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- Dunphy, Woodrow (Woodie) (1996)
WOODROW (WOODIE) DUNPHY Woodrow “Woodie” Dunphy, Principal of Hodgdon High School since 1978, played varsity baseball at Houlton High School, Ricker College and the University of Maine Orono. he is remembered as an outstanding shortstop by Richard W. “Dick” Redmond who was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hal] of Fame in 1993. ‘| had the pleasure of coaching and playing with and against Woodie in the late fifties and early sixties,” said Redmond. “In the two years he played for me at Ricker College, he made only one error playing shortstop. Considering the condition of some of the fields we played on, this was a really remarkable feat.” “Without any reservations, | would say that Woodie Dunphy was the best shortstop | ever played with or coached.” Dunphy was a four-year starter at Houlton High and captained the team in 1955 and 1956. in American Legion baseball, he played for Sumner, the Northern Division champion and was a two-year captain. He went on to Ricker College and in the summer played for the Woodstock Capitals, a team in a Canadian semi-professional league. Dunphy also wore the uniform of the Presque Isle Indians in the Maine-New Brunswick League and was voted to the league’s all-star team at second base. From 1958 to 1961 Dunphy was player-coach of the Houlton Collegians, also in the Maine-New Brunswick League. Dunphy was referred to in newspaper stories as the “mighty mite” and was highlighted as the “Spudland Sports Figure of the Week.” re transferred to UMaine in 1959. After a year of sitting out due to the NCAA transfer rule, Dunphy played for the Black Bears in '60 and 1961. As a senior he made only two errors. ‘Jack Butterfield (Maine Baseball Hall of Fame 1980) who coached Woodie at Maine was very high on his defensive ability,” said Redmond. “When | had the opportunity of discussing Woodie’s play with Jack, he made the following statement.” “Woodie Dunphy’s play at shortstop saves us two to three runs a game.” redmond recalls that Dunphy was more than a superior fielder. “Woodie was a good base runner and had surprising power for his size (5-foot-3, 120 pounds). In an extra-inning game at Woodstock, New Brunswick, | remember him scoring the winning run from first base on a single to left field when the fielder inadvertently threw to second base.” “In a game at Saint John, all the outfielders moved in the first time Woodie came to the plate. Woodie hit the first pitch over the center fielder’s head for an inside-the-park home run.” After graduating from Maine, Dunphy served for two years in the U.S. Army, then returned to Ricker as baseball coach from 1965 to 1972. His teams were Northeast College champions in 1965 and 1967. in 1978, Dunphy accepted his current appointment at Hodgdon High School. For six years he served as a member of the Maine Principals Association basketball committee including a term as chairman, 1984-87. He was chairman of the MPA’s classification committee 1984-87 and since 1988 has served on the organization’s Interscholastic Executive Committee.
- Dutremble, Richard D. (1984)
Dick Dutremble proved on the baseball diamond that the length of a man’s body was insignificant compared to the size of his heart. The 5-foot, 6-inch Dutremble was a battler who says he “was fortunate for his size to be able to compete with the best baseball players in Maine.’’ However, he did more than just compete. He starred, leading the Telegram League in hitting in 1949 (.431) and 1950 (.428), when playing shortstop for the St. Louis High ballclub. The Saco native also led the Telegram League in total bases those years, spraying the ball to all fields with power. After high school, Dutremble excelled for the Portland Press Herald Braves and the Portland Pilots, where he switched to third base. Hank LaVallee was his aggressive coach with the Braves. Dutremble remembers the time LaVallee told him to steal home with the bases loaded. ‘I said are you crazy and all he (LaVallee) said back was ‘go on the next pitch. | was safe. The former sheriff of York County, re-elected eight times, and now employed as State Director of Civil Emergency Preparedness, also was a Star football player for St. Louis High. In fact, the swift halfback was team captain. His leadership qualities also were displayed on the baseball diamond where the fiery shortstop usually called the infield signals. «A team player, Dutremble once offered to catch hard-throwing Willie Greenlaw when the club’s regular catcher failed to show up. “Willie said he would take it easy on me,” Dutremble said. Greenlaw didn't take it easy on Dutremble or the other team) pitching a no-hitter, Dutremble says his varied baseball experience helped him in life. “It taught me how to accept defeat as well as victory. And it allowed me to make many new friends.” Apparently enough. “friends” to get re-elected eight times,
- Dwyer, Charlie (1981)
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.
