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Barry Roderick was a slick shortstop for more than 20 years, eight in organized ball as the property of Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. He played with and against such stars as Dave Parker, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Rick Sutcliff, Pedro Guerraro, Butch Wynegar, Gary Ward, Alfredo Griffin and Ron Hassey. Yet his special personal triumph came in his final season, in 19841n Portland. After missing the 1983 campaign because of a cancer operation, Roderick battled back to win the local Twilight League’s Most Valuable Player Award. He played at all levels — Little League, Babe Ruth, Oxford Hills High, American Legion, Pine Tree League, Amherst College, Cape Cod League (All-Star team 1969 and all-New England shortstop 1970.) He signed with the Minnesota Twins following his Junior year at Amherst. His first season was spent in the Class A New York Penn League. During the final week, he connected for a rare homer in the bottom of the ninth to win a game and clinch the league championship. He made the all-star team. Roderick was a second team all-star pick the next year in the Class A Florida State League, then an all-star choice in the Class A Carolina League. He moved up to the Class AA Southern League, then Triple A Pacific Coast and Triple A International Leagues. Biggest influences, he says, were dad Roger, former standout Pine Tree League player; grandfather Harold Pratt, avid fan and former player, and Bill Thurston, Amherst College coach, former Detroit Tiger prospect and a widely-known national and international coach and teacher from Norway Now a bank executive and Windham resident, Roderick can look back on a memorable career.

The baseball record of Marty Roop arcs a good portion of the state, from Millinocket to Bowdoin College to Lisbon Falls, and spans a career that carved a lasting niche at each stop along the way. Marty grew up in Millinocket and played third base for Stearns High School under legendary coach George Wentworth. Roop, a three-sport athlete, and his Minutemen were Eastern Maine Class A champions in 1954, losing to Stephens High of Rumford in the state title game. Roop was a three-year letterman in football as well as a two-year starting pitcher at Bowdoin College under the fabled Deacon Danny MacFayden. Marty’s contribution to college life extended well beyond the diamond, serving as Class President and demonstrating an unswerving commitment to his fellow Polar Bears, a quality for which he was later recognized as a “Foot Soldier for Bowdoin” by his classmates for his ongoing dedication to organizing class reunions. Following his graduation from Bowdoin in 1958, Marty, married and with three children, settled in Lisbon and resumed his baseball career with the Lisbon Merchants of the Andy County League. He was out of the state, and baseball, for the next four years, but upon his return, played one more season for the Merchants before catching on with a rejuvenated Lisbon entrant to the league, the Roberts 88’ers, named for Roberts Pharmacy, the team’s sponsor, which was founded in 1888. Roop pitched and caught for the 88’ers from 1964 through 1969, winning the Auburn Twilight League every year during that span and the State Yankee Amateur Baseball Congress in 1964 and 1965. Roop pitched a shutout and drove in two runs in a 3-0 win over Dixfield in the 1964 state final and went on to post a 3-1 win over Connecticut in the regional tournament where the 88’ers finished second overall. Bolstered by Roop and his pitching mate, Bob Baumer, the thunderous bats of Dave Begos, Stan Doughty (MBHOF ’09), and George Ferguson (MBHOF ’10), and the slick fielding of Dick Pohle, the Lisbon 88’ers were the equal of any Maine town team during their heyday in the mid-1960’s. Though Marty’s active playing career ended after the 1969 season, he and fellow Hall of Famer Stan Doughty were instrumental in organizing the Lisbon Little League which counted over 100 youngsters playing ball throughout the summer. Stan and Marty coached Little League for two years before moving on to manage the Coombs Montfort Post American Legion team for five more seasons. More recently, Marty coached ten years in a fifth- and sixth-grade basketball program in Lisbon and helped in the organization of several adult sports programs in town. Marty and his wife Mary Jane are the proud parents of four children and can boast of ten grandchildren and two great-grandsons. That’s a total of sixteen sets of ears to hear the inspiring baseball legacy of Marty Roop. https://dailysun.bowdoin.edu/2011/04/profile-charles-marty-roop-%E2%80%9958-bowdoin-magazine/

