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The former major league pitcher Jim Bouton once said, “You spend a good part of your life gripping a baseball, and it in the end it turns out it was the other way around.” Kenneth Libbey Sr. would agree with him. From the days Ken and his brothers Herbert and Dennis spent days watching their father, Herbert Sr. play the game on town team fields throughout Eastern Maine, during his high school days in Mattawamkeag and postgraduate days at Higgins classical Institute, his days in service to his country, his own stellar town team career with the Mattawamkeag Merchants and his countless hours as a youth baseball coach in his hometown, Baseball was a focal point of Ken's life. The grip the game had on him shaped him as a teammate, a coach, a mentor of young coaches, and a father. The inner qualities which baseball brought out in Kenneth made him a success in all facets of life. His values and the example he set as a role model continue to positively influence young men today. A former colleague said of Ken, “I'm sure his most favorite day would have involved practice with his Babe Ruth team in the morning and an afternoon doubleheader with the Merchants.” Ken's life in baseball began in Mattawamkeag as he and his brothers traveled to watch their father play the game. While Herbert Sr. never pushed his sons to play the game, the hold the game had on their father and his love for it was passed on to his sons. Herbert Sr. did everything in his power to enable the involvement of Ken and his brothers in the game, even if it meant some significant sacrifices on his own part. Surely those lessons of perseverance, hard work and dedication were not lost on the sons. The brothers often started their work day at 2:00 AM in order to make their schedule of woods work fit their baseball schedule. Kenneth played four years of varsity baseball at Mattawamkeag High School, graduating in 1955. After his graduation from high school, Kenneth attended Higgins Classical Institute where he was a standout athlete in basketball and football as well as baseball. Marriage and a subsequent tour of military duty in Germany followed. While in the military, he continued to be involved with baseball, but his return to his hometown and its team was always on his mind and in his heart. It was the heyday of town team baseball, and the Mattawamkeag Merchants were a major force statewide. The team routinely played fifty five to sixty games a season, even seventy five in the summer of 1964. Throughout his twenty year career as a shortstop and second baseman for the Merchants, Kenneth was not only a stellar player, but a leader as well. He served as captain of the team. Kenneth was described by teammates as “ a definite team leader” and a man who “ would do anything to help anyone at anytime.” He was an excellent hitter who averaged over .300 for his career and who was not afraid to crowd the plate to add to his superb on base percentage. Although he was a very good hitter, teammates say it was on defense that Ken truly excelled. The record shows that he completed the entire 1969 season without making an error. He played with soft hands, a strong arm and a fearlessness on the double play pivot. It is for this courage that some of his teammates best remember him. There are stories of beanings that lead to concussions followed by speedy returns to the lineup, a broken leg as the result of a home plate collision only to see Ken rise and return to the dugout. One of his mates paid him a high compliment when he said, “His dedication to detail and hard work made everyone who played with him better.” That same dedication to detail, his strong work ethic, love of the game and infinite patience made Kenneth an excellent coach and teacher. His Babe Ruth teams consistently defeated teams from larger towns. His players were drilled in the fundamentals of the game. They learned to hustle. When he saw a starting not hustling out to his defensive position to start an inning, one of his practices was to tell a bench player that if he could outrun the starting player to the position, he could play it and the starter would sit and watch. Many of Ken's former players continue to pass on his lessons as youth coaches in the Mattawamkeag, Lincoln area. They teach his code of, “Work hard, no excuses, make a mistake and move on.” As one former player now a coach himself puts it, “He not only coached baseball; he taught it.” So, Jim Bouton was right; baseball gets a grip on us. It enfolds us into its core, and it carries those we touch with us. It is fitting that baseball carries Kenneth Libbey Sr. into the circle of the Maine Baseball Hall Of Fame to join his brothers Herbert Jr. and Dennis.

The late Jackson (Jack) Libby of Brewer, frequently tapped to judge fight cards around the state, found it easier to separate and weigh the merits of punches than to keep 14 managers from a Summer of discontent. Yet Libby's efforts as organizer and president of the Eastern Maine League met with a collective tip of the cap once the campaign ended. Libby was saluted by reappointment by acclamation. Presiding over Maine's largest league required the utmost diplomacy. Longtime Bangor Daily News sports columnist Owen Osborne said it best: "Much of the credit is due a big guy with a big grin who not only knows his baseball but knows how a team should be managed and, what's more important, how to handle men. Not once did things get out of hand during the season, whether it waS a meeting discussion, the problem of umpires or a disputed game. “Each was ironed out in the best manner possible, and it requires tact to handle 14 managers, to say nothing of appeasing the 20-odd men under them. But we think each manager and every player will agree that the league was handled in the best possible manner. "Take a bow, Jack Libby.” Most appreciative of Libby’‘s ideal reinsmanship was Joe Nickless of the Bucksport A. A., whose team won the league championship that fledgling 1950 season. Libby liked to play baseball, along with other sports, but early saw the need for knowledgeable persons in prominent, neutral roles. He brought a solid frame, a keen mind and ideal personality to the umpiring side of the game. Libby umpired 18 years, mostly in the Eastern Maine League and in state college ranks. His word was law, and the manner of delivery made it difficult to argue. Such recognition and respect made Hall of Fame selection simple.

