UMaine celebration remembers extensive legacy of Larry Mahaney

ORONO – It seems nearly impossible to throw a baseball on the University of Maine campus and not hit something inspired, funded, built or otherwise affected by Larry K. Mahaney.

So it seemed wholly appropriate that Saturday’s Celebration of Larry Mahaney memorial event at UMaine took place next to the newly dedicated, inflatable Mahaney Dome and a lazy pop fly away from Mahaney Diamond.

It was also fitting that Saturday’s events took place under clear, blue skies and a bright, warm sun producing temperatures in the mid-70s.

An estimated crowd of 750 friends, family members, and acquaintances as well as UMaine officials, coaches and students truly were having “a great Maine day,” as Mahaney was fond of wishing people.

“Larry has indeed given us a great Maine day,” said longtime NBC sportscaster Dick Enberg, who knew Mahaney for 28 years and counts him among his three or four best friends.

“But that’s not surprising,” Enberg added later. “Whatever you wanted, if it was within reason and he was your friend, he made sure that’s what happened.”

The day’s ceremonies, which included a remembrance ceremony, cookout, dome dedication and Black Bear baseball doubleheader, were held to pay tribute to one of UMaine’s greatest benefactors and boosters. Dignitaries from all walks of life attended, including Enberg, Dexter Shoe founder and philanthropist Harold Alfond, Old Town native and former New England Patriots and Syracuse University football coach Dick McPherson, and Gov. John Baldacci.

“This is an all-star cast for an all-star,” said Baldacci.

A taped video message by U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, who talked of her long association and friendship with Mahaney, was played at the remembrance ceremony.

“If you were involved in a project with Larry, you could be sure it was going to get done,” Snowe said. “Jock [husband and former Maine Gov. John McKernan] and I were always blessed to have a place at your table, and you will always have a special place at ours.”

Former teammate and fellow Fort Fairfield grad Paul Lynch, a high school educator for 28 years, drove down from Presque Isle to attend the event. Others, such as Bucksport athletic standout, former coach and longtime school administrator Tom Sullivan, didn’t personally know Mahaney but attended because of his indirect influence on their lives or simply their admiration for the man.

Mahaney, who died in February at age 76 after suffering a stroke in West Palm Beach, Fla., was a local product who never forgot what locale he came from.

“I wanted to have the gathering because Dad’s life was so full, most people just scratch the surface of understanding how rich they made his life and how much he cherished it,” said Kevin Mahaney, one of Larry’s two sons and president-CEO of The Olympia Cos. “Dad lived a rich life, and what made it rich was his friends, and I really wanted his friends to understand how much they meant to him.”

Webber Energy Fuels president Mike Shea, Mahaney’s handpicked successor, called Mahaney the coach and unquestioned leader of Webber, both inspirationally and in business.

“One of his mottoes was ‘Don’t take counsel from your fears,’ and he didn’t,” Shea said. “He was a visionary.”

The Aroostook County native and Fort Fairfield High School graduate, Class of 1947, earned his undergraduate degree in economics from UMaine in 1951 and a master’s degree in education in 1955. He received honorary doctorates from UMaine in 1988, from Thomas College of Waterville in 1989 and from Saint Joseph’s College of Standish in 2004.

The former UMaine varsity basketball player and three-sport standout at Fort Fairfield became synonymous with baseball.

“I remember, like it was yesterday, meeting Larry for breakfast and basically leaving the meeting with such a positive feeling about the University of Maine, what this baseball program could do, and how important it was for the community – and this was all within five minutes,” said former Maine baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos.

Kostacopoulos, who just finished his first season as the U.S. Naval Academy’s varsity baseball coach after eight with Maine, traveled from Annapolis, Md., to attend the event.

“I truly believe he felt his name was on baseball, and it is everywhere else, but he didn’t want his name on it if it wasn’t going to be good,” Kostacopoulos said. “We’d meet on a semiregular basis, and he always wanted to know what we could do to get better, either recruiting- or facilitywise.

“I miss that because it’s a different situation at Navy. You miss the characters here, and he was one of them. He was a character with character.”

Mahaney’s successful tenure as a high school coach and educator at Brewer also was recounted. Many of his former colleagues, students and players were on hand to tell of his early career accomplishments.

“The year before I played varsity, they’d won the Eastern Maine title with Danny Coombs and this great team, and we came in with a bunch of sophomores and juniors that really weren’t very good,” said Brewer lawyer and former Brewer and UMaine athletic standout Joe Ferris. “Larry was so competitive and so tough, his goal was to make us all physically and mentally tougher.

“We became friends after high school with my success at the university, and we were lifelong friends. He was proud when his kids did well, and I was proud of him as well.”