Harland Stimpson Rowe, better known to baseball followers as “Hypie,” was sent to Hebron Academy by his father Hiram in 1912 to frustrate future athletic pursuits. You're going up there to get a good education not to become an athlete,” his father told him. Nonetheless, the quiet and unassuming Rowe pulled off a bit of a flim flam (going by the name of H. Stimpson, that being his middle name) to excel in sports there. Especially baseball, his career culminating this year in his selection to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. Hypie's son, Richard, said of his father’s deception: ‘“‘My father thought he was getting away with something at Hebron, but his father wasn’t a stupid man. The whole charade coming to an end when his parents decided to visit the school on the same day of a baseball game.”’ From shortstop duties at Hebron, Hypie moved to the University of Maine where he starred in baseball and track. The Springvale native next put a year under his belt in the big leagues with Connie Mack's Philadelphia A’s in 1916. But Rowe, a third baseman then, only lasted one season in the Pros. He refused to play in the minors. Known for his sense of humor, Rowe died at age 73 in 1969. Old-timers thought his nomination to the Baseball Hall of Fame should have come sooner and, in essence, lobbied for him. One such campaigner was Limerick’s Joe Goss, a Maine Baseball Hall of Famer himself; who says of Hypie: “The most important thing was he was such a good man. I can remember when we played ball and I was just a kid. He’d come up after a ballgame, pat a person on the back and say ‘Good Game.’ I was just in awe of him. But he treated everybody so kindly.” From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harland_Rowe Harland Stimson "Hypie" Rowe (April 20, 1896 – May 26, 1969), was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in 1916 with the Philadelphia Athletics of Major League Baseball. He batted left and threw right-handed. Rowe had a .139 batting average in 17 games, five hits in 36 at-bats, in his one year in the major leagues. He was born and died in Springvale, Maine. He attended the University of Maine, where he played college baseball for the Black Bears from 1914–1916.

From Aroostook County comes a big right-handed pitcher to join the HoF mound corps. “Red” Russell graduated from Fort Fairfield H.S. in 1941 after pitching for the Aroostook County champions. Following the end of World War II, baseball really took off in “The County” and the Canadian Provinces. Fort Fairfield was one of the leading teams and Russell was one of the premier pitchers. in 1946, Fort Fairfield won the Northern Aroostook League title. With money available to lure good semi-pro players and promising collegians, the baseball was very good and very competitive. In 1947, “Red” was one of only three “locals” on the “Forts” team. Ali the rest were “imports”.He was Known for his “drops” and “hooks . In 1949, Fort Fairfield hit the jackpot. The Wanderers finished their season with a sparkling 41 wins, 7 losses and 2 ties. The team was labeled “the best baseball team that ever struck Aroostook Co. or the State of Maine”. Coached by Bill Bonville, the club had six captains-elect from New England colleges including Dick Tettelbach of Yale, who later played for the Washington Senators and New York Yankees. Dick Cormier (HoF”92) at 19 was the “baby” of the team. “Red” Russell went 13 and O for this team. Also in 1949, “Birdie” Tebbetts brought a group of Major Leaguers to Maine and one of their exhibitions was in “The County’. “Big Red, as he was dubbed, opened on the mound for the Aroostook All-Stars. His line for 4 innings read 4 strikeouts, 1 hit —- O Runs. Tebbetts was quoted as saying Russell would have made the “big time” if scouts had circulated in the area when he was younger. He continued to play in the early ‘50’s but gradually focused more of his attention on golf. He worked for the police department, owned a restaurant, and retired from the Post Office several years ago. He was described as ~Big (6’0" and 200 plus), easy going, affable and a “gracious winner and good loser . He has a son John, a Fort Fairfield teacher, and a daughter, Mary. VINAL E. ‘RED’ RUSSELL FORT FAIRFIELD – Vinal E. “Red” Russell, 81 . Feb. 12, 1923 - Sept. 24, 2004