Of all Maine pitchers who climbed the ladder of organized baseball but failed to reach the top rung, the name of Dick Libby must stand out. Dick spent 8 seasons In pro ball and enjoyed success right through AAA. He has a wealth of memories because he played with and against some of the best of his era. Dick was born in 1926 at Bridgton, the little town that sent HoFers Willard and Jim Mains to the Big Top. He began his schoolboy career at Bridgton H.S., but spent his junior year at Fryeburg Academy, where he Says he benefited immensely from the teaching tips of Cliff Gray (HOF 76). He graduated from Bridgton in war-time 1944 and left to serve in the Marine Corps til 46. He participated in the Guadalcanal and Okinawa invasions. In 1947 Libby, who was a husky southpaw, began his diamond odyssey at Watertown, N.Y. For this Class C (remember those classifications?) Border League team, Dick recorded a 10-4 mark with an ERA of 3.35 -- a good Start for a rookie. 1948 was spent in Pennsylvania with Sunbury of the Class B Interstate League. A 14-6 record at Sunbury, coupled with a 3.41 ERA, won a promotion to Class A. At Columbia, S.C. in the South Atlantic (Sally) League, DICK was areal workhorse and compiled 15 wins and 14 losses. 1950 was spent in West Virginia where, with Charleston of the Central League, Dick suffered his first losing season (9-14 and ERA 4.30). But Dick must have impressed somebody -- or maybe he had a super spring the next year -- because in 1951 he was promoted to Syracuse, N.Y. in the AAA International League. During this season, the N.Y. Giants bought his contract and he swung over to the Ottawa Giants. He won 4 and lost 5 in 1951 (the big year for the Giants and Bobby Thompson) and registered a neat 2.61 ERA. 1952 was a big year for Dick. He campaigned for the noted Minneapolis Millers, one of the minor league's most legendary franchises. At Minneapolis, he pitched with an entire team of future or past major leaguers and the black HoFer, Ray Dandridge. Chuck Diering, Daryl Spencer, Clint Hartung, Ray Katt, and Bill Howerton all enjoyed good stints in the Bigs’. Dick started slowly at Minneapolis, but was torrid in the second half, going 7-1 in one month. He beat such big names as Herb Score, the brilliant Indian prospect, and Gene Conley of Celtic/Red Sox lore. He finished at 14-9 despite a lot of late inning miseries. He lost three shutouts in the 9th and was KO'd four times in the 9th when leading. Following the 1952 season, he trekked to South America, where he pitched with Magellanes in the Venezuelan Winter League. It was back to Minneapolis in 1953 and, after 4-6, he was demoted to Nashville (AA) in the Southern Association, where he finished 5-2. Dick returned to Nashville in 1954 and closed his career with 15 and 14 and a 4.02 LRA. Eight seasons -- 5 winning seasons and a combined 90 wins and 74 losses -- not bad for the big fellow from Maine. He pursued a Career in management for Hall's Motor Freight system and then 31 years for Yellow Freight System until his retirement in 1986. Dick resides in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Emily. From Baseball Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=libby-001ric Dick Libby Position: Relief Pitcher Bats: Left • Throws: Left 6-1, 188lb (185cm, 85kg) Born: May 4, 1925 in Bridgton, ME Died: March 1, 2010 (Aged 84-301d) in Gulf Shores, AL Full Name: Richard Elias Libby Dick Libby compiled a career record of 82 wins and 72 losses in his 268-game pitching career with the Roanoke Red Sox, Watertown Athletics, Sunbury Reds, Columbia Reds, Syracuse Chiefs, Charleston Senators, Ottawa Giants, Nashville Vols and Minneapolis Millers. He began playing during the 1944 season and last took the field during the 1954 campaign.

