Emera, Mahaney Diamond was upgraded with lighting for night games. The poles for the lights were donated by Bangor Hydro. In recognition of that, the University asked Jim, as a former player and Bangor Hydro employee, to throw out the first pitch at the first night game. “I was looking forward to that, but admittedly a bit nervous, even practiced throwing for a few weeks. Still threw it in the dirt, great save by the catcher!” Jim retired from Emera, Maine in 2012 after 42 years of service. Over his career at Emera, he held a number of positions. Starting as a line worker in 1971, Jim worked his way up the ladder to eventually hold a number of positions, including Safety Manager, Manager of Human Resources and Labor Relations, and retired in the position of Manager of Line Operations. Although retired, Jim has continued as a part time contractor with Emera overseeing various transmission and distribution projects in the Mount Desert Island / Bar Harbor area.

Wirt Virgin Cannell Wirk (Rip) Cannell was born in South Bridgton in 1880. The long-time Naples resident played 254 games as an outfielder for the Boston Beaneaters between 1904 and 1905. A consistent hitter with a .242 career average, he scored 84 runs and knocked in another 54. He had 27 stolen bases. During his second year with the Sox, he batted .247 and knocked in 36 RBIs. He also had 14 doubles and four triples that year. Cannell died in Bridgton in 1948 at the age of 68. From Baseball Reference- Position: Outfielder Bats: Left • Throws: Right 5-10, 180lb Born: January 23, 1880 in South Bridgton, ME us School: Tufts University (Medford, MA) Debut: April 14, 1904 (Age 24-082d, 2,583rd in MLB history) Last Game: October 7, 1905 (Age 25-257d) Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1904 season

Al Card, A humble man recognized by his omni present smile, received countless awards in his distinguished teaching-coaching-officiating career, but none greater than his HoF induction tonight. Al was a catcher at Paris High School (1944-1948) and at MCl in 1949. He was selected by scouts to play for the Press Herald Braves, where It was said he was a ‘sturdy catcher" who “caused considerable comment’. From 1951-1953, Al played at UMO, where he was the captain and catcher on Hal Raymond’s Yankee Conference co-championship team in 53. Vic Woodbrey (HoF ‘85), Card's teammate with the Braves and at UMO and later coaching mate at Fairfield, labels Al “a smart receiver, fine leader, and a guy who could swing a good bat’. Card touched a lot of bases In semi-pro ball: St. Croix League, Auburn Asas, Bates Manufacturing team, and, in 1955, caught for the 272nd infantry Regiment, as well as the Fort Dix All-Star team. in 1957, he caught and managed the Fairfieid team in the Central Maine League. As an umpire, Al Card worked over 2,000 games and was long recognized as one of the best. Chick Leahey, former Bates Coach (HoF'82), described him as “a person who is in charge of a game, but not one who makes you feel he’s a tyrant’. he was decisive, cool, and always hustling. And he was very Knowledgeable about all the rules. He worked on all levels, from high school ball (23 years of interscholastic tournaments) to AAA pro ball, where he got calls for International League games at Old Orchard. He was a fixture at Togus “calling ‘em for 22 American Legion tournaments. He appeared in three Babe Ruth World Series. In the collegiate ranks, he worked four decades and, in 1987, served as plate umpire in the New England College All-Star game at Fenway Park. The New England Intercollegiate Baseball Coaches Association presented Al with its Distinguished Service Award. Al is especially proud that in 33 years of umpiring he ejected only one coach and no players. in 1986, Card was recognized for excellence in teaching by the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at UMO. His 35 years in education included stints at Lawrence High in Fairfield, MCI and Cony, and at each he served as football coach. Also, in 1986, Al received the Ray Bicknell “Man of the Year" award from the Maine College Basketball Coaches and Writers Association. You see, Al Card was also a top-notch basketball referee. Now retired from teaching and officiating Al, now 63, lives in Augusta with his wife Irene. He has a daughter, Linda LeBlond of Cape Elizabeth, and a son, Ryan who graduated from Ithaca College in June.