- Dyer, Herbert (1989)
Herb Dyer could hit and he could umpire and he did both with real authority. And he brought dignity and class to the diamond. Born into an athletic family and gifted with good size, he carved a good record at South Portland High School. As a 16 year old football candidate he was listed at 6’0”, and described as “‘fast, big and clever” despite 190 pounds, and “tremendously powerful.” While he participated on the gridiron and basketball court it was as a slugging first-baseman for the Red Riots that he excelled. He was an All-Telegram selection in 1937 and 1938, and was crowned batting champion in 1937 with a lofty .459 average. At South Portland, he was coached by Bill Macomber and Wayne Roberts and was a teammate of scrappy Frankie Rivers. Herb will now join Roberts and Rivers in the Hall. While in high school he performed summers in the south Portland Twilight League where he also gained a batting title. In 1939, Herbie finished a second successful summer in the Boston Park League, where he hit .441 for the St. Augustine team. Not surprising, he was an all-star selection in this prestigious summer circuit. This performance earned him a farm contract from the Boston Red Sox to whom he had been recommended by Joe “Jabber” Joyce (Maine Hall of Fame ‘75). The young Dyer opened his pro career at Rocky Mt. North Carolina in the Piedmont League but after a couple of weeks joined the Centreville club, Herb was shifted to the outfield and was noted for long hitting. Whether Herb would have progressed through the Bosox chain we will never know because shortly after his inaugural season he was involved in a critical auto accident. A fractured jaw, broken leg, and assorted injuries short-circuited his career. Herb enjoyed 34 years as a Western Maine umpire and countless box scores show: Umps: H. Dyer and D. Dyer because he often teamed with his brother Don and they were dependable, hustling members of the Board. Herb often served on the exam committee where he helped many budding arbiters. Herb and his wife recently celebrated their 46th anniversary and have daughter, Bonnie Lee Babine, and son, Gary Merle and two grandchildren.
- Dyer, Jim (2011)
Jim Dyer was a sports legend in Aroostook County, well known for his baseball exploits in the semi-pro Aroostook League and Maine-New Brunswick League in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Dyer’s athletic career did not begin in Presque Isle. He developed his multiple sport skills at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft where he starred in four sports: football, basketball, baseball and track. He earned a total of 14 letters while at Foxcroft Academy, including two his freshman year in football and basketball, and four in each of his next three years. Foxcroft Academy sports historians place Jim Dyer near the top of the list as the best overall athlete ever to don the maroon and white. Teammates remembered him for his intense desire to excel and win, his natural athletic ability and his sportsmanship. From Foxcroft Academy he went to Bowdoin College where he was very successful in football and baseball, and also captained the first semi-official basketball team at Bowdoin during the 1941-42 season. Jim won six letters for the Polar Bears from 1938-42 and was regarded as one of the best athletes to ever perform at Bowdoin. In the summer of 1940 Dyer was named to the Unites States team in the World Series of Amateur Baseball, joining eight other countries in Cuba. He was stellar in the outfield and behind the plate for the American team, which was beaten by Cuba in the finals of the tournament. After graduating from Bowdoin he served three and one-half years with the 1269 combat engineers. He was discharged from the service in November of 1945. Upon his discharge he was offered a contract to sign with the Cincinnati organization but turned it down. Minor league players were not paid a great deal at that time. After a summer of baseball in Dover in the Tri-County League in 1947, Jim accepted a position as a math instructor at Presque Isle High School. In the summer of 1948 he joined the Presque Isle Indians in the Northern Aroostook League. While playing for the Indians in 1948, Dyer was one of the leading offensive players in the league. He helped lead his team to the Northern Aroostook League crown, and a win over the Oakfield Oakies, the Southern Aroostook League Champions, gave them the County Championship. In the championship game he had four hits in five at bats. Dyer was named the Most Valuable Player for the 1948 season and selected to the All-Star Team. The team finished with 40 wins and 17 losses. He also was selected to play against the Birdie Tebbetts major league all-star team, a game in which he delivered a triple and single against major league