As a boy in the rural 1940’s environment of Maine, Billy Linscott grew up playing baseball. This was partly attributed to the culture of the times and, of at least equivalent importance, to the fact that Linscott’s father, Addison, was a baseball promoter in the Farmington area. Although he was among the smaller boys on the block, Billy Linscott developed into an outstanding sandlot player – in the neighborhood, at Hippach Field and eventually with the “Hard Cider League All-Stars”, organized by John and Eddie Callahan. Linscott’s high school years were divided between Farmington High School where he studied for two years and Phillips-Exeter Academy. In each of his three years at the preparatory school, Linscott won letters in football and baseball. He also excelled in the classroom, receiving a James Bowdoin scholarship at Bowdoin College where he enrolled in the fall of 1954. Linscott played four seasons of baseball for the Polar Bears under coach “Deacon” Dan McFadden, batting over .300, serving as team captain in his senior year and earning selection to the All-Maine and the All-New England teams. During the summers of his high school and college years, Linscott played shortstop in the Down East League with the Augusta Millionaires. He once led the league in hitting – no small achievement against competition that included future Major Leaguers Joey Jay, Harry Agganis, Haywood Sullivan and Ted Lepcio. Upon graduation from Bowdoin in 1958, Linscott was signed by the Boston Red Sox. Sent to the minor leagues, Linscott’s first stop was Raleigh, N.C. Promoted to Allentown, Pa. For the 1958 season, Linscott batted .309. In what was to be the final game of a brief professional career, Linscott hit a pair of doubles and two home runs. Recurring knee problems, which had plagued him despite several operations, prevented Linscott from returning to baseball in 1960. While attending law school at Boston University, and still under contract to the Red Sox, Linscott worked out with the big league team at Fenway Park. He was in the dugout, one of 10,454, on hand to watch the Baltimore-Boston game on September 28, 1960. It was Ted Williams’ final game. Linscott saw the legendary slugger hit a home run off Jack Fisher on a 1-0 count in his last appearance at the plate. Linscott’s baseball career brought him in contact with several personalities who stood out in baseball history: Sullivan became a part owner and general manager of the Red Sox; and Linscott’s first roommate in the minors was Tracy Stallard, who gave up home run number 61 to Roger Maris in 1961. Linscott earned his law degree and became a practicing attorney in Bangor. He and his wife, Diane, had three children. Linscott died unexpectedly in 1988. He was 53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPy0ykNfews

Mike Linkovich arrived at Bowdoin College in 1954. His plans didn’t include an extended visit. Linkovich stayed as head trainer for 41 years. He and his wife, Virginia, still make their retirement home in Brunswick. “I had never been to Maine,” recalls Linkovich. “J wanted to see what it was all about. At the time, I didn’t expect to be here very long. But I don’t regret it.” Linkovich said he became very comfortable being a part of the Bowdoin family. “I just feel very good about the people I was associated with,” said Linkovich. “I didn't see many rotten apples. I enjoyed working with them. I enjoyed my time at Bowdoin.” Linkovich earned the affectionate sobriquet “Big Daddy” providing care and counseling to Bowdoin athletes and coaches during his long tenure. “I can t remember who pinned that on me or how it started,” said Linkovich. “Maybe it’s because I was a father figure.” Linkovich was 31 before he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. Born in Monaca, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgn, he graduated from Monaca High School in 1941, just before the outbreak of World War IT. After four years of service in Europe with the 70th Infantry Division “trailblazers’’ he returned to civilian life and work in the steel mills. But in January, 1951, he started college and finished two and one half years later. He then enrolled in a graduate program at Springfield College. It was here that Mike Linkovich, infantryman, steel worker, physical education student, began the route that would take him to Bowdoin. “I really enjoyed a course taught by Erastus Pennock,” said Linkovich. ““That’s what led to my interest in becoming an athletic trainer. “He (Pennock) said ‘don’t be a stranger’ so I wasn’t and learned a lot. At the end of the year (1954) he told me Bowdoin had an opening.” and a mentor at Springfield was the cousin of Herb Pennock ““The Knight of Kennett Square” who compiled a 240-161 record over 23 Major League seasons, including two tours with the Boston Red Sox. As the years on campus went by, Linkovich became as much a part of the campus as the Bowdoin pines. in 1967 he was made an honorary member of the Bowdoin Alumni Association. He is an honorary member of two classes, 1958 and 1959. Mike and his wife Virginia, a native of Nashua, N.H. have been married for 40 years. [hey are the parents of two sons, Steven, a 1984 Bowdoin graduate and a vice president at State Street Bank in Quincy, MA; and Michael, who followed a career in physical therapy after graduating from Northeastern. Linkovich earned many national and regional honors including induction in 1982 into the National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame. in 1980 he was the recipient of the Bowdoin Alumni Council Award presented for outstanding service and devotion to Bowdoin College. He is a member of the Davis and Elkins and Beaver County, Pa.Halls of Fame. From Bowdoin College https://athletics.bowdoin.edu/information/history/hall/linkovich In l982, Linkovich received his profession's highest honor when he was inducted into the Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington. He is also a member of the Beaver County (Pennsylvania) Sports Hall of Fame (l983), the Davis and Elkins College Athletic Hall of Fame (1993) and the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame (2000). In 1995, he received the American College Hockey Association's Jim Fullerton Award for "one who loves the purity of the sport," and in 1996 received the Maine Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame's Contribution to Amateur Football Award. In l980, he received the Bowdoin Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff in recognition of his "outstanding service and devotion to Bowdoin." From Bowdoin College February 2, 2017 by Doug Cook http://community.bowdoin.edu/news/2017/02/and-many-more-happy-95th-birthday-to-legendary-mike-link-linkovich/ And Many More: Happy 95th Birthday to Legendary Mike ‘Link’ Linkovich For more than sixty years Mike Linkovich — known to nearly all as “Link” (though there was a time when Bowdoin athletes would call him “Big Daddy”; that’s a true story) — has been a fixture on campus. Joining the College in 1954 as athletic trainer, Link was a member of the Bowdoin staff for 40 years, and still can be seen often in the athletic equipment room, at sporting events, and in the dining halls.

