AUGUSTA — The Augusta Babe Ruth League will pay tribute to its storied history during opening day ceremonies Sunday at Morton Field on the Piggery Road.

Two games will be played in the morning and two in the afternoon. During the noon-time break, the league will honor the 1958 team which won the state championship in its inaugural year, 60 seasons ago.

Gary Burns, who played on the 1959 team which also won a state title, has contacted team members and has assurances from at least four who plan to attend the ceremony. They include Dave Fletcher, Paul Auger, Larry Coughlin and Billy Gallagher. Burns added that some family members of deceased players — Denny Buotte, Bob Browne, Arnold Ricker and Ken Pruett — will also attend.

The remainder of the team includes Jimmy Berryman, Lionel Fortin, Jeff Sanborn, Cal Boston, Craig Maasen and Steve Lancaster. The team was coached by Clem Giroux, Harry Brennan and Dick McGuire.

Burns said early this week he has yet to locate Lancaster and Maasen.

Brigadier General Dwaine Drummond, Joint Staff Director of the Maine National Guard, will be the guest speaker. Drummond’s connections to the league are twofold.

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The National Guard, with help from Dick McGuire and others, helped construct two Babe Ruth fields on the Piggery Road and lent its name to the league title. Drummond also played three years in the league and was a member of the all-star team. He went on to star as a pitcher at Gardiner Area High School where he compiled a record of 20-4 and threw a perfect game against Morse. An arm injury cut short his collegiate aspirations but he came back to play later in life, pitching his fourth career no-hitter for a senior men’s team at age 35.

The league will also honor Garry Markoff for his contributions over several years. Markoff, who owns a printing company now in southern Maine, prints many of the tournament programs and makes the long commute to volunteer his services. The league will also recognize Damon’s Pizza of Augusta, which has been a league sponsor for nearly all 60 years of its existence. The league’s 14-year-old team, which won the state championship last season, will also be recognized.

Several events are also on tap for the league this spring and summer.

Morton Field will host the Class A North high school regional final June 12. This year’s New England Regional tournament for 13-15 year-olds will be held on Morton and McGuire fields July 19-24. This will be the sixth time Augusta has hosted a New England Regional, the first at Capital Park in 1974.

Two teams from the league, which includes teams from Augusta, Hallowell/Farmingdale, Gardiner and South China, won New England titles and advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series in 1997 and 2007.

Recent improvements to the complex include two LED-lit scoreboards. A covered pavilion between the two fields is also under construction and is expected to be ready in a few weeks.


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