pitching. During the 1949 season Dyer played the outfield and managed the Indians. During the season he boasted a .353 average, collecting 87 hits and scoring 54 runs. He was selected to the league All-Star team and also the All-Star team which played the Birdie Tebbetts Major League All-Stars. The 1950 campaign saw Dyer off to a quick start. When the Indians faltered at the outset of the season and manager Dick Desmond resigned, he accepted the managing duties once again. Dyer piloted the Indians to the regular season Maine-New Brunswick League championship and a 33-18 record. In the championship play-off, the Indians won seven of eight games. Again in 1951 Dyer began the season as player/manager of the Indians. In the first six games he was pounding the ball at a .385 clip, with ten hits in twenty-six trips to the plate and being considered as an all-star selection. However, the recurrence of an old ankle injury forced him out of the line-up. The locals got off to a slow start, with many players coming and going. Dyer was later removed from his position as player coach before signing with the Houlton Collegians. He was ready to return to the outfield and continued his torrid hitting at a .354 clip. His fine play helped lead the Collegians into the play-offs. In three of his four years with the locals, Dyer hit better than .350. Among baseball observers, Jim was generally regarded as one of the greatest outfielders in Aroostook’s colorful baseball history. When his playing days concluded, he continued to be active in baseball, umpiring, and running baseball instruction programs for the Presque Isle Recreation Department. In 1958 Dyer became coach of the Presque Isle High School varsity baseball team. He coached 15 years with his teams never finishing lower than second in 13 of those years. His Wildcats won five Aroostook League Championships in 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1972; titles were shared in 1968 and 1971. His high school baseball teams accumulated a record of 124-45. From 1950-68 Dyer was also considered one of the best basketball officials in Eastern Maine. Jim Dyer has been inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, Maine Sports Legends Hall of Fame and now the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. The Presque Isle High School baseball field was named the James E. Dyer Memorial Field in Jim’s honor.
- Dyer, LeRoy (2005)
There may be some debate concerning how to address Bar Harbor native LeRoy Eugene Dyer. In addition to his given name, friends, teammates and colleagues alternate calling him Lee, Lefty or Bub. But there is no argument when the subject is his ability as a baseball pitcher. Dyer is remembered as brilliant. “My most vivid memory was when he broke the Penobscot Valley Conference strikeout record,’ said life-long friend Kenneth K.Riddell. “his curve bail was sinking and his fast ball was sizzling. Needless to say, I didn’t see much action in the outfield that day!” “That day’ was May 19, 1950. Dyer allowed one hit and recorded 22 strikeouts as Bar Harbor defeated Orono 2-0. Dyer twice struck out 18 batters in a game: On May 16, 1950 in a 9-0 win against Brewer; and on May 31, 1950, 1n the Eastern Maine tournament, as Bar Harbor beat Stockton 6-1. After graduating from high school, Dyer enrolled at Bowdoin. Elected team captain in 1956, the lefty with the rising fast ball was Polar Bear coach Danny MacFayden’s “go to guy.” He still holds the Bowdoin record for most strikeouts in a game, 15 against MIT in 1954 1n a 2-0 Polar Bear win and 15 against New Hampshire, also in 1954. Between his sophomore and junior years at Bowdoin, Dyer spent the summer pitching for the Presque Isle Indians in the Maine-New Brunswick League. After an appearance against Edmonton, Len Merullo, a scout for the Chicago Cubs, offered Dyer a $5,000 bonus to turn pro. Dyer chose to stay at Bowdoin. After earning his degree, Dyer tried out with the Red Sox and Phillies, then signed with the Milwaukee Braves. “During my spring training experience with the Braves in 1958, and later with the Waycross Braves of the Georgia-Florida League, I saw too many kids with some pretty good athletic ability get cut with neither a high school diploma or a possible college degree to fall back on, dyer said. Dyer posted a 6-11 record for Waycross but decided the journey from Class D to the Major Leagues was a long haul. He turned to a career in education. Dyer concluded his 35-year career as Superintendent of Schools in Portland, Connecticut. in 1994. the Board of Education named the baseball field in his honor. “What a proud moment for an old baseball player from Bar Harbor, Maine, said Dyer. “My baseball days were very special to me and | look back warmly with a sense of gratitude for all those who helped me along the way.”
