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The Dick Scott we welcome to the Hall tonight will not be found in Will Anderson's superb Was Baseball Really invented in Maine? because he was born in Portsmouth, N.H. But he graduated from Traip Academy in Kittery and ranks as one of the top moundsmen to twirl in the Southern York County League. And he went on to climb the ladder all the way to brief appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. At Traip, where he lettered in four sports, Scott recorded some extraordinary stints. At one point in the 1953 season, he hurled five one-hitters In a row, averaging 17 K’s per game. And these were 7 inning games! In the Western Tournament, he struck out 21 In a 10-inning shutout against Cape Elizabeth - a game in which he drove in the only run. After graduation in ‘53, Dick was signed to a Brooklyn Dodger contract, but the U.S. Army got first grabs. The stellar left-hander had a distinguished pitching career working for Uncle Sam. In one game, he struck out 19 to establish a Panama Armed Forces League record - thereby gaining mention in the Sporting News. He was Selected to the Armed Forces All-star team. Dick's pro career began in 1955 with the Class D Georgia club. In his first season in the Dodger system, he had 251 strikeouts in 216 innings and led Georgia-Florida League with a 2.13 ERA. With these credits, he made the All-Star team and was selected as Rookie pitcher of the year. He continued to labor in the Dodger system until 1963. in 1959, he pitched winter baseball in Nicaragua with an 8-2 mark. He beat Venezuela in the Caribbean Series, 2-1. After toiling at Spokane in the Pacific Coast League (AAA), where he had teammates such as Jim Gentile, Maury Wills, Norm and Larry Sherry, all future Dodger stars, the 6’2”, 190 Ib. southpaw was called up to the parent L.A. Dodgers in 1963. he appeared in 9 games with no decisions. Following the '63 season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitched in three games, again with no record. Arm problems, which had plagued him earlier in his pro career, returned and he retired In 1964. Dick now resides in Thomasville, Georgia with his wife of 35 years, Jonnnie. The Scotts have three children and four grandchildren.

Seaward (Born 1912 in Dorchester MA) grew up in Kennebunkport leading the HS to two southern York county championships. Seaward both pitched and caught for the Kennebunkport Collegians, and with a crack Sanford Vemos. Teammates included Maine Hall members Paul Demers, Henry Min Desmarais and Driscoll. He also played for the Wilson Advertisers of the kennebunk and Titus Drug of the Portland Twilight league, and later played for the Glace Bay, NS Miners in 1938. Manager was Del Bissonette, another Maine Hall charter member. Seaward later managed the Bangors Bears, entering the service in mid season. Scouted by Mane hall charter member Jack Coombs and Philadelphia Athletics' batterymate Ira Thomas, Seaward tried out with the A's and was signed by famed manager Connie Mack to catch for the Pulaski Counts of the Virginia Tri-County League. The counts were league champions and Seaward was an all star team selection He's retired from the Kittery Naval Shipyard. Vern Putney PPH April 16th

“His tireless commitment to the game of baseball, his players and West Chester will be forever remembered," is an appropriate tribute to the late Dr. Neil "Ziggy" Serpico. The words are inscribed on a plaque at Serpico Stadium at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. The stadium was renamed in his honor on Sept. 17, 1989. Serpico was baseball coach a West Chester for 17 seasons, compiling a record of 296-243-5. he was inducted into the University's Hall of Fame July 14, 1989. Serpico died unexpectedly on April 27, 1987 at the age of 55. he became ill during the first game of a double-header against C.W. Post and suffered a stroke. A native of Biddeford, Serpico was a three-sport star for the Tigers. In 1950 he was an All-Telegram League third baseman with a .426 average. Serpico (he adopted his nickname from a former professional basketball Star) went on to play three Sports at Connecticut's Cheshire Academy. After a year at Ohio University, he transferred to the University of New Hampshire. He hit .354 for the Wildcats in 1954 and was a two-way player in football. Serpico graduated in 1955, earned a master's degree at Boston University and subsequently coached Thornton Academy to Telegram league championships in 1958-59. At Biddeford he started the football team’s resurgence in the late 1960's. His next Stop was as a graduate assistant under Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Serpico earned his doctorate there in 1967. He was appointed assistant baseball coach at West Chester the following year. He coached the 1969 freshman football team to an undefeated season. in 1971 he succeeded Dr. W. Glenn Killinger as head baseball coach. The Golden Rams competed in Division | for all three years of Serpico's tenure. Twenty-two of his players signed major league contracts, the last Pat Kelly, a 10th round draft choice of the New York Yankees. He organized the West Chester University Baseball Club, the West Chester University Alumni Club and the Golden Ram Club to improve his baseball program. During the winter months he conducted little league clinics. He was the founder of the West Chester University Baseball Coaching Clinic. Serpico worked relentlessly for baseball and was constantly involved in projects to give his team visibility. His favorite player was Dominic DiMaggio, center fielder for the Boston Red Sox. In an article written after his death, Casey Husband summarized Serpico's career. ‘Basically, Neil Serpico was a dinosaur. He was a bachelor who dedicated his life to coaching baseball. Serpico was a P.T. Barnum for West Chester baseball, a year round promoter and entrepreneurial whiz dealing in car washes, spaghetti dinners and banquets." ‘USC's Rod Dedeaux and Miami's Ron Frazier normally have been recognized as the leaders in their field." If they had more enthusiasm for the game than Serpico, college baseball's World Series is played in Taiwan."