Samaklis of Lewiston was a Brooklyn Dodger farmhand,and lost what might have been his most productive pitching years as a four year member of General Patton's army team. He played for the Worumbo Indians and Milwaukee St Paul, primarily as a relief pitcher. While languishing in the high minors as Brooklyn's pennant teams reveled in deep pitching. Cincinnati reportedly was interested in his services. The dodgers were not interested in parting with their back up to the likes of Hugh Casey. Samaklis was put on 'hold". The father of golf champion Bruce played pro ball eight years, all but the last two in the dodger chain. Though he couldn't crack the Big top, Samaklis stored a raft of memories. He hurled for St Paul which represented American association in the 1948 junior World series, played with current Phillies manager Danny Ozark in '47 and the '48 St Paul cub managed by Dodger pilot Walt Alston. While with Mobile Ala of the Southern Association in 1950, maor domo Branch Rickey decked out the not so docile Bears in shorts for a trip around the circuit. "We packed the ballparks" Samaklis recalls, "but Rickey called off the idea and abandoned the comfortable outfits" The laconic Lithuanian, who signed his first pro contract with REading PA of the eastern league in '41, wond 47 and lost 19 his first three full seasons and never had an ERA higher than 2.99. He returned to the Spindle City with a trunkful of clippings and a flock of pleasant associations as he is a postman for the USPS . Vern Putney PPH 11/20/1977 From Baseball Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=samakl001cha Charles Samaklis Position: Relief Pitcher Bats: Left • Throws: Right 6-2, 188lb (188cm, 85kg) Born: February 13, 1919 (Age: 100-161d) Full Name: Charles Samaklis

Though one of the younger inductees to be called by the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in recent years, Will Sanborn embodies the virtues of old-school baseball that would make the legends of 1950’s town team ball proud. A 2004 article in the St. Joseph’s College Quarterly Magazine quoted Sanborn on his coaching philosophy: “We have a philosophy that you come to practice to get better every day. You want to leave a better player than when you came in.” Sanborn’s playing career emanated entirely from his home town of Standish, Maine, first at Bonny Eagle High School, and then as a team leader and left-fielder for Coach Jim Graffam’s very competitive St. Joseph’s teams in the mid 1980’s. Will served as assistant under Phil Desjardins for two years (1991-92) before assuming head coaching duties at St. Joseph’s in 1993. During his 21 years as the Monks’ skipper, Sanborn has accumulated a 573-309-5 (.650) record with 17 championships, including 12 conference crowns, and 5 NAIA New England titles. St. Joseph’s has reached the 25-victory plateau in 14 of Sanborn’s 21 years and posted 30 or more wins on 10 occasions. Well-established as one of the best Division III baseball programs in New England, St. Joseph’s has been particularly strong over the last nine years, a spell during which the Monks have registered eight conference titles, eight NCAA tournament appearances, and eight 30-win seasons under Sanborn’s tenure. As the Assistant Athletic Director in charge of managing the athletic fields, Sanborn is largely credited with developing Larry Mahaney Diamond into one of the finest collegiate baseball fields in New England. Applying the same focused determination to field maintenance as he does to his baseball teams, Will has overseen fund-raising efforts to upgrade and improve all the ball fields at the Ward Park complex and routinely leads his team in a snow-shoveling brigade to ready the diamond for Opening Day. Beyond the on-field accomplishments of his teams, and perhaps even more enduring, is the long-term influence Sanborn impresses on his players. Pitching coach Steve Merrill (Maine Baseball Hall of Fame ’06) puts it this way: “Will embraces the link between character and performance. He strives to answer that essential question of ‘why are we doing this in the first place?’ He has high expectations for every person on the team and consistently monitors their grades and citizenship. Lessons of character are built into every day’s practice plan.” A relative youngster in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame pantheon, Will Sanborn’s career is nevertheless emblematic of the timeless qualities that Mainers most admire in their baseball heroes – an unquenchable work ethic, a team-driven unwavering commitment to teammates and players, and an abiding respect for the institution of baseball. St. Joseph’s College Chaplain Fr. John Tokaz summed it up in the Quarterly Magazine article: “He is a man who strives to bring out the best in his players by giving them the best of himself”. From St Josephs College https://www.gomonks.com/sports/bsb/coaches/Sanborn?view=bio During his 26 years as the Monks' skipper, Sanborn has accumulated a 715-377-5 (.655) record with 20 championships, including 14 conference crowns and five NAIA New England titles, and 23 winning seasons. Saint Joseph's has reached the 25-victory plateau in 19 of Sanborn's 26 years and posted 30 or more wins on 12 occasions. The Monks have been particularly strong since the start of the 2005 season. Over the last 14 years, Saint Joseph’s has posted an incredible 434-180 (.707) overall record, including an otherworldly 162-34 (.827) mark versus conference foes. Over this 14-year span, St. Joe’s has made eight NCAA DIII Tournament appearances with an ECAC Tournament berth in 2005. In the New England Regional, the Monks have been seeded as high as #2 on a pair of occasions and have won 11 NCAA tourney games, including 10 over the past four appearances. In yet another testament to the program’s winning ways, Saint Joseph’s has notched at least 30 victories in 10 of the past 14 seasons – a feat achieved by just two other New England programs.

“Baseball has created many wonderful opportunities for me and it has been a great part of my life. There have been so many individuals who have helped me grow and learn through my journey of life and baseball. I was blessed to have had so many great coaches, teammates, and players during my career. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made this unbelievable honor possible.” -John sawyer “Well if you followed baseball in the 80’s and 90’s, you knew where Narraguagus was. In short order, with John Sawyer at the helm, Narraguagus High School Baseball was on the map. Games were where we were able to utilize our skills. I can remember the confidence Coach Sawyer had given us. We were taught to own our mistakes and to pick each other up when they were made.” -Dan Curtis Having lunch in a restaurant in the Columbia / Columbia Falls area with John Sawyer is a lot like having lunch with LeBron James in downtown Cleveland; you are dining with a celebrity. Everyone stops by your table to say hello and that. They are all warm and friendly. It is a good bet that John is ahead of The King on that score. It does not take long to see the degrees of respect and affection John is held in Downeast, and both are well deserved given his record as a coach, teacher, athletic administrator, elementary principal, and high school principal. So, how did a young man from Belgrade, Maine, end up a fixture among the lobster traps on that beautiful piece of the Maine coast? Well, read on. Life for John began on November 27, 1954 in Augusta. His parents, the late Oral Sawyer and Katherine Bradley, supported his athletic endeavors from a young age. John shared the house and his parents’ attention with three siblings, two sisters and a brother. All were older than he. A retired Maine wildlife biologist named Ron Joseph, who was a childhood friend and teammate of John’s at Messalonskee High School, painted a detailed picture of young John when he wrote an online piece entitled, “Maine high school baseball in the sixties; it was a different time,” in April of 2014. Those of us “of a certain age” will find plenty to smile and reminisce about while reading the piece including the absence of dugouts and batting cages, the presence of a badly shedding moose ensconced in left field at game time, and an ill fated ring-billed gull which fell victim to a vicious line drive off the bat of Tommy Bragg. Mr. Joseph saved some of his best descriptive work for a certain pitcher. “ Our best pitcher was a boisterous character named Johnny Sawyer, a 5 foot 10 inch Belgrade farm kid who weighed a mere 120 pounds. Johnny’s rangy physique belied his baseball skills. He was a crafty left hander who froze overconfident hitters with a deadly accurate slider and a slow, Major League curveball.” Well, you can see the makings of the rest of the story. Joseph points out that there was much more to the whole package, “A consummate teammate, Sawyer kept players loose with colorful homespun metaphors. From the on-deck circle, Johnny often called timeout to offer advice during a teammate’s at bat. ‘Work a walk’, he’d say in a downeast accent, ‘Their pitcher can’t hit the broadside of a barn with a pitchfork.’ During a tense playoff game, as I approached the batter’s box, Johnny walked along side with words of encouragement. ‘Take him deep and make him weep.” Mr. Joseph also points out that John was quick to temper wild enthusiasm with insightful logic. A farmer might say the seed was in the ground and growing well. And the seed did prosper. At Messalonskee, John was a four -sport athlete participating in football, cross country, basketball, and baseball, the latter two for four years each. It was in baseball he made his mark. Messalonskee won the Mountain Valley Conference title three consecutive years during his stay. In 1972 he was named Best Pitcher on the squad. The following year he was named Co-Best Pitcher and Best Hitter. His 1972-73 overall record was 14-2 with 191 strikeouts and 39 walks in 109 innings. His ERA was 0.39. As a co-captain he also hit .410 (23 hits in 56 at bats) had 15 stolen bases, 14 RBIs. The 1973 team won a state championship against Orono 2-1 in ten innings. He also threw a no- hitter against Leavitt that season and defeated Telstar in a game in which he struck out seventeen and walked one. No wonder the Waterville Elks Lodge named him Messalonskee Athlete of the Year that year. Then it was on to the University of Maine where from 1974 to 1977 he played for three hall of fame coaches: Jack Butterfield, John Winkin, and Stump Merrill. You could say he picked up a few things there. In 1974 UMaine was Yankee Conference Champions, likewise in 1975 and runner up in the Northeast Regional. In 1976 the Black Bears won the new England Championship, the Northeast Regional, and placed fourth in the College World Series. John’s complete game versus Seton Hall decided the regional and sent the Bears on to Omaha. He pitched the opener in the Series, losing 3-2 in spite of surrendering only five hits. John also played in the Portland Twilight League (outstanding pitcher in 1975), for the Farmington Flyers, the Machias Bruins in the Quoddy League, and for the Woodstock Shiretowners in New Brunswick where he was Outstanding Pitcher and League MVP with a record of 11-1. In 1979, John married Pamela (Rankin), his wife of 37 years. They are the proud parents of Douglas, age 33, who lives in Belgrade with wife Chelsea and daughter Evelyn; and Allison who lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband Roel Verhaak and twin sons Benjamin and Olivier. In January of 1978, he also began his teaching career and subsequently his coaching career at Narraguagus. And coach he did. His career from 1983 to 1995 record is 167-46. His teams won Downeast Athletic Conference titles in 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 94 and 95. The Knights won a State Championship in 1986 defeating Oak Hill. They were Eastern Maine Runners Up in 1985 and 1989. In 1995, they won another Eastern Maine Championship. Like Mr. Joseph who spoke to us earlier, John’s players had some things to say. Dan Curtis, Baseball Coach at Ellsworth High School - “Well if you followed baseball in the 80’s and 90’s, you knew where Narraguagus was. In short order, with John Sawyer at the helm, Narraguagus High School Baseball was on the map. Games were where we were able to utilize our skills. I can remember the confidence Coach Sawyer had given us. We were taught to own our mistakes and to pick each other up when they were made.” Todd Emerson - “We have always held that we were not the best athletes, but rather Coach Sawyer had done such a great job of teaching us the game and building a cohesive unit that we were able to overcome that...” Jeremy Ray, Superintendent of Schools, Biddeford – “These lessons in coaching, leadership, and life have continued to be valuable to this very day.”