- Dyke, Roy (Joe) (2006)
Roy “Joe” Dyke was born in Wilton, Maine on April 20, 1926. He graduated from Wilton Academy in 1944. Enlisted in the Navy and went on active duty one day after he graduated. After serving two years he enrolled and graduated from M.C.I. in Pittsfield. As an outstanding high school athlete “Joe” excelled in baseball and basketball, and his athletic prowess carried over at M.C.I. where he starred in both baseball and basketball. Joe was the guy with the “sweet swing”, “great wrists”. For a guy of slight stature he hit several home runs during his long career. Soft hands and quick reaction made him a perennial all-star at 2nd base in the Pine Tree and Timber Leagues in Wilton. The opposition was always amazed at Joe’s ability to hit. He had a lifetime average of .372 and was a flawless fielder. He seldom made an error. He could turn a double play with the best. Joe played with Phil Dugas (HoF), Al Card (HoF) and Ted Shiro (HoF) when he was a student-athlete at MCI. During his long career he played with or against such HoF ball players as Lefty Vinal, Herb Austin, Al Davis, Drig Fournier, Bitsy Ionta, Al Card, Stan Horn, Stan Couling, plus other great players, including Galen Sayward, Randy and Larry Davis and Rudy Stanzel, just to name a few. He had a great baseball mind - always alert and ready for whatever came to him. He was very durable, which was a must to play in the Timber League. Joe began his semi-pro career in 1946 which spanned for many years. In 1948 he played in the National Amateur Baseball Tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was a little league coach for many years and later coached Babe Ruth baseball. He was a highly respected board official for more than 25 years. He was a branch Bank Manager for Franklin Savings for 34 years, King Lion, Mason for 40, Past Noble Grand in the Odd Fellows, American Legion and V.F.W. He was married to Ruth Watson (she passed away in 1997) They have 2 children, Scott and Kathy, and 4 grandchildren. “Joe” will make a great addition to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. Unfortunately Joe Dyke passed away earlier this year several weeks after learning he had been inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. Our sincerest condolences to his family.
- Elowitch, Julius (Yudy) (1982)
Elowitch, Julius (Yudy) (82)Julius (Yudy) Elowitch was not only a solid .300 hitter for Portland High and an All-Twilight League second baseman but he contributed fine sponsorship to Little League, Babe Ruth and Twilight League ballclubs as well. The speedster who once stole home for the winning run in a Twilight League game to lead his team Yudy’s past defending champion South Portland Merchants in a tourney game, Elowitch was a contact hitter without power until he met up with another Hall of Famer — Ben Hauser. Hauser helped him add power to his swing and increased his average into the .400 range. Elowitch, born Dec. 8, 1913, was also a fine fielding second baseman. He had plenty of range and excelled in making the over-the-shoulder catch in short right field. His Twilight League team, Yudy’s, was state semi-pro champion in 1945 and league king in 1946. He started Yudy’s in 1938 with another of this year’s inductees, Pete Pompeo. Elowitch played for this team until 1946. Elowitch, who began playing golf when he was 40 and present owner of a seven handicap, often batted leadoff for his club. One of his career highlights, while batting in the leadoff spot, was a grand slam homer off Tuffy Laffin’s Westbrook Redbirds. He operated a service station from 1934 until World War Il. After the war, he discovered a method of bonding rubber to metal and any profit Yudv’s Tires made was plowed into the process. The tire process has proved very successful. Though fleet of foot, Elowitch, who often ran other teams into the ground, was also a strong wrestler. Nonetheless, this all-around athlete always remained humble. Phil Clark, left, shakes hands with Yudy Elowitch.