Joe Linscott didn’t have the opportunity of playing organized youth baseball. For more than 25 years, however, the Farmington native has devoted himself to helping new generations in a variety of coaching and administrative positions. His dedication is underscored by numerous recognition awards: 1975, Kenneth Sills Award, Little League Manager of the Year; 1980, Augusta East Little League Field, named Joseph A. Linscott Field; 1985, American Legion Post #205 Award for “Outstanding Volunteer Service; 1994, Richard McGuire Award for Dedicated Volunteer Service; and 1995, Augusta Babe Ruth Award for Dedicated Volunteer Service. Linscott, who played football, basketball and baseball at Farmington High School, was a member of the town’s first American Legion team. He later coached Legion Post #205 in 1980-81. Linscott, a resident of Augusta, also includes service to Augusta Fast Little League - 1972-1977 - Manager and four-time All-star Manager; 1977-78, President of Augusta East Little League; and from 1976 to the present he has served as Manager, All-Star Manager, Vice President, Field Committee Chairman, Treasurer and Director of the Augusta National Guard Babe Ruth League. Since 1974 Linscott has served the Capitol Area Recreation Association - he is a charter member with a term as President in 1986. in 1954 he participated in all phases of land acquisition, design, construction and maintenance of three lighted Little League fields, professional lighted horseshoe pitching complex, two regulation-sized baseball fields and a large multi-purpose field. Linscott’s baseball tournament experience is equally impressive. In 1983 he was tournament director for the New England Babe Ruth 13 year-old tournament; 1992, tournament director of the Maine Babe Ruth 13-year-old tournament; and since 1980, he has directed the District 5 Babe Ruth tournaments. What drives Linscott’? "We didn’t even have a grammar school team, Linscott once recalled. “We’d get a ball and wrap it with tape.” So when the opportunity presented itself for Linscott to give kids what he didn't have, there was no hesitation. “I think like anyone else | just got involved because my kids were involved,” he said. “Little League brought me a great deal of satisfaction. The primary thing | try to do at this level is teach the kids fundamentals and an understanding of the game. | try to impress on the kids that every time they are on the field they are out there to win. They should play hard but yet they should conduct themselves as gentlemen. I stress good sportsmanship above everything else’. AUGUSTA — Nearly every day of the week, you’ll find Joe Linscott at Capitol Area Recreation Association’s complex of ballfields and courts. He’s one of a core group of visionaries who created a recreation complex many say is like no other in the country, and he’s protecting that vision of a place for area youth to come and play. Joe Linscott has received Le Club Calumet's Outstanding Citizen Award for the countless hours of work he has volunteered to maintain the Capitol Area Recreation Association's fields in Augusta. He’s at work even when the task at hand is as mundane as mowing acre after acre of well-groomed grass covering the baseball, softball, Little League, soccer, football and lacrosse fields along Piggery Road on land once home to a farm attached to the former Augusta Mental Health Institute. For his unending efforts, Linscott has been selected by the officers and members of Le Club Calumet for their Outstanding Citizen Award.“But at the end of the day, it’s Joe Linscott. Nobody does what Joe does.”