Hubert S. “Billy” Shaw was an outstanding student athlete at Presque Isle High School. He was born January 23, 1916 to Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Shaw, who resided on Park Street. Shaw participated in track and football for two years and baseball four years. He was outstanding in baseball, playing an excellent defensive second base and establishing himself as the team’s offensive catalyst, and developed a reputation as a dangerous and timely hitter. Shaw was also the 1932 class valedictorian. Shaw, along with Hal Cheney, Verdelle Clark, and his brother, Walter Shaw, led the Wildcats to the Aroostook League Baseball Championship in 1928 with a 9-1 record. He continued his outstanding baseball play in the Junior American Legion League, performing for the Presque Isle Midgets. The team was built around Shaw and Jack Goldstone, with Shaw dividing his time between first base and the pitcher’s mound. Shaw entered Bowdoin College in the fall of 1932. While there he played halfback on the football team for two years and was a four-year member of the baseball team, serving as captain his senior year. He figured prominently in leading Bowdoin to Maine’s intercollegiate baseball championship. During the summers of his college years he played for the Presque Isle Indians in the semi-pro Aroostook League. He was rewarded for his excellent play by being selected as one of the players in the state to play against the Boston Red Sox in Bangor in June 1935, and was also one of the Aroostook All-Stars who played against the Boston Braves that same summer in Houlton. During his four years with the Presque Isle semi-pro team, Shaw had a lifetime batting average of well over .300 and was selected to the Aroostook League All-Star team four times. In the summer of 1936, Shaw and Clarence Keegan of Robinson were invited to Baltimore to try out for the U.S. Olympic team. Selected players would represent the United States in the Amateur Baseball Olympic demonstration games in Berlin, Germany, and then travel to Holland, Belgium, Paris, and London for a series of exhibition games. Both Shaw and Keegan were selected to the U.S. Olympic team, Keegan playing third base while Shaw manned the first base bag. On August 12, 1936, the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Europe or the United States, numbering close to 100,000, jammed Olympic Stadium in Berlin to watch two American amateur teams play a demonstration game. The left-hand hitting Shaw batted third and had the honor of hitting the first homerun in Olympic play. He struck for an inside the park homerun with a man on base in the first inning of the game, giving his team, the U.S. Olympics, an early 2-0 lead. Though the U.S. Olympics eventually lost 6-5 to their opponents, fellow American team the World Champions, Shaw had two runs batted in during the contest. Bill Shaw returned home from Olympic play in late August, 1936 and immediately joined his Presque Isle Indian teammates for a game against the Danforth AA, whom they defeated, with Shaw collecting two hits, including a double. A “Bill Shaw Day” was planned to welcome home the local Olympic hero. After the Olympics, Shaw entered Harvard University and received a Master of Arts Degree in Biology in 1937. That fall he accepted a teaching position at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., where he taught chemistry and biology and also coached football and baseball. The chemistry laboratory at St. Albans School was dedicated in his name several years ago. Shaw played semi-pro baseball for St. Albans of the Northern League in Vermont during the 1937 season. He finished that season with a .326 batting average and played in all 59 games. During the summer of 1939, while playing for the Lancaster Pilots of the Twin State League, he sustained a separated shoulder which essentially ended his semi-professional baseball career. In August of 1943, Shaw entered the Navy and in March of 1944 he was assigned to the West Coast Training Command Combat Information Center School in San Diego, California as a radar instructor. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant before he was separated from active duty in February 1946. In 1947 he took a position at Bowdoin College as Assistant Director of Admissions and became the Director of Admissions in 1949. He served in that position until 1967 when he retired from Bowdoin. In 1964 Shaw was awarded the Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff, an award that recognized a faculty or staff member who demonstrated an uncommon and active loyalty and devotion to Bowdoin. In August of 1967 Shaw accepted a position as the Chief of Policy and Regulations for Federal Student Aid Programs in the Department of Education and later served in the Bureau of Student Financial Aid in the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. until his retirement in January of 1982. He was awarded the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Distinguished Service Award in 1982. He married Eleanor French of Somerville, Massachusetts on June 23rd, 1939. Hubert “Billy” Shaw passed away July 13th, 1985, his place in Maine baseball history secure.