Galen Sayward was born and brought up in the Eastern Maine town of Guilford, the son of Elmer and Dorothy Sayward. Involved in all sports from an early age, he played baseball and basketball during his school years in that town. Many afternoon after school pick-up ball was played. Junior High baseball and then High School ball took much of his time during the springs from 1945-1948. With his father having been the manager of the Guilford Advertisers in the old Penquis League for most of his young life, he spent many summer hours at the old ball park down by the river in the south end of town. It was there that such players as Jackie Feehan, Don Drossel, Dick Theriault and the Holmes brothers, Allen and Bob, help them to shape a lifestyle and interest that would stay with him for much of his life. In the winter of 1948, Galen transferred to Farmington when his father took a new position in that town. In addition to playing on the high school’s last champion basketball team; skiing, running track, playing in the band, and, in his senior year, playing football for the first time, winning his letter in each, he won his letter at baseball. He pitched on occasion, played a lot of infield, and even filled in in the outfield when necessary. During the summer of 1949, he played Junior Legion ball under the direction of Addison Linscott. During the next summer after graduating from high school, he played for the Farmington Townies in the North Franklin League and as well as being added to the roster of the Farmington Flyers as “bench strength”. Galen batted over .300 over the next four years while filling in that manner and was used in the outfield and infield both. In the fall of 1950, Galen headed for Bowdoin College. He played varsity ball at Bowdoin under Dan McFadden. It was during these years that Coach McFadden taught him true versatility. He was used at second base, center field, right field, third base and finally, during his senior year, was taught how to catch and shared these duties throughout the season. His playing time with the Flyers continued during those years and by the 1953 had become a regular player for the Flyers. Along with friend and Bowdoin roommate, Billy Linscott, Galen had become one of the very last players in the Down East League that had played throughout the Leagues existence up to this point. With the demise of the Down East league, he headed to Portland and played in summer for Wholesale Tire in the Twilight League with the likes of Freeman “Skin” Dulac. In 1955 while in the Army at Fort Dix, Galen was selected to play second base for his battalion team during his basic training! He was the only person in Fort Dix history to play while also fulfilling his obligations to his training. After being shipped to Japan, he was player-manager for the Fukakusa Falcons, a team playing all over southern Japan from its home field in Kyoto. Following graduation from Bowdoin, now firmly established as a third baseman, he returned to Farmington and played again for the Flyers. After a couple of years with the Flyers, he played for the Turner Townies and the next season with the Tri-Towners of Jay-Livermore Falls. That team was a semi-finalist in the National YABC Tournament held in Battle Creek, Michigan, and included HOF members Drig Fournier and Bobbie Miller. After those years with Turner and Tri-Town, he helped resurrect the Flyers after they had dropped out of semi-pro ball for a couple of years. He soon took on the responsibility of Player-manger and his teams won the Pine Tree League several times under his direction. Galen taught and coached at Leavitt Institute in Turner, New Sharon, Rangeley and Farmington and assisted old friend Warren “Red” Dean in the development of a very competitive Class A baseball program when Mt. Blue High School was created in 1968. He did some umpiring and played his last game in the Pine Tree League at the age of 41 in 1973. Galen continues to live in Farmington where he and his wife, Virginia, own and operate Troll Valley Campground. http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/features/a-season-to-remember-the-farmington-high-school-state-basketball-champions-of-1949/