“Dave Littlefield is all class. He can talk to you.  He’s very warm, very intelligent but he doesn’t come across as an egotist. Didn’t then and he won’t now.’ - Bill Wilhelm, Former Head Baseball coach at Clemson University I would like to thank all the people involved in my being selected to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. Especially, I want to thank my family, Joanna my wife and our children Andrea and Derrick. I love them very much. They have supported me and sacrificed many times during my career. Also, I’d like to acknowledge my parents, Mike and Nancy Littlefield, siblings, Debbie Wang, Shelly Myhaver, Anne Foster, and Scott and Mark Littlefield, grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and the many friends that have meant so much to me through the years. Mentors have had such an influential role in my life, from Portland, Maine, to UMass, to Clemson University, to Cape Cod, and to my many years in pro baseball. I also want to thank all of them and let them know how much I appreciate their guidance, direction and friendship. - David littlefield He’s worked for 29 years in major league offices, enough time to put Portland, Maine in his rearview mirror but to hear Dave Littlefield recount his baseball journey, it’s the formative influences from his hometown that propelled him to national prominence. “Growing up in Portland, my dad (Mike) was a pitcher for Freddy Harlow at Deering, says Littlefield. Coach Harlow used to let me catch fungoes, chase foul balls and be the bat boy during games. The neighborhood boys and I played behind Deering High School all day, with an Italian and a quart of chocolate milk for lunch.” Dave played Babe Ruth ball for Joe and Pat Delaney (“the nicest guys on earth!”) and stepped up to All-Stars under the estimable Lou Tripaldi (“a real student of the game; way ahead of his time with what he taught us”). Dave played for the legendary Edson Hadlock at Portland High School, winning state championships his sophomore and junior years. “Coach Hadlock was a great man and mentor. He was tough but he taught me a lot about baseball and life,” says Littlefield. Dave pastimed for two summers for the Andrews Post legion team under the gruff command of Frank Archer (“a different guy, but smart like a fox and hard nosed”) and the amiable Dave Quinn. “Looking back, I was so lucky to have so many coaches with excellent experience who helped me learn how to compete and train at the skill work and mental aspects of baseball,” said a grateful Littlefield. Though he had a football scholarship waiting for him at UMass, Dave opted to give pro ball a whirl and spent three seasons in the Phillies and Yankees organizations, toiling in the minor league backwaters of Spartanburg, Rocky Mount and Paintsville. “My minor league career was a great experience,” recounts Littlefield, “but not real successful. I was a catcher but hit like a pitcher.” Returning home, Dave coached his brothers Scott and Mark in Babe Ruth and assisted Ron Lemieux on the 1981 All-Star team that went to the World Series. Littlefield finally took up that football scholarship in the fall of 1981 at UMass but blew out his knee covering a punt in the last game of the season. His football career ended, Dave walked in to the UMass head baseball coach Dick Bergquist’s office and asked if he could volunteer and help coach the catchers. That modest assignment was the spark that led to a career in coaching, recruiting and evaluating players. Littlefield coached at UMass for 3 years, adding 2 summers coaching at Orleans in the Cape Cod League. He earned his undergraduate degree in Marketing in 1984 and added a masters in Sports Management in 1988. Littlefield’s coaching career really took off when he was hired as a full-time assistant to Bill Wilhelm, the legendary head baseball coach at Clemson University. From 1986-88, Dave was instrumental in helping Clemson to a resurgence in its baseball program and a perennial major college powerhouse. “Bill Wilhelm helped me in so many ways,” Littlefield acknowledged, coaching, recruiting, looking at the game, developing work habits, grit and toughness.” Littlefield’s recruiting prowess at Clemson caught the eye of Detroit Tigers scouting director Jax Robertson who hired Dave as a scout. He became the East Coast scouting supervisor for the Tigers in 1989 and after three years with the Tigers, joined the Montreal Expos as a national cross-checker in 1992. After two and a half years with Montreal, Littlefield became the Florida Marlins Assistant GM under the tutelage of Dave Dombrowski. From 2001 through 2007, he was the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following his departure from the Pirates, he served a seven-season stint as a major league scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was hired by the Tigers as a major league scout in 2014 and the following year was promoted to Vice President of Player Development, the position he holds today. Dave Littlefield’s long and respected run as an executive at the highest levels of professional baseball’s front offices no doubt affords him the option of having more than an Italian and a quart of chocolate milk for lunch, though you get the feeling he’d be right at home doing so with brothers Scott and Mark and his Portland High teammates. The Maine Baseball Hall of Fame is proud to open its doors to a native son who continues to have a national impact on the game. http://old.post-gazette.com/pirates/20020331bbsecdavemainp6.asp "Scouting and player development is the way to go," Littlefield said. "It's just a more efficient way to get things done in the market we're in. I don't see that there's any magic going on in any other organizations. We have to be more efficient. We have to make good decisions. We can do it." Click link for video. https://www.foxsports.com/detroit/story/talking-tigers-farm-system-with-dave-littlefield-videos-090318