- Erlick, Phil (1974)
Portland Evening Express sports writer and Maine Sunday Telegram League Commissioner and associated with that league as a player or administrator for 40 years. Recognized in 1966 by National Sports Media as outstanding sportswriter . https://nationalsportsmedia.org/awards/state-awards/maine
- Fairchild, William (2012)
Influenced by the lessons from two legendary figures in Maine baseball history – Jack Butterfield and John Winkin – and inspired by his father’s example, Bill Fairchild was destined for a life in baseball. Bill’s family moved to Monmouth from Gorham when he was 8. His father, Thomas L. Fairchild, was the principal at Monmouth Academy and a formative influence in his life. Sports, and baseball in particular, were a frequent topic of conversation around the Fairchild dinner table and the famed Fairchild work ethic and penchant for coaching fundamentals was forged by the close father-son relationship. Bill graduated from Monmouth Academy in 1969 where he pitched and played shortstop, tossing a no-hitter against Bridgton High School and campaigning in the summers for the Winthrop legion team. Moving on to the University of Maine, Bill gravitated toward the orbit of Jack Butterfield whose reputation was by then solidly established among college baseball coaches. Fairchild was drawn to Butterfield’s tactics and philosophy as a coach and absorbed as much as he could from the legendary mentor. “I took all his classes,” said Fairchild. “I was like a sponge when he talked baseball.” John Winkin arrived at Maine at the start of Bill’s junior year and further nurtured his coaching aspirations. “John was terrific throughout my career,” remarked Fairchild. “I stayed in touch with him through it all.” Lessons learned from the legends, Fairchild graduated from UMaine in 1973 and took his first teaching job at Leavitt Junior High School in Turner. In 1976 the newly formed Oak Hill High School opened its doors to students from Wales, Litchfield and Sabattus and hired Bill Fairchild as a physical education teacher and its first baseball coach. The new school was the perfect launching pad for Bill’s coaching career which spanned 28 years and vaulted him into elite status among Maine’s high school baseball coaches. His teams compiled a 418-139 won-lost record while copping league championships in the Mountain Valley Conference (’77, ’78, ’79), Mid-Maine Conference (’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’95), and the KVAC (’03). The Raiders were Western Maine champions in ’78, ’81, ’86 and ’03, and won Class C state titles in 1978 and 1981 and added a Class B state crown in 2003. Bill stepped down as baseball coach in 2004 and fully retired from athletic administration duties in 2011. What was the secret of the Fairchild coaching success? Among other things, the emphasis on fundamentals and a matchless work ethic resonated in the Oak Hill communities. The parents worked hard, they expected their kids to work hard, and Bill Fairchild showed them how that approach could lead to winning records. “I liked teaching the game to these kids and letting their work ethic drive their success,” commented Fairchild. “I’ve been fortunate to have a populace of students who have that good work ethic. That was the main thing that kept bringing me to school. If they want to work hard, you’ve got to love it. That’s a coach’s dream.” Another Fairchild core value: “Talent’s not geographical. If the program is solid, kids from three small communities can compete with anyone.” Not that there weren’t a few bumps in the coaching road. Bill’s plain-spoken, commanding style ruffled a few teenage (and parental) feathers along the way, but his commitment to the kids and the school never wavered and the respect that comes from that overarching philosophy followed. Maine Baseball Hall of Famer and former Lisbon High School coach George Ferguson (whose son graduated from Oak Hill) paid Fairchild the ultimate compliment: “If my son couldn’t play for me, I’m glad he played for Bill Fairchild. Bill is foremost a great teacher and a great practice coach. He took a bunch of farm kids and turned them into really good, sometimes great, players.” Bill’s son Tip, an All-American pitcher at USM who rose to the Triple A ranks in the Houston Astros organization said frankly: “I and other players would not be where we are as players or individuals without him. He taught the fundamentals of baseball, but he preached the fundamentals of life as well. I took his advice when I was 4 years old and I took it when I was 26.” Looks like the Butterfield/Winkin/Fairchild stew is a pretty good recipe for baseball success. The Maine Baseball Hall of Fame proudly opens its doors to Bill Fairchild’s well-deserved induction.