“To the gods, to the fates, to the rulers of men and their destinies!” goes a line in the bridge part of the world-famous University of Maine “Stein Song.” Well, the diamond gods or fates weren’t very kind to Portland’s Dave Schoppee, but they can’t take away from the sturdy catcher-turned pitcher, a ten-year professional baseball career - frustrating though it eventually became, that any Pine Tree Stater would be justly proud of. Ultimately, Dave became just one step away from the majors before yielding to the joint handicap of tendinitis and a bullpen surplus for the parent Boston Red Sox. He did make the Sox’ 40-man camp roster three straight years but the call-up never came despite the fact that he had twice led the Eastern League (AA) and the International loop (AAA) once in a three year Span. Schoppee, 6-3 and usually around 205 pounds in his pro journey, was an all-star at various stages from Little League on. As a Deering High sophomore, he caught for Deering High’s repeat state Class A champions in 1973 under legendary coach Fearless Freddy Harlow (HoF ‘74). in “74, Dave was named the catcher on the All-Telegram League team. In ‘75, Harlow converted Schoppee to pitcher and all he did was fashion a 5-0 regular season record with a sharp assortment and excellent control, adding a key three-hit, 21 strikeout shutout victory in the playoffs with South Portland for repeat All-Telly honors en route to the league Championship. Schoppee soon signed with the Sox in the 16th round of the draft to start his mixed experience in the minors. For one reason or another, Dave lingered for five seasons at the Class A level (New York-Penn, Florida State, Carolina). In time, he realized he couldn’t blow the ball by batters the way he did in high school, so he developed an effective sinker and helpful forkball and in the process was switched from starter to reliever. At last, it appeared Schoppee had found his proper niche. Promoted to the Sox’ Double-A club at Bristol, Conn., in the Eastern League, he compiled two glittering campaigns back-to-back, 1980, ‘81, league Fireman of the Year and team MVP each season. Dave went 8-3 with 19 saves and a 2.64 ERA in ‘80: 8-2 with 22 Saves and 1./6 for the league champions with a victory and two saves in the 81 playoffs. Came ‘82 and the at-long-last promotion to the Sox’ Triple-A club at Pawtucket that brought an ironic mixture: Schoppee led the league in Saves with 15, but he dipped to 4-6 and a 3.26 ERA, and his always favorable walks and hits per inning ratio increased. Tendinitis, stemming from overwork in winter ball in Puerto Ricotook its toll. He was 3-2 with a 6.58 ERA in ‘83. And while he still made the Sox 40-man roster for ‘84 camp, the call up never came and he was released instead. Schoppee nonetheless looked at his experience as “10 good seasons In professional baseball. I was invited to three major league training camps, and gave it my best shot and that’s all anybody can do. plus I have plenty of good memories and I’ve made lots of friends.” Dave Schoppee David Lawrence Schoppee Born: April 24, 1957 in Bangor, Maine, USA http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=94648

Job loyalty and Sid Schwartz are synonymous. The South Portland resident was American Legion state baseball chairman from 1954 through 1980, longest reign ever in the U.S. His 43 years as a printer included a stay from 1946 through retirement in 1975 at the Portland Press Herald. The 1931 Portland High graduate’s 20 years on the South Portland City Council features five terms as mayor. Both stints are records. Success didn’t come easily for the youngster raised in the shadow of Portland’s famed Bayside Park. Aspiring catcher Schwartz didn’t see much high school playing time. In three seasons he competed against two team captains. The Lancaster A.C. backstop and his chance as a senior. As administrator, planner and loyalist, though, Sid may have been No. 1. In the late ’40s and early ’50s, four-year coach Schwartz guided the S.P. Stewart P. Morrill American Legion Post team to two state titles and a Region One semi final berth. In 1954, Schwartz was appointed chairman of the National Americanism Commission for baseball. This body regulates all working elements of the 14,000-team Legion program, allocates regional and national tournaments to states, and selects tournament umpires. Needless to say, Schwartz remains a commission member, frequently attending functions at Indianapolis, Ind., headquarters. The best player in American Legion baseball is awarded the Sid Schwartz Most Valuable Player award.