I want to thank my wife Cathy, daughter Melissa and son BL for tolerating all of the late meals they had to put up with. Most years I coached from March to November. Though, traveling to away games and tournaments was almost always a good time. I would like to thank my former players who wrote letters on my behalf to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. A special thank you to Aaron Vachon who spearheaded the effort through social media. I had no idea until I received the “call”. - Bob Lippert “I know he has changed my life for the better and will change anyone else’s life that is lucky enough to call him Coach.” - Kevin Brunelle “I don’t know one kid who has had the privilege of being coached by Coach Lippert and doesn’t look back fondly on the man. With Coach, you win at baseball, but more importantly, you learn how to win in life.” - Jason Burns “I wouldn’t be the man I am today without his caring, tough love, lessons on how to deal with adversity, always standing behind his players…and doing the little things right.” - Mike Greve “From the age of 9 until I graduated from high school, Coach Lippert was a mainstay at my games and practices. He was a coach who inspired, taught, loved, disciplined and won. I always looked forward to seeing Coach Lippert and learning about America’s pastime from such a remarkable coach and man.” - Aaron Vachon “Coach Lippert didn’t just enhance the level of baseball being played in the city of Augusta...he made the entire city of Augusta a better place by molding generations of boys into men.” - Trever Benedict Bob was born in a Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia to Bob and Alice Lippert in 1950. He was the middle child between older sister, Pauline, and younger sister, Faith. His father was a career Navy man, so the Lippert family moved every two to three years. It may come as a surprise to some that Bob’s deep passion for baseball actually started with his exposure to fast pitch softball. His dad was an outstanding pitcher who pitched in the All-Navy tournament several times and the All-World tournament once. While Bob’s father was stationed in Cheltenham, Maryland (1957-1960), Bob was the bat boy & shagged balls during batting practice. The Navy base team played games in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, and Bob always tagged along on their road trips. The team traveled from Washington D.C. to Brunswick, Maine in 1960 to play in the Eastern Regional Tournament. Ironically, Bob didn’t make that trip, and he wouldn’t reach Maine for another 5 years. He first played organized baseball in Little League on Andrews Air Force base in Maryland. The teams were the Rockets, Missiles, Bombers, Fighters, Jets…names that have likely changed since then. In the Fall of 1960, Bob’s father was transferred to the island of Adak in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, where there was no organized baseball. Instead, there were a lot of pick up games with six or seven on a side and opposite field hits that were automatic outs. Next, his family moved to San Miguel in the Philippines. There, Bob started his high school career playing shortstop as an eighth grader, and played short again his freshman year. In 1965, Bob’s father was transferred to Winter Harbor, Maine, where Bob played third base for Ellsworth High. The Eagles were the Penobscot Valley Conference Class L champions in 1966 and 1967. He was a captain in 1968, but unfortunately the Eagles did not three-peat. As a freshman at the University of Georgia, Bob planned on walking on the baseball team, but instead he walked on the freshman football team, marking the end of his organized baseball playing days. His new passion was football, and he played one year in the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1973. After football ended, Bob started his working career in 1974 with the U.S. Geological Survey in Augusta, where he stayed until 2000. His passion for kids led him to his next role, teaching at Hall-Dale High School for nine years. Bob is now retired, but works almost full time at Easy Mart convenience store in Augusta, where he’s been since 2010. Bob and his wife, Cathy, were married in September of 1976. They have 2 children, a daughter, Melissa, and a son, BL. His football days not long behind him and his family in place, Bob started coaching football at Cony High School in 1981. Bob still coaches the Rams today, alongside his son, BL, who is the head coach. Cony won the Class B Football State Championship in 2013, with both father and son on the coaching staff. Over on the diamond, his coaching career began with Augusta