That Ted Shiro was one of Maine's greatest athletes is recognized by his induction into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. So gifted was the Waterville sharpshooter in basketball, scoring over 1,000 points at Colby, and gaining a tryout with the Boston Celtics, his baseball prowess (a la Michael Jordan?) has often seemed forgotten. Ted was a real Wonderkid. While a student at Waterville H.S. (1942-1946) he played for the semi-pro Waterville Americans and, at the age of 14, was selected to attend a spring baseball school conducted by the Pittsburgh, Pa., Pirates. He had a shot at a Class C contract, but declined because his parents deemed him too young and wanted to see him stay in school. in 1945, the Associated Press labeled Shiro a “boy wonder" and likened him to former N.Y. Giants young stars Fred Lindstrom and Mel Ott. While a student at Waterville, the prodigious athlete played summers with the Winslow Taconnets and the Bath lron Works. In a recent Kennebec Journal article, Gary Hawkins relates tales of Shiro's exploits against Danny Mac Fayden and Carlton Willey. After completing high school, Teddy declined another tryout offer - this time from the Red Sox - and chose to enter Manlius, N.Y., prep school. At Manlius he was acclaimed “the best all around athlete’” of 1947. He had starred in football, basketball and baseball. On the diamond, he had batted nearly .400 against “strong college freshmen opposition.” After his sojourn in the Empire State, Teddy returned to his native Waterville to attend Colby College. At Colby Shiro was able to add to his fabulous hoop laurels. He continued to excel in baseball as well, playing for Eddie Roundy’s Mules. in 1950 he played for the Bangor Athletic Club that won the Eastern Maine semi-pro championship. Military service followed his Colby graduation and Shiro was the player-manager for the Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, nine from 1952 to 1954. Today, he can swap Army basketball stories with new HOF teammates Frank Nappi and Billy Joyce. In 1954 and 1955, Shiro completed his baseball career as player-manager of the Augusta Millionaires. Now retired, Ted and his wife, Arden, are living in East Winthrop. He has four children and four step-children. Portland Press Herald January 13, 2016 https://www.centralmaine.com/2016/01/13/maine-sports-legend-ted-shiro-dies/ Shiro is a member of seven sports halls of fame, including the Maine Basketball, New England Sports and Maine Baseball halls of fame. Shiro earned 12 varsity letters playing three sports at Waterville High School, where he graduated in 1947. He helped the Panthers win 67 consecutive basketball games and back-to-back state championships in 1944 and ’45. Waterville also won a New England high school basketball title in this time as well. In 1945, Shiro became the first high school basketball player to earn All-New England honors for two consecutive years. “He had all sorts of talent,” Beckerman said. “Can you imagine winning 67 games in a row? Just incredible.” "He was the epitome of a tremendous athlete," said Sumner Lipman, a Naples resident and Shiro's friend for 65 years. "He was a great sport, very competitive but as soon as the match was over, it was over. That's what people don't understand about sports. You can compete but still be very good friends afterward."