- Farnham, Ray (1999)
“Mr. SPA.” (State Principals Association) was the way many coaches, athletes, and schoolboy sports fans came to know Ray Farnham. The diligence and efficiency he displayed for the State Principals Association maybe obscured the fact that he was once a top-notch baseball player. Beginning in Brownville Junction, where he was born in 1911, Ray was a consistent performer through the late “20s and the 30s. He was usually on winning teams - and he was versatile. At Brownville Junction he pitched and played 3b from 1925 to 238. He played on county championship clubs. in 1931 he played shortstop for Higgins Classical Institute, which copped the State Prep School title. At Colby College, where he received his B.S. in Education in 1936, Ray played ss for awhile - after a pinch-hit homer against Bates (or was It Bowdoin)??? - Capt. Paddy Davan moved to the outfield. The next three years Ray held down an outfield berth and Colby won a pair of state titles in 1934 and ‘35. Farnham’s summer stints included the Brownville Junction Beavers in the Piscataquis County League, the Milo Merchants and Newport A.A. in the Eastern Maine League. He was described as a hard-hitting left-handed batter, who usually hit third. He must have been respected because against the Orono A.A. in 1936 he once received five consecutive bases on balls. After graduation from Colby, Ray became Mr. Farnham. teacher coach, first at Milo 1936 to ’38 and then Madison 1938-'42. At both schools, Ray coached baseball, basketball and football. In 1942, Ray embarked on an administrative career, beginning with the principal’s role at Madison. World War I] interrupted his new career, but he returned to Madison for 1946 to ‘49. Then it was on to Morse High in Bath from 1949 to 1967. In 1947, Principal Farnham became chairman of the SPA physical activities committee. This committee initiated a plan for state baseball playoffs. The plan was soon abandoned. But in 1967 Ray became the first full-time Executive Secretary of the SPA and in this capacity, with the help of the Coaches Association, was able to revive the playoffs. Of course, Ray’s work with the other sports from 1967 to 74 was equally noteworthy and this was recognized by his induction into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. He and his wife, Ruth, both retirees, live in Bath and have three adult “children”. From Maine Sports Hall of Fame https://www.mshof.com/bios/biodetail/?num=123 Inducted in 1978 Raymond Farnham Education: Raymond W. Farnham could most appropriately be designated as the "Father" of the State Principals Association, having instituted many of the policies now governing that astute and most powerful legislator of Maine interscholastic sports. As a most intimate associate best states it, "I know of no man that has given so unselfishly of himself to further the cause of Maine. Nobody can deny the the contributions made by this man." A native of Brownsville Junction, and graduate of its High School, this former basketball, football, and baseball star from Colby's Class of 1938 first exercised his native abilities as Submaster and Coach at Milo High School through 1938, followed by first the Coach and later Principal at Madison High School through 1949, and through 1967 as Principal at Morse High School in Bath. It was his appointment as the first Executive Secretary of the State Principals Association, a position he held from 1967 through 1974, that brought renown to this dynamic personality. In addition to his forty years of dedication to Maine interscholastic sports, Ray Farmham served with the U.S. Army from 1944 through 1946, served on the Western Maine Basketball Commission for thirteen years, and Chairman of the New England Basketball Commission in 1962-'63. Few men have built a finer monument to their accomplishments than has Raymond Willard Farnham.
- Farrar, Sidney (1970)
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Farrar Sidney Douglas Farrar (August 10, 1859 – May 7, 1935) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1883 through 1890 for the Philadelphia Quakers and Philadelphia Athletics. He was the father of opera singer Geraldine Farrar.[ From Baseball Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=farrar001sid From the Society for American Baseball Research https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/7a42d916 Sid Farrar This article was written by David Nemec Sid Farrar was living in Melrose, Massachusetts, in 1882, working winters in a box factory and singing in the church choir when his wife, the former Henrietta Barnes, gave birth to a daughter Geraldine. At age 3, Geraldine was already singing with her darkly handsome father in the Melrose choir; 18 years later she created a sensation in Berlin with her debut as Marguerite in Charles Gounod’s Faust and afterward was renowned as the “It” girl of the opera until her abrupt retirement in 1922 at the age of 40. At the height of her career, her striking beauty, enchantingly lyrical voice and faultless stage presence earned her such a fanatical following, particularly among young women, that her worshippers were nicknamed “Gerry-flappers.” Meanwhile, her tempestuous love affair with Arturo Toscanini and her subsequent marriage to the nefarious film actor Lou Tellegen were the sources of considerable scandal. After she divorced the philandering Tellegen in 