North Little League in 1987. Augusta North didn’t have a Tee Ball League, so Bob organized the first Tee Ball League and coached Melissa and BL. He coached his children in Farm League, and also began coaching the Augusta North Little League All-Star team in 1989. Augusta North won the Little League State Championship in 1990 and 1991, making Augusta North the first league in Maine to ever win back-to-back Maine State Titles. Committed to volunteering with kids of all ages, during his “down time” from Augusta North, Bob also began to help Cony High School coach Jeff Trundy (’13) with the Cony varsity team. In 1995, Bob officially moved into the Cony dugout where he stayed until 2000. During Bob’s tenure, Cony played in the Eastern Maine Class A Finals in 1995, 1996, 1998-2000. They lost the State Championship game in 1998 and 1999. In 1995, Bob began coaching Augusta Babe Ruth baseball, and has coached All Star teams at a variety of levels. He coached 13 year-old All Star teams to the State Title in 1995, 1998 and 2016. His Augusta 14 year-old All Star teams won State Titles in 2006 and 2017. Lastly, his Augusta 13-15 year-old All Star teams won State Titles in 1997 and 2007. Both teams also won the New England Regional Championship and advanced to the World Series, held in Washington in 1997, and in Alabama in 2007. Along the way, Bob also had a few teams that came up short. In 2003, Bob helped coach Augusta West Little League to the State Title. In 2004, they lost 2-0 in the championship game, coming just shy of a repeat of the back-to-back titles won by the Augusta North team in the 1990’s. Bob’s 2008 Babe Ruth 13-15 year-old All Stars made it to the State Finals and lost to Westbrook, 8-6. Bob also helped coach Augusta American Legion Post 205 in 1999-2000 and again in 2008-2011. They lost State championship games in 2000, 2010 and 2011. In over 80 years, Augusta has yet to win an American Legion title. Bob is a coach who is often described as “old school” because he’s a firm and direct leader, a coach who always lets a player know where they stand, who sets clear expectations and boundaries. He’s a coach who values the importance of practice and repetition, and that repetition isn’t limited to just the drills he runs on the field. Generations of kids have heard Bob say things like “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” and “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” Many of Bob’s former players have cited life lessons learned from him on the diamond as a foundation for the adults they are today. All in all, Bob has coached with a lot of good “baseball” men. He has been fortunate to coach 9 Division I players and 32 Division III players. Augusta has been an outstanding city for baseball. From 1990 to 2011, an Augusta team played for a State Title in all but four years. In four of those years, Augusta baseball even played in two or more State Title games. He has been fortunate to coach at almost every level: Tee Ball, Farm League, Little League, Cony Middle School, Babe Ruth, Cony High School, American Legion and two years at Colby College. This year, Augusta Babe Ruth is hosting the 13-15 year-old All Stars New England Regional tournament. Augusta plays today at 4:00pm against Vermont, and Bob will be in the dugout yet again.

South Portland native, Al Livingston, has played a vital role in the scene of Maine baseball for over four decades. He has had rich experiences as a player, coach, umpire and administrator. And he loves the game! His spirit is contagious. On every level he has been a leader. At South Portland HS he was a stellar second baseman, chosen All Telly League in 1967 and team captain in 1968. From 1969 to 1972 he was playing for the University of Maine at Orono and with the Yankee Conference champions of 1971 and Varsity Co-Captain in 1972. During the summers from 1969 to 1981 he played in the Twilight Amateur League and he served in every capacity: Middle infielder, manager, GM, recruiter and fundraiser with a record of 201-96. Al has coached at South Portland (45-20) Westbrook HS, and is presently at Cheverus (30-22-1). As an administrator, Al has been president of both the Twilight League and Telegram League in the 80s and 90s - and he often times served as statistician. Al and Anne have three adult children - sons, Todd and Aron, and daughter Kristi, all were SP letter winners.

Abel Lizotte hailed from Lewiston Maine and was first baseman for Pittsburgh of the national league in 1896 . From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Lizotte Abel Lizotte (April 13, 1870, in Lewiston, Maine – December 4, 1926, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1896. He made his major league debut on September 17, 1896, and he played in his final game on September 26 of that year. In seven big league games, he hit .103 with three runs scored and three RBI. He collected three hits in 29 at bats. Lizotte also spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues, hitting .292 in 1,023 games. In 1895, with the Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons, Lizotte hit .333 with 111 runs and 29 triples in 109 games. In 1901, with the Wheeling Stogies, Lizotte hit .330 in 127 games. In 1907 and 1908, he managed the minor league Wilkes-Barre Barons.