As a 1965 graduate of New Britain High School in Connecticut, Harvey Shapiro played varsity baseball and basketball. His senior year, Harvey, a smooth fielding first baseman, was the team’s leading hitter (.375). Harvey also played baseball at the University of Connecticut and in the Greater Hartford Twilight League. He was inducted into the New Britain High School Baseball Hall of Fame, the Greater Hartford Twilight League Hall of Fame, and the City of New Britain Sports Hall of Fame and is honored to be among the 2019 inductees into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. Harvey is returning for his seventeenth season as manager of the Bourne Braves. He has over 30 years of baseball coaching experience at the college level, including stints at Springfield College, Bowdoin College and the University of Hartford. Harvey has been a coaching mainstay in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League for more than 25 years. He is the all-time wins leader in Bourne with 370 wins, which includes 25 playoff wins and, overall, has 484 victories as a Cape manager. In addition to college coaching, Harvey has been a part-time scout for the Baltimore Orioles. In 2017, the Braves had an exciting playoff run. After sweeping Cotuit and Wareham in the first two rounds, the team lost the deciding third game of the Championship. In 2009, Harvey led the Braves to their first Cape Cod Baseball League Championship! The team finished the season with a record of 25-17-2 and a 1st place regular season Western Division Title. The Braves went on to sweep the Orleans Firebirds in the first round of the playoffs and then swept the Cotuit Kettleers for the Championship. In 2014, Harvey led Bourne to their sixth regular season Western Division Title. That same year, the Bourne Braves received the President’s Cup for their achievement of the most regular season wins in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Harvey managed the Braves to the Cape Cod League playoff finals in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2017. During the 2005, 2010 and 2013 seasons, the Bourne Braves were presented with the Commissioner’s Cup, which recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of an individual franchise. As the manager of the Falmouth Commodores from 1994-1998, Harvey led the Commodores to a divisional regular season championship in 1994 and the playoff finals in 1996. Harvey was the 1996 Cape Cod League Manager of the Year. Before managing Falmouth, he was an assistant coach at Wareham and Yarmouth-Dennis. Harvey has managed the West squad in seven Cape League All-Star games, two of which were at Fenway Park. He has had the privilege of coaching over 80 major leaguers who have played for him in the Cape League. Just to name a few, these players include Travis Shaw, Mitch Moreland, Darin Erstad, Adam Kennedy, Eric Milton, Mark Sweeney and Eric Wedge, who later became the 2007 American League Manager of the Year while at Cleveland. In addition, 12 of his former Cape players were drafted in the first round of the Major League amateur drafts. Shapiro also coached the baseball team at Bowdoin for 15 years before making his final college stop as the baseball coach at Division I University of Hartford from 1999 through 2004. For most of his professional tenure, Harvey coached both baseball and basketball at the collegiate level, including both sports at Division I. He has accumulated over 1,200 victories in four decades of coaching at various levels in baseball and basketball. Harvey also has international ties, having served as the Netherlands National Baseball Coach for three years, and he coached the Dutch in two World Championships in Cuba and Holland. In 1985, the Netherlands won the European Championship, beating Italy five straight games, and Harvey was named the European Coach of the Year. In addition, he has conducted clinics in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Holland, Germany, and the Netherlands Antilles. Harvey is also a published author on baseball and has served on various collegiate and international committees. Harvey is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Springfield College. Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod is where Harvey met his wife Lynne, over 40 years ago. Lynne is the one who encouraged Harvey to leave his job with the IRS and become a baseball coach, as she recognized that baseball and working with young people were his passions. Their son Scott and wife Paula, with son Theo, and their daughter Nancy who is married to Bill, and son William frequent the baseball games on the Cape. If you hear a cowbell at a Bourne Braves game, most likely it is William or Theo cheering on “Opa Harv” and his run-scoring team. Braves Skipper Harvey Shapiro Reaches Milestone With a 3-1 victory over Hyannis on Sunday (25 July), Bourne Braves manager Harvey Shapiro put an historic notch in his belt as a Cape League skipper. The win was number 150 in Shapiro’s illustrious career on the Cape. Harvey Shapiro, Bourne Braves SportsPix 2004 “This is a special league,” Shapiro said. “I’ve enjoyed coaching in this league, with the friends that you make and the players that you coach.” The win was not only a milestone for the Braves manager, but more importantly it kept Bourne in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Braves moved into third place, a point behind Falmouth and four points behind Hyannis. A two-run double by Joe Simokaitis gave Bourne a 2-1 lead and Kyle Padgett delivered the insurance run with an RBI single, plating Simokaitis. Shapiro has been a mainstay in the Cape League for more than a decade. He was the head man for the Falmouth Commodores for five years, where he picked up 112 wins. At Falmouth, Shapiro won a divisional title in 1994, his first season with the Commodores, and was named league Manager of the Year in 1996 after leading Falmouth to the league championship series. For the last