1923, she tried to keep her personal life out of the public eye, only to have the lurid circumstances of her relationship with Tellegen dragged back into the headlines by his bizarre suicide in 1934 when he stabbed himself in the chest seven times with a pair of scissors, reputedly while surrounded by mountains of newspaper clippings of his controversial career. Geraldine Farrar Tellegen, who never used her married name anywhere but on legal documents, never remarried. In the spring of 1883, when Geraldine was less than a year old, her less famous father, a dark-horse candidate at best, won the first-base job on the Philadelphia Quakers, a NL replacement for the abandoned Worcester franchise. Born in Paris Hill, Maine, on August 10, 1859, the righty-throwing Farrar had been active in the game since 1876, when he played with the semipro General Worth team of Stoneham, Massachusetts, in the Eastern Massachusetts Association, but had never been among the more prominent minor-league or independent-team first basemen prior to signing his first major-league contract. Indeed, except for a note in the New York Clipper that he was back playing in Stoneham in 1880, his baseball movements between 1886 and his major-league debut on May 1, 1883, at Philadelphia (he went hitless in a 4-3 loss to Providence’s Charley Radbourn) remain almost entirely shrouded in mist. Farrar hit just .233 as a rookie and scored only 41 runs in 99 games. Just once in the remaining seven years of his major-league career did he hit better than .268, but he nonetheless held the Quakers’ gateway post until 1890, when he jumped to the Players League. He finished his career there as the owner of the lowest OPS (.647) among all first basemen in the decade of the 1880s (1881-90) with a minimum of 2,000 plate appearances. Farrar’s only offensive season of even moderate merit came in 1887, when he hit .282 and scored 83 runs. He was a mediocre baserunner. His fielding, although sound, was hardly electrifying –he led NL first basemen just once each in fielding average, assists, and double plays. Farrar’s greatest strengths were that he kept his head in the game at all times and was regarded as a clean player, attributes that often were enough to keep a job for quite a while under Harry Wright, his manager in every season but his first and last. Farrar may have been the only major leaguer, however, whose career was saved by the Players League – at least for one more year. Reportedly Wright had ticketed him for release after the 1889 season to make room at first base for Ed Delahanty, who had been a failure prior to then at every position Wright tested him at. Farrar’s most intriguing contribution to the game came in July 1890, when he proposed that all cities with representatives in both the Players League and the National League arrange for their teams to play a series whose loser would then have to vacate the city, leaving it to the winner alone. His notion frightened almost every National League owner, since the majority of National League teams with rivals for their territory in the Players League produced a vastly inferior product in 1890. When Farrar tried without success to convince Columbus of the American Association after the Players League collapsed that he would be a better bet than the Senators’ incumbent first baseman, Mike Lehane, the Philadelphia Press had this to say: “Farewell, Sidney, we will probably never see a man on the Philadelphias at first base that can field the position better or run slower.” Farrar spent the 1891 campaign with New Haven of the Eastern Association and fashioned the only documented .300 season of his pro career when he rapped .312. The following year he moved with his New Haven manager, Walter Burnham, to Providence of the Eastern League and left the game after he slipped to .284. Farrar later went into the furniture business in Melrose with the Boston Beaneaters’ manager, Frank Selee, and then bought a turkey farm near Ridgefield, Connecticut. After his wife died in 1923, he regularly traveled with his famous daughter, even abroad to places like Berlin to watch her give emeritus performances. For his 70th birthday in 1929, the August 12 edition of the Montreal Gazette reported, Geraldine came home from Europe specifically to organize a gala celebration at his Ridgefield home that numbered all “the old cronies of his diamond days.” When Farrar died on May 7, 1935, in New York City, some four months after an unsuccessful surgery, he left Geraldine an estate worth $80, 900. In her later years she grew increasingly disenchanted by modern opera and never sang in public, although she would occasionally perform for friends. By the 1950s, Geraldine Farrar had become an exemplar for J.D. Salinger. She lived in total seclusion on the family farm in Ridgefield and refused to be interviewed. In 1967 she died from a heart attack at the age of 85. Her less famous father is buried in Fernleaf Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, and remains something of an enigma himself. Unlike most first basemen of his era, who were known for their bat work, Farrar’s reputation rested much more heavily on his fielding. Consequently, he was never portrayed either in baseball cards or photographs with a bat in his hands, and it is still a mystery whether he swung from the right or left side, or even conceivably from both.