One of Maine’s finest three-sport high school athletes ever—soccer, basketball, and baseball—Dick Scott chose a career in baseball. The New York Yankees drafted him soon after his graduation from Ellsworth High School in 1981, and he has been engulfed by the game for some thirty years since. The Yankees sent him first to the Gulf Coast League, a Florida rookie league, where his teammates included future major leaguers Fred McGriff and Phil Lombardi, and he hit .235 under Manager Carlos Tosca. He was on his way. What followed was a ten-year minor league career: eight years in the Yankee system with Fort Lauderdale (A), Albany‑Colonie (AA), and the Columbus Clippers (AAA) managed by Bucky Dent; and two years with the Oakland A’s affiliate Tacoma Tigers (AAA) in the Pacific Coast League. In May 1989, the A’s called him up to Oakland, a call up that Scott says “was one of my three top moments in baseball.” Manager Tony La Russa put him in at shortstop three times and he accumulated two at bats before being sent back to Tacoma and the Tigers. But Scott calls the trip to Oakland “a dream come true.” He was a big leaguer. The A’s won the World Series that year, too, and Scott received a World Series ring for his role on the team, another of his top moments in baseball. After one more year in Tacoma as player‑coach—he hit .308 at shortstop—he retired as an active player. He had appeared in 800 minor league lineups, accumulated more than 500 hits, and been to the big leagues. Scott moved to player development; he became an instructor, a coach, a teacher. The A’s made him a minor league manager, and he earned Manager‑of‑the‑Year honors for his work with the Arizona League A’s in 1991, the Northwest League A’s in 1993, and the Modesto A’s of the California League in 1994. In Modesto he also earned Baseball Weekly’s Minor League Manager‑of‑the‑Year award. In 1997 he joined the Arizona Diamondbacks as manager of the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League (Class A). His success as manager—three of his Silver Hawks made it to the 2001 D’backs—and as D’backs’ advance scout preparing D’backs’ game plans in 1998‑2001 was key to the Diamondbacks reaching the 2001 World Series. Scott, who also helped prepare the World Series game plan against the Yankees, was present in the Arizona clubhouse during the post-seventh game celebration (“very exciting,” he says) and later received a second World Series ring for his contribution to the Arizona championship, completing his three top moments in baseball. In 2002 Scott joined the Toronto Blue Jays as Director of Player Development under General Manager J.P. Ricciardi. There he directed the turnaround success of the Blue Jays’ minor league system: three individual batting titles, one earned run average title, two most valuable players, two managers-of-the year, and three playoff teams, all in the first two years. He spent eight years with the Blue Jays looking after everything minor league—200 players, 40 staff, and the budget—before moving to the Houston Astros for a year as their minor league Field Coordinator. In 2011 the New York Mets named Sandy Alderson, whom Scott had worked with for seven years in Oakland, their General Manager, and Scott moved to the Mets. He is now the Mets’ Field Coordinator. Scott lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, now, with, he says, “a great wife named Kristin who really understands the whole baseball life … and keeps it all in balance.” Their oldest son Ryan starts at catcher for the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and their younger, Zach, is the starting shortstop for his high school varsity under coach Bill Swift (Maine Baseball HOF 2000). Player, manager, and administrator, Dick Scott is good for baseball. Mets name Dick Scott as new bench coach https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-dick-scott-new-bench-coach-article-1.2468023

Scott, and outstanding all-around athlete, was a playmaking guard on Ellsworth High's 1953-54 state championship basketball team. That Ellsworth team won 46 straight games against Maine competition. Scott was a shortstop in baseball. He played briefly in the minor leagues, then returned home to play for Eastern Maine semi-pro teams. Scott played for an eccentric character named Gifford Cochran. who carved out a baseball diamond behind his estate — complete with fences, electric scoreboard and a generous supply of new balls any time the baseball got soiled. Scott also played alongside Skip Chappelle on the Jacks Five semi pro basketball team in Old Town. The Jacks hosted top clubs from around New England. Scott coached basketball at Georges Valley High and returned to his hometown of Ellsworth, where he coached sons Dick and Jim. Son Mike was a standout baseball player at Boston College, Dick is currently an infielder in the New York Yankees organization, and Tim. a basketball player like his father, plays on the Mount Desert American Legion team. Jack Scott is an assistant coach for the Mount Desert nine.