two years, Shapiro has been the manager in Bourne, where in his first season with the Braves guided them to a West Division crown in 2003. Shapiro is the 11th manager in modern-era history to reach 150 wins and has a record of 150-139-3 in his seventh season. The 39th Braves game this season will be his 300th as a Cape League manager, making him the 12th man to reach that level. “It is a nice mark for the organization to have a veteran coach with such a resume behind him,” said Bourne general manager Mike Carrier. As a Cape League skipper, Shapiro has coached a number of Major League players including Darin Erstad, Eric Milton and Jeff Weaver. He and long time pitching coach Dick Schoonover also have the distinction of having managed the pitchers with the top two regular season ERA’s in the modern-era. Milton recorded a 0.21 ERA in 1996 and last season Eric Beattie had a 0.39 ERA. Shapiro is currently the head coach at the University of Hartford. He joined the Hawks staff in 1998 after a 15 year stint at Bowdoin College. --T.J. Lasita, CCBL Intern, TJLasita@capecodbaseball.org

Porter “Pete” Sickels was raised in Buxton but attended Deering High School where he played shortstop for coach Ara Karakasian and graduated in 1949. Sickels went on to the University of New Hampshire and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1953. Pete was actually signed to a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization and spent the summers of 1952 and 1953 playing in the Class D Georgia State League. Following his release from the Cardinals, Pete continued to play semi-pro ball for a number of years with the Dixfield Dixies in the storied Pine Tree League. He played with well known local baseballers, Red Dean, Bobby Downs, Bitsy Ionta and Newt Stowell. Pete embarked on his teaching career at Kents Hill High School in 1957, teaching physics and math until 1967 when he moved to Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts where he taught until 1970. Pete caught the coaching bug during these years as he served in a variety of assistant coaching roles at both institutions. Returning to his home state, Pete landed at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington in 1970 and remained there for 18 years, teaching math and physics, before retiring in 1988. Pete took over the head coaching reins of the baseball team at Mt. Blue in 1974 and led the Cougars for 4 years, compiling a 30-27 overall record including a 14-6 mark for the 1976 season. Among notable schoolboys who came under Pete’s tutelage were Gavin Kane, (girls basketball coach at Dirigo), Rick Wells and Jimmy Alexander. Another gifted player shared the same house as Pete - his son Craig, who in 1977 was a promising sophomore eager to finally play for his dad and childhood idol. In what must have been one of the most agonizing decisions of his life, Pete resigned from coaching after the 1977 season, both to avoid any hint of preferential treatment for his son, and to allow Craig unencumbered freedom to develop and prosper on his own. The elder Sickels foresaw the future with a mathematician’s precision as Craig thrived and went to have an outstanding career at Mt. Blue, albeit tempered by the sacrifice of his father/coach. Pete’s commitment to his ballplayers carried over into the summer as well as he founded and coached the first American Legion baseball team in Franklin County in 1974. Sponsored by the Farmington Legion Post #28, Pete coached the Franklin County Rangers through the 1977 Season, compiling a 29-52 overall record. Pete currently lives with his wife in Weld where he copes with the day-to-day struggles of Parkinson’s Disease. Always a man of few words, his actions, though limited today, continue to define a man of uncommon grace and dignity. Porter ‘Pete’ Farley Sickels WELD – Porter “Pete” Farley Sickels, 77, May 3, 1931 - June 28, 2008 https://www.sunjournal.com/2008/06/30/porter-pete-farley-sickels/

To the former tag "Mr. Baseball in Ellsworth, Bill Silsby Jr. of Sullivan can add, "Member, Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.” It's been 17 years since Silsby starred for the Blue Hill Badgers of the Eastern Maine League. Nineteen years after starting with the Aurora Cubs in 1937, at age 11, Silsby was the hottest baseball property. At the midway mark of the 1956 campaign, Sharp-fielding third baseman Silsby led the league with a .462 batting mark. Included were three triples. Silsby began playing for the Ellsworth Redwings when he came to Ellsworth in 1938 to attend high school. Early in World War II, Silsby joined the Badgers. In 1947 and ‘48, Silsby took his deft Glove and authoritative bat to Pittsfield AC in the Old Tri-County League. He had the good fortune to work closely with Maine H of F pitcher Wilson Francis. Veteran baseball-basketball-football official Harry Dalton of Brewer tapped Silsby for two-year duty with a fast Bangor club. Francis and Silsby joined playing managing forces in 195l at Ellsworth for a three-year run. From 1955 to ‘59, lt was a return tour with the Badgers. About 1961, after a quarter-century of close association with baseball, Silsby Switched sports interest to candlepin bowling. He became a respected competitor and, perhaps more importantly, an important link to the administrative side of the game. Silsby recalls fondly his association with the EML as president and his ties with Such standout area baseball figures as Harry Morrison, Charles Denney, Donald Gates and Dalton, all of Brewer, Edward Thomas, Bangor, Clifford McLaughlin, Bucksport, and Kermit Allen, Sedgwick. His grips on a baseball bat and bowling ball have suffered in recent years because he‘s discovered golf. Silsby wielded the clubs skillfully enough June 30 at Bar Harbor's Kebo Valley Club to card a two over par 73. His law partner, the victim of that sensational shooting, is pressing Kebo pro Fred McPheters for a full investigation of Silsby's --- for the moment --- eight handicap.

