Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-09-12
Story of Maine State League
Told by President Frank Owen.

I Fourth of July receipts ana MY uoilai ;
| z day guarantee coming in right along
| and no outgo there was no reason WHY
| he couldn't be doing quite well. Finally
| ne found that he must throw ii up ana /
| will say to his credit that he dldn 10
50 without giving Augusta people d
| chance to take the club over. lie wrote
| Manager Paige so l was told 10y Il man
| who saw the letter. Il could get a little
| NOR. Ey staying but they are getting
after me and | guess | will be going"
| The departure Of Paige and Wreath
| loft the Maine League without its orig
| iri;,l promoters and for the first tinln
| there sceEled to lie II prOSpect That II
| might finish The season. Pine Free ami
| I,i,dcfurd had found previous to tho
| Fourth tat Independent bah couldn't
crn,pct" with league bah and lad been
| admitted to membership. y local aSso-
| citation had been formed in Augusta,
lewiston claimed to he ali right and on
| the whole il looked pretty far. The his
| tory of the lcaGu" after that is 4 matter
| o. common knowledge. Augusta fonnC it
was expensive and dropped out. Lewiston
had to give it up and the ORIGINAL Bi6de-
| ford manaC cement also decided to quit
I:ut local parties took hol'l Of the matter
in tie York city. Il four club schedule was
arranged and til" game WAS continued
until last Monday.
Til" schedule had been mad" up for
the rest Of the week hut Bangor. Fir"
Tree and Fiddeford Judged it best To
let matters end on Labor day ana as
they formed q inajoritv there WIS Moth
ing for Portland to do hut acpuiesc2.
OF course there have been troubles and
doubts and disbursements but on tho
whole thu league provided tn" best of
sport and the interest aroused in Port
land WIS greater than it has been in
years.
The credit for keeping the league alive
must however he given to the Port land
maEaC"ment. They rebuilt the somewhat
dilardated Portland grounds into a COM
fortahl" baseball park and the members
Of tie association were ready at all times
10 Si"nd their money and time to keen
the thing going. II is due to their enter
prise that the others we're enabled to
weather the storm more than once.
. AS the result of tn" championship race
" IS my opinion as it is of the Isla inritv
of those who followed tho sport at All
closely that the best team won. The
BANGOR club WAS the only one in tho lea
que where ANYTHING like discipline was
man maintained and that organization was
f,illv the equal Of the others in Individual
raV"rS Collins was without question the
premier n'tth of tho league Gardiner.
vas ~" leading hatsman and lott tho
nest t"ld caItain. The league dnyeloncd
7 Few PLAYERS who arc likely 10 he heard
from IN fast company some dav Collins
ana Gardiner ought to J." able to make
tho ma ior organizations If thov arc dis
posed TO remain in baseball and BarrowS
or Portland is also big league nateria;
in my oninion. lie was certainly far and
aW3v the best ontfie""r tho league de-
V"lopeG. There may have been othor
"coTcrs' in tho ranks hut these three
men in my opinion stand out little apart
from their comrades
stone Is generally held to have been
n" kinrpin catcher Of the league al
though in my opinion he was not much
ahead Of Kelley Of Portland. O'Rrinn IF
Pine Tree was good man behind the
bat but did not always keep in tic hest
Of condition. Henderson of Biddefnrd is
regarded nv many the best fielding
firSt b@seman Bernard Of Pine Tree was
in = class by hi~,sc1f At second sack and
should Mace Southwell of Rddefori a g
tho leading short-stnp. Rrenn Of Port
land, NcNullan of Pangor and Cote Of
.''ir" Tr"o We're good outfinlders az wa :
.'nn"s of Bangor and Wildee af Riddle
ford. Frazer o. Portland WiIian,s of
Pine Trn". Dvvinal Of Piddcford arI
Gloa enr Of BANGOR wore mon who co,,,J
''T''Hllv he doncndnd on to do ~ood wool,
in the box. Owens Of Portland is alec the
"n1rl of any Of thn~' hit rroved rathe-
too inclined to " oltSiTn rlottor distract
bic "tts'ntinn wife in Portland
The lonr.,o had lie troubIoe VIII, NV
rir"S hrt no more than or ms n,nch nor
ln~S &c nthor nrga ri~n tons Iir, HAS
entt'S worl- was rorra HE and tbn Lon,
~" r-rr VOW fortunnto IL hoj,r ~, "a
t"' y him thrnn~hcut thc 500 con ORR N
of Lewiston is IF course y frst-cIacc ,rrr
h"~t &C ~a';~en o'ion ,,-;.irc no ro,,aipnJ ~, !
rNif 80 totter Newt r-en"o Wolf u.e.u
~ +""t tako c?rc Of itrelf, too. for tho
present.