In the summer of 1972, Bangor brought back American Legion baseball after several years without it. It was the only Legion team north of Fairfield and had players from all over the Bangor area. Thirty-five years later, there are 11 teams north of Fairfield, including two teams from Bangor. Motor City’s first-year team gave players from Bangor-based high schools John Bapst and Bangor Christian a better opportunity to play.

Last year, the John Bapst and Bangor Christian players were vying with Bangor High School players for Bangor Comrades roster spots.

Every region in eastern Maine now has a Legion team, including Aroostook County (Presque Isle Patriots) and Washington County (Calais Suns).

And players find themselves teammates and friends with high school rivals.

This is all healthy.

Would the Bangor Comrades have benefited from having a player or two from the Motor City team on their roster?

Sure.

But it’s more important to provide youngsters with opportunities to play the game.

And playing baseball in the summer sun is such an improvement over the short high school season played in frigid weather. It’s much more conducive to player development.

Don’t feel sorry for Bangor.

Some of the younger players on the Bangor roster may have been cut if Motor City hadn’t formed its own team.

Now they have the chance to play for the Comrades and, even with limited innings, they are practicing with veterans and learning a lot.

That will only help the Bangor High School program.

Bangor already has a strong feeder system on both sides of the city.

And the Comrades wound up finishing second in the Zone 1 Tournament and earning a berth in this weekend’s state tournament.

In addition, Zone 1 Commissioner Dave Paul pointed out that he encourages the younger players on Legion rosters to play in other leagues like Senior League.

“If he has to choose between an American Legion practice or a Senior League game, he should, by all means, go play in the Senior League game,” said Paul.

“The only time you run into a conflict is [state] tournament time. Then they need to make a full commitment. They can’t do both. That’s a national American Legion ruling,” said Paul.

Paul has a unique perspective on the zone’s growth.

He was a 15-year-old on the second-year Old Town-Orono Legion team that won the state championship and reached the Northeast Regional final. The Twins forced a championship game against the host Morrisette Post team from Quincy, Mass., only to lose a heart breaker 4-2 in 11 innings.

His Old Town-Orono team had players from all over the northern half of the state including Stearns of Millinocket’s Mark Armstrong, the first player to receive an athletic scholarship at UMaine.

The head coach was Carl “Stump” Merrill, who went on to manage the New York Yankees.

“Every team in the zone, except the last two who have come on board, Hampden and Motor City, have been to the state tournament,” said Paul, who added that upping the age limit has produced stronger overall programs. “We didn’t have any forfeits this summer and every team started with at least 15 players.”

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.