High school baseball has long fostered big-league ambitions in Maine. Communities across the state produced players who reached the major leagues, while Maine schools and colleges helped develop several others.
Reading the list: [P] identifies a pitcher. The seasons reproduce the historical career ranges recorded by this reference; an open-ended range in the earlier source has been updated to the player’s completed major-league career.
Players born in Maine
| Player and Maine birthplace | Major-league seasons |
|---|---|
| Cuke Barrows, Gray | 1909–1912 |
| Del Bissonette, Winthrop | 1928–1933 |
| Clarence Blethen, Dover-Foxcroft [P] | 1923–1929 |
| Ralph Botting, Houlton [P] | 1979–1980 |
| Don Brennan, Augusta [P] | 1933–1937 |
| Rip Cannell, South Bridgton | 1904–1905 |
| Bill Carrigan, Lewiston | 1906–1916 |
| Wally Clement, Auburn | 1908–1909 |
| Bobby Coombs, Goodwins Mills [P] | 1933–1943 |
| Danny Coombs, Lincoln [P] | 1963–1971 |
| John Cumberland, Westbrook [P] | 1968–1974 |
| Harry Curtis, Portland | 1907 |
| Harvey Cushman, Rockland [P] | 1902 |
| Tom Downey, Lewiston | 1909–1915 |
| Chester Emerson, Stow | 1911–1912 |
| Sid Farrar, Paris Hill | 1883–1890 |
| Eddie Files, Portland [P] | 1908 |
| Curt Fullerton, Ellsworth [P] | 1921–1933 |
| Charles Furbush, South Portland [P] | 2011–2015 |
| Ralph Good, Monticello [P] | 1910 |
| George Gore, Saccarappa (Westbrook) | 1879–1892 |
| Larry Gowell, Lewiston [P] | 1972 |
| Chummy Gray, Rockland [P] | 1899 |
| Fred Howard, Portland [P] | 1979 |
| Happy Iott, Houlton | 1903 |
| Rip Jordan, Portland [P] | 1912–1919 |
| Dick Joyce, Portland [P] | 1965 |
| Matt Kinney, Bangor [P] | 2000–2005 |
| Pete Ladd, Portland [P] | 1979–1986 |
| Otis Lawry, Fairfield | 1916–1917 |
| Steve Libby, Scarborough | 1879 |
| Abel Lizotte, Lewiston | 1896 |
| Harry Lord, Porter | 1907–1915 |
| Kid Madden, Portland [P] | 1887–1891 |
| George Magoon, St. Albans | 1898–1903 |
| Jim Mains, Bridgton [P] | 1943 |
| Willard Mains, North Windham [P] | 1888–1896 |
| Billy Maloney, Lewiston | 1901–1908 |
| Bobby Messenger, Bangor | 1909–1914 |
| Simmy Murch, Castine | 1904–1908 |
| Bill Murray, Vinalhaven | 1917 |
| Pat O’Connell, Bangor [P] | 1886 |
| Freddy Parent, Biddeford | 1899–1911 |
| Marv Peasley, Jonesport [P] | 1910 |
| Irv Ray, Harrington | 1888–1891 |
| Bert Roberge, Lewiston [P] | 1979–1986 |
| Jack Robinson, Portland | 1902 |
| Bill Rollinson, Fairfield | 1884 |
| Harland Rowe, Springvale | 1916 |
| Dick Scott, Ellsworth | 1989 |
| Jack Sharrott, Bangor [P] | 1890–1893 |
| Charlie Small, Auburn | 1930 |
| Chief Sockalexis, Old Town | 1897–1899 |
| Bob Stanley, Portland [P] | 1977–1989 |
| Clyde Sukeforth, Washington | 1926–1945 |
| Bill Swift, Portland [P] | 1985–1998 |
| Stan Thomas, Rumford [P] | 1974–1977 |
| Walter Thornton, Lewiston [P] | 1895–1898 |
| Ron Tingley, Presque Isle | 1982–1995 |
| Cannonball Titcomb, West Baldwin [P] | 1886–1890 |
| Bob Vail, Linneus [P] | 1908 |
| Charlie Waitt, Hallowell | 1875–1883 |
| Dan Walters, Brunswick | 1992–1993 |
| George Washburn, Solon [P] | 1941 |
| Roy Weir, Portland [P] | 1936–1939 |
| Carl Willey, Cherryfield [P] | 1958–1965 |
| Walter “Pop” Williams, Bowdoinham [P] | 1898–1903 |
| Squanto Wilson, Old Town | 1911–1914 |
| Harry Wood, Waterville | 1903 |
| Irv Young, Columbia Falls [P] | 1905–1911 |
Pioneers and early stars
Louis Sockalexis
Louis Sockalexis (1871–1913), a Penobscot player from Old Town, grew up playing baseball on Indian Island. He played for Cleveland from 1897 through 1899 and is remembered among the earliest Native American major leaguers. Read the Louis Sockalexis entry.
