Semipro league for Maine explored Ex-player wants to revive baseball teams which thrived on coast in 1950s

Rufus Candage still vividly remembers the glory years of the Waldo-Hancock League, a semipro baseball league in coastal Maine which thrived in the 1950s.

More than four decades later, the 81-year-old baseball fan thinks the time is right to revive the idea of a competitive league for players ages 18 and older.

“It appears like there’s more interest in that type of baseball now than there’s been over the last few years,” Candage said. “People get tired of watching TV and I think Junior League and [American] Legion is attracting more interest now. I talked to some people around here and it seemed to me that this was something that would work around here.”

“Here” is Blue Hill, near ground zero for Waldo-Hancock League environs. The league petered out as the 60’s dawned and ushered in new activities and interests for the ages 18-30 set and finally ceased operation around 1962.

Two players, Ellsworth’s Jack Scott and Russ Boynton, were offered Major League Baseball tryouts and Scott played a year of minor league ball.

“The beauty of that league is it was well-organized,” said the former Waldo-Hancock League commissioner, a retired hardware store owner who also used to do stories on the league for the Portland Press Herald. “I think if it’s well-organized, it’s something that would do well today.”

Candage, who stressed that things are in the “very early” stages, envisions a league with at least four teams from local coastal areas like Bangor-Brewer, Bucksport, Belfast, Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, and Blue Hill; although any locale would be allowed to field an entry.

The Bay League, as Candage has tabbed it, will operate during the summer months – June, July, and August. Teams, which would find local sponsors to help defray the cost of uniforms and equipment, will play either one or two games per week. Candage hopes to start play next summer.

“I’ve been thinking about this the last few years, but I didn’t think the area was ready for it,” said Candage, who is currently organizing the new league on his own. “So far, the feedback’s been good. People in Belfast and Bucksport are very interested.

“The big thing is it meets a need since there’s a lack of opportunity for players 18 and over to play organized baseball around here. If you’re not playing Junior League or Legion ball, there’s nothing else. And once you’re done with that, it’s over – especially now that Worcester Peat has folded.”

The demise of Worcester Peat, a Brewer-based member of the Portland-based Twilight Baseball League, due to a lack of players doesn’t concern Candage. He blamed Worcester’s trouble on the extensive travel the team had to do to play games.

Candage said that won’t be a problem for the Bay League as most teams would be located within a 35-mile radius from Bangor.

Right now, Candage just wants to spread the word about the league. The next big step will be taken in April when the league will hold its first organizational meeting to set up rules and guidelines.

“Right now, we just need to talk to as many people as we can and get their feedback. Then we can get this thing organized in good shape,” Candage said.

Anyone interested in fielding a team, sponsoring one, or playing can call Candage at 374-5741.