Harry Lord was a player whose record speaks volumes and who never backed off from field exchanges with Cobb. Third baseman Lord, who felt Cobb's flying feet many times and had the slash marks on his legs to prove it, always defended Cobb's playing style. Recalled his widow, Hazel Hannaford of Cape Elizabeth, "Harry said Ty was entitled to the base paths. The trick was to give him his running room and keep the ball between Cobb and the bag. Easier said than done of course" Lord, who hailed from Porter originally, captained Red Sox and Chicago White Sox teams before jumping to the Federal League as Buffalo manager.. Vern Putney Portland Press Herald sports February 1969 From American Society for Baseball Research This article was written by Will Anderson This biography originally appeared in Will Anderson’s self-published 1992 book Was Baseball Really Invented in Maine? https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/7ef30196 Another couple of miles west and New Hampshire could have claimed Harry Lord as a New Hampshire native. Porter, Maine – where our guardian of the hot corner was born on March 8, 1882 – is that close to the state line. But Mainers take pride in the Porter lad, for Harry Lord was a ballplayer’s ballplayer. Growing up in Kezar Falls, Lord learned an early love of the game, and went on to star in it – and football, as well – at Bridgton Academy. From there it was on to Bates, where he again excelled in both sports. It was at Bates that he first came to consider baseball as a possible career. As Harry explained years later, “As a little chap I played the game, but never with any thought or desire to use baseball as a means of gaining a livelihood. In fact, I had ambitions in other fields. During my high-school baseball days I gave the team the best that was in me, yet I never regarded the game with serious thought until I entered Bates College. There I settled down to study baseball. The further I advanced in baseball the more I saw in the line of making plays. The game interested me beyond the mere physical enjoyment derived.” Harry played the better part of three seasons with the Red Sox, as they renamed themselves beginning in 1908. With the Sox, he developed into one of the game’s premier third basemen. He was of the old school: If he couldn’t stop the ball with his glove he’d stop it with his chest. He gave way to no man on the basepaths either. That included Ty Cobb. In fact, Cobb so respected Lord’s fiercely competitive play – and vice versa, it should be noted – that they became fast friends off the field. And Harry was no slouch with the bat. In his first full season in the majors, 1908, he contributed a .259 average, 23 steals, and 61 runs scored. The Boston Post wrote: “The crowd alwtook 59ays looks to Lord or Amby McConnell to start something. They gen­erally succeed, too.” In 1909 Harry really came into his own, leading all Red Sox regu­lars – one of whom was Tris Speaker – with a .315 mark. His stolen base and runs scored counts also increased measurably, to 36 and 89, respectively. The Boston Globe in September honored him by writing, “Harry Lord is by all odds the best run getter among the third basemen of the American League.” After the demise of the Federal League, Harry came home to New England. He managed and held down third base for the New England League’s Lowell Grays in 1916. The following year he was with Portland in the Eastern League, batting .266 in 102 games, and in 1918 he managed in Jersey City. Harry then tried his hand in the grocery business: He purchased a store in South Portland, close to his home in Cape Elizabeth. It afforded him plenty of time to do one of the things he enjoyed most: share life with his wife and his son and daughter. He loved to hunt and fish, too. He also kept close to the game. He coached at South Portland High, was player-manager of a semipro team, later managed a spirited Dixfield nine. In 1925 Harry went into the coal business as co-proprietor of the Portland Lehigh Coal Company. He remained in that work the rest of his life. After several years of a lingering illness, the great old third baseman passed away in Westbrook on August 9, 1948. His one regret: that he had exited the White Sox before the Black Sox infamy of 1919. He was a leader among the Sox players, was trusted by them. “I’m sure,” he voiced in his later years, “that if I could have been there, Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver, whom I still don’t believe were in it, and the others would have listened to me. I could have stopped it if I’d had to punch the ringleader in the nose.” And that’s probably exactly what Harry Lord, if that’s what it would have taken, would have done. From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Lord Third baseman Born: March 8, 1882 Porter, Maine Died: August 9, 1948 (aged 66) Westbrook, Maine Batted: Left Threw: Right MLB debut September 25, 1907, for the Boston Americans Last MLB appearance September 27, 1915, for the Buffalo Blues MLB statistics Batting average .277 Home runs 14 Runs batted in 294 Stolen bases 206 Teams Boston Americans/Red Sox (1907–1910) Chicago White Sox (1910–1914) Buffalo Blues (1915)

Hal Loubier, a native of Ashland, was such an outstanding pitcher in schoolboy and American Legion with his sneaky fastball and sharp curve that it became elementary for him to transform that ingrained knowledge of balls and strikes into a long and honored career as an umpire. Loubier, now a salesman settled in South Portland, joined the Western Maine Board of Umpires in 1956 and twice served as its’ president. But he only took to umpiring after his “rubber arm” gave out. When the arm was in working order, Loubier, who had a few major league tryouts, owned a splendid strikeout record and a stellar won-lost percentage. At Sanford High, in 1934, captain Loubier compiled a 7-3 record, including three shutouts. He finished the year with 113 strikeouts in 84 innings and for good measure fostered a microscopic 0.98 earned run average. The two-time All-Telegram League selection also took the mound for the Thomas W. Cole Post of Sanford in American Legion competition. In 1933, he lost to a powerful Mobile, Ala., nine in the Eastern U.S. Legion finals, but he went 14 innings and struck out 15. before losing 5-2 on errors. A short-lived career for the Sanford Independents and semi-pro ball in the Canadian Provincial League followed. He managed a 8-2 standard, averaging 14 whiffs a game, in his last season ever, before his arm gave out, in the Canadian League. Loubier, stocky in his playing days, is probably best remembered for his curve ball. Some consider it as fine a curve as anyone from the state ever threw. It set up his fastball and tough-to-handle change of pace. Loubier was also a slashing hitter, usually capable of batting over .300. Moreover, he was a battler on the mound.