Irving “Irv” Young
Born in Columbia Falls in 1877, the left-handed pitcher appeared in six major-league seasons between 1905 and 1911 for clubs in Boston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.
Freddy Parent
The Biddeford-born shortstop played on Boston’s championship team in the first modern World Series in 1903. His major-league career ran from 1899 through 1911.
Bill “Rough” Carrigan
The Lewiston catcher played for Boston from 1906 through 1916 and managed the club to World Series championships in 1915 and 1916.
Maine schools and communities
Not every player associated with Maine was born in the state. Colleges, high schools, town teams, and employers also formed important parts of the state’s baseball network.
John Wesley “Colby Jack” Coombs
Coombs (1882–1957) had strong ties to Waterville and Colby College. In 1906, his first major-league season, he pitched a 24-inning game. He later won 31 games in 1910 and made three winning starts during that year’s World Series.
Clyde Sukeforth
From Washington, Sukeforth attended school in Waterville and played company baseball in Millinocket. After his playing career, he helped scout Jackie Robinson and participated in a pivotal moment in baseball integration.
Jim Beattie
Born in Virginia, Beattie attended South Portland High School. He pitched in the major leagues for the Yankees and Mariners from 1978 through 1986.
Mike Bordick
Born in Michigan, Bordick developed Maine ties through Bangor, Winterport, and the University of Maine. The shortstop played for Oakland, Baltimore, New York, and Toronto between 1990 and 2003.
Later major-league careers
Carl Willey of Cherryfield pitched for the Milwaukee Braves and New York Mets from 1958 through 1965. Dan Coombs, a left-handed pitcher with Brewer connections, reached the majors in 1963 and pitched through 1971. Auburn’s Bert Roberge appeared for Houston, Chicago, and Montreal between 1979 and 1986.
Portland-born Bob Stanley spent his entire 1977–1989 major-league career with Boston. Bill Swift, born in Portland and raised in South Portland, pitched from 1985 through 1998 after playing at the University of Maine. Ryan Flaherty, a Portland native who attended Deering High School, became the first Maine-born player to hit a postseason major-league home run in 2012.
Charles Furbush, born in South Portland, pitched in the major leagues for Detroit and Seattle from 2011 through 2015. Mark Rogers of Orrs Island made his major-league debut with Milwaukee in 2010 and returned to the club in 2012 after overcoming injuries.
Further reading
- Will Anderson, Was Baseball Really Invented in Maine? A Lively Look at the History of Professional Baseball in Maine and at Every Mainer Who’s Ever Played in the Majors (1992).
- Jim Baumer, When Towns Had Teams (2005).
- Augie Favazza, Maine Black Bears Baseball: Orono to Omaha (1987).
- John E. Hodgkins, Our Game Was Baseball: Growing Up with Larry Boyce and Small-Town Ball Games (2010).
- Al Simon, editor, Maine Baseball Hall of Fame (1981).
- Contemporary newspaper coverage and historical player biographies provide additional context for individual careers.