ORONO, Maine -- The 1964 University of Maine baseball team that finished third in the College World Series is the second team to be inducted as a complete team into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame, following the induction last year of the 1992-93 NCAA National Champion hockey team.

Coach Jack Butterfield, who was named national coach of the year in '64 by the American College Baseball Coaches Association, and four players from that team — pitcher Joe Ferris, catcher Carl "Stump" Merrill, shortstop Dick DeVarney and third baseman David Thompson — were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Two more members of the '64 team — right fielder Ron Lanza and first baseman John Gillette — are being inducted