From Portland Press Herald https://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/06/at-81-maine-woman-who-played-pro-baseball-will-be-back-on-the-field/ CAMDEN — Maxine Simmons will take to the mound Thursday night at Hadlock Field for a ceremonial first pitch before a Portland Sea Dogs game. “I hope I can do it,” she said. “I haven’t thrown anything in a long time. I think maybe I’ll practice by throwing some rocks.” Like the young men who will follow her onto the field, Simmons once got paid to play baseball. Now 81 and living in her hometown of Camden, Simmons played for the South Bend (Indiana) Blue Sox in 1954 during the final season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. No. 4 corresponds to second base, the position played most often by Maxine (Drinkwater) Simmons for the South Bend Blue Sox in 1954. This number happens to be the one she wore during her tryout in Battle Creek, Michigan, while many of her senior classmates at Camden High were on a trip to Washington D.C. The Sea Dogs are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film “A League of Their Own” – starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and Madonna – with themed jerseys to be auctioned off for the benefit of Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization aimed at inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. Also tossing a ceremonial pitch will be Kat Williams, a professor of American history at Marshall University and author of “The All-American Girls After the AAGPBL: How Playing Pro Ball Shaped Their Lives.” Visitors to the apartment where Simmons lives are greeted by a sign reading: Red Sox Fans Welcome; Others Not Allowed. “I’ve always been a Red Sox fan,” she said. “Ted Williams was my hero.” She still watches games on television, nearly every night. “I love that Mookie (Betts), what a player he is,” she said. Another former Sea Dog, Jackie Bradley Jr., is among her favorites, as is second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Second base was her main position when Simmons, then 18 and known as Maxine Drinkwater, was signed by the Blue Sox out of a tryout camp in Battle Creek, Michigan. She grew up playing ball at the high school field in Camden with her older brothers and a bunch of neighborhood kids. That paid off when Camden High School started a softball team in her junior year and she batted over .700 in 1953. A few years earlier, Simmons had seen a newspaper article about the AAGPBL, which had begun play in 1943 during World War II, and read about two barnstorming teams playing in Portland and Bangor. She wrote to one of them, the Fort Wayne Daisies, after her junior season and learned about a tryout for the league, but the school wouldn’t excuse her. Advertisement In her senior year, she finished her studies early and skipped a class trip to Washington, D.C., in order to fly with her mother to Michigan. Simmons still has the cloth rectangle emblazoned with the No. 4 that was pinned to her shirt for the tryouts. Of the 60 young women trying out, she was among 30 who made it, and the top draft pick to boot. Almost immediately, she began preseason training with South Bend, coming home only briefly for graduation. “For years, I had wanted to play professional baseball,” she said. “I played all that summer, in Michigan, Indiana, all around that area. We played mainly at night.” ‘ROOKIES WERE LUCKY TO PLAY AT ALL’ A scene in the film shows players attending charm school to hone manners. Simmons said that practice had been discontinued by the time she joined the league, but “we did have to wear dresses and skirts. All we had was shorts under our little dress, and stockings up to our knees. You paid for it when you slid.” A shortstop and pitcher in softball, as well as a 5-foot-5½-inch guard on Camden High’s unbeaten basketball team, Simmons found a home at second base, with occasional stints at first, third and outfield. A veteran shortstop, Gertie Dunn, who was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 1952, liked her as a double-play partner. “If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have played,” said Simmons, who led all league second basemen in fielding percentage at .972, making only one error all season. “Rookies were lucky to play at all. The coach (Karl Winsch) didn’t care for me. I didn’t like him, either.” Advertisement Todd Drinkwater, Maxine’s nephew, said he played a lot of Wiffle ball with his aunt and she even coached against his team in Little League. He now teaches physical education at Bonny Eagle Middle School in Buxton. “We’d always been throwing, playing catch,” he said. “We were a sports family.” The mitt that Simmons wore in South Bend now resides on a shelf in Drinkwater’s garage. He pulled it out Wednesday afternoon and was reminded of how much baseball equipment has evolved. “It looks like a big old ugly mitten,” he said. “I don’t know how they could use it.” Offensively, Simmons wasn’t a big threat, in part because a childhood broken leg wasn’t set properly. She said that before the fifth-grade injury, she had been able to outrun all her classmates, boys and all. In pro baseball, she said she lost a lot of potential hits to right field by being thrown out at first base. She wound up with a .147 batting average for 95 at-bats in 45 games. The website of the AAGPBL (Simmons sports the acronym on her license plate) lists one other woman from Maine as a former player: Marie Richardson of Rumford, for Fort Wayne in the 1953 season, with no statistics and a note saying the player has not been located. Advertisement “I have no idea where she is or anything about her,” Simmons said. 1ST WOMAN PLAYER IN MAINE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME The Blue Sox paid Simmons a monthly salary of $60 along with a stipend of $115 to cover living expenses. In 2017 dollars, that translates to $1,592 per month. South Bend finished with a 48-44 record, good for second place, and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion, the Kalamazoo Lassies. The league folded at the end of the 1954 season. Simmons returned to Maine and coached basketball at Camden High. She played softball in Rockland, got married and had a son, now 49. They lived in Newport, where she worked at a community center. But after her husband died in 1989, Simmons returned to Camden to care for mother, who lived until she was 98. In 2005, Simmons became the first woman player inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. She even has her own baseball card, printed a few years after the film was released. “A lot of my friends in the baseball world have asked for her card,” said Drinkwater, who spoke at his aunt’s induction ceremony. “I’ve dealt out maybe two dozen in southern Maine over the years.” Although she no longer bowls, cross-country skis or goes ice fishing, Simmons continues to golf regularly. She uses a walker to get around. “I haven’t fallen yet,” she said with a laugh. “As long as I’m standing up, I’m happy. Bill Green's Maine video Author: NEWS CENTER , WCSH Published: 1:49 PM EDT July 6, 2017 Take it from a woman who knows, 'There's no crying at Hadlock!' A baseball legend returns to the field in Portland to teach a new generation about the toughness and talent that it takes to "play like a girl" https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/take-it-from-a-woman-who-knows-theres-no-crying-at-hadlock/454610733

Cedric Simpson was cool and cagey as a baseball, football and basketball player, but when he was watching one of his three sons play sports a different person came out—those seated near him were lucky to escape with their lives. Like many ballplayers, Simpson, an Edward Little athletic giant in the 1920’s, found it easier on himself to play than watch. His three sons, Bob, Jerry and Mike, were some of the best ballcarriers the Deering Rams ever fielded. Bob and Jerry later attended the University of New Hampshire and Mike went to New Hampston Prep School. Always a catcher and centerfielder, he played in various baseball leagues, spanning almost 20 years. Some of his road stops: Eastern Maine Conference seminary in Bucksport after Edward Little; next two seasons with Three Rivers (Quebec) of the Provincial League; then two years as catcher with the Saratoga springs (N.Y.) All-Stars; a year in the Twilight League tor Ray's Diner; and finally with the Lewiston-Auburn Twins under Maine Hall of Famer Bucky Gaudette. Simpson will join Gaudette as a member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame this year, an honor he well deserves.

“Shane is an aggressive base coach; he teaches fundamentals like crazy and when his team takes the field they are always prepared to win. You really need to be a baseball guy to appreciate Shane. He talks baseball 12 months a year; he looks like baseball; he smells like baseball; he is baseball. Shane is a throwback guy – blue collared – hard working – tough son of a gun.” - Gary Williamson When Shane Slicer was initially introduced to baseball he relished the opportunity and still after four decades of playing and learning all about the sport that passion remains strong as Slicer continues to give back by teaching current generations about the many joys that America’s pastime has to offer. Slicer’s long time commitment to baseball has been well known throughout the Western foothills and those exploits finally have drawn deserving recognition by being inducted in to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. “I knew at a very young age that baseball was something that was going to be a big part of my life. I played ball every day in the summer. I couldn’t get enough of it,’’ Slicer recalled. “I remember going to the pickup games down the street from my house and I was the youngest kid there and the smallest if you can believe that. The first few days the older kids didn’t let me play so I just watched. This happened for a week or so until they finally needed another player. I finally got my chance and was a regular for the rest of my youth.” Slicer further enhanced his talents during Babe Ruth, with the team winning the 13-15 year old state championship. Slicer was named the 15-year old state tourney Most Valuable Player- 1986. When Slicer went on to Oxford Hills High School he credits coach Mike Loveless with having teaching so much about the important aspects that the sport offers. “This is when I truly began thinking and learning about the game,” Slicer said. “Coach was big on situational baseball and knowing what to do at all times. We were always very well prepared that way. The biggest thing that coach Loveless taught me was discipline and work ethic.” “He taught us no matter who we played to always be tougher and out hustle our opponent. He taught me what it means to put on an Oxford Hills baseball uniform.” Slicer was a four-year starter and excelled offensively and defensively. 1988 Jr. Year- .451 avg, 25 RBI’s, 3 HR; 1989 Sr. Year- .500 avg, 25 hits, 16 RBI’s, 20 BB; when Slicer graduated he held the school record for hits. The Vikings won KVAC championship in 1989 and was the Western Maine regional finalist. Slicer earned first team All Conference in 1988 and 1989; second team All State Shortstop in 1988; first team All State Shortstop in 1989; team MVP 1988 and 1989 and American Legion All Star in 1987,1988, and 1989. This solid grasp of the fundamentals would certainly serve Slicer well during a step-up to the next level. Slicer had met coach John Winkin a few times when attending his baseball camps at the University of Maine Orono. This provided Slicer with a chance to talk a little bit about baseball and because he was thinking of going to college. Coach Winkin attended a playoff game sophomore year and also few games the next year, but (Winkin) really started seriously recruiting the senior student-athlete. “I was thrilled to think that I might be able to play at UMO,” said Slicer, referring to coach Wink having had a pretty darn good run going during the 1980’s, and as a kid growing up watching those teams going to the College World Series, you could only dream to play there. “Obviously I was pretty excited that Wink was showing so much attention. He was the face of Maine baseball.” “I would just pepper him with questions about baseball situations, his practice plans, his career, alumni etc. It took awhile for him to warm up to me but we ended up having a good relationship and I was gaining knowledge and a mentor each and every day,” he said. Coach Winkin basically told his players where he wanted them to play in the summer, so Slicer was assigned to play for the Auburn Asas of the Twilight league where the coaches were Billy Reynolds and Bruce Lucas, both UMO alumni. Slicer quickly found out that the Twilight league and Pine Tree League played on different nights, so he inquired about playing with the West Paris Westies, but they had their team set with veterans. The Lewiston team asked Slicer to play; which led to a blast playing baseball six days a week, making some great friends, and played against good competition. Slicer played in the PTL 11 years from 1992-2001,winning league championships four 4 times with Lewiston A’s in 92,94,97 and 98; league MVP 1995; hit .400 or better 7 times and hit .500 or better 2 times. Toward the twilight of his playing days, Slicer was pondering the future and soon received news that hit close to home. He really didn’t know how much longer Coach Loveless was going to coach and out of the blue he called his former player and explained that there was a math teacher opening and asked if Slicer would be interested in coaching with him for a few years before taking over the program. “I coached as Mike’s assistant for a few years, and took over as head coach in 2003. Coach Loveless gave me one of the best gifts anybody has ever given me, The Oxford Hills baseball program.” Slicer has turned the Oxford Hills program in to a powerhouse and annually enjoys success statewide. During his tenure, the Vikings have compiled a 205-86 record; won two Regional and Class A State championships in 2005 and 2010. Shane is a five-time KVAC coach of the year; has also won Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald Coach of the year awards and has six appearances in Eastern or Western Maine championship games as player or coach. “The things that I want my teams to do are probably similar to most coaches,” he noted, who also has the joy of coaching sons Blake and Cameron. “Work hard at all times, out hustle your opponent, be a great teammate, be mentally and physically tough, wear the uniform the right way, think, be a good citizen,never take your opponent lightly or fear them and make others around you better.” Another aspect often overlooked is not having a place for student-athletes to continue playing baseball. Once again, Slicer has covered the bases by offering an American Legion entry Bessey Motors which has proven to be extremely successful through out this century. “ Playing summer baseball in Oxford Hills is so important for our program,” he said. “The more at bats and game experiences a player gets at a high level the better the chance they have of improving and reaching their true potential. Our most passionate players play school ball, summer ball, fall ball, and work out all winter. They play year round. “I am blessed to have a group of kids who are dedicated to Oxford Hills baseball and chose to commit to playing for the Bessey Motors Legion team instead of going elsewhere to play AAU all summer,” Slicer said. “They are loyal to our community. So often in order to achieve success in any endeavor, it is essential to be surrounded by quality individuals. Slicer lauded a few assistant coaches throughout the years starting with Paul Bickford, Brian Cox, Ben Goodall, Lance Bean and Joe Oufiero- who have all been tremendous to the OH program. “Joe and I have coached many, many games together and I truly appreciate all of the time he has given to OH baseball. Joe, Lance, and I are fortunate to be able to coach together. We have great chemistry, love the kids, and bring different things to the table. All of the coaches that have worked with our youth really deserve a lot of credit for putting in their time, providing a positive baseball experience, and preparing them for the next level.” Slicer pointed out that his wife - Dianne is wonderful, has been so supportive and has taken an active role in helping with fundraising, running the snack shack, and communicating with parents. She designed an Oxford Hills baseball page for our community as well. “Dianne really understands what baseball means to me and it certainly means a lot to her as well,” Slicer said, they have sons - Blake and Cameron and daughter - Allison. “She has sacrificed a lot to allow me to coach baseball from March to August and she does so without hesitation. I couldn’t be the varsity coach at OH without her.”

Small played for a Lewis managed team here in the late 20's. He began ball at Kingfield High in 1917, played varsity ball with Bowdoin from '21 through '25, was active with Dixfield teams during his collegiate days and touched bases late in the New York Penn league. Pittsfield MA in the Eastern league, Lewiston and Portland in the NEL and Falmouth Mass as a player manager in the Cape Cod league. Vern Putney Maine Sunday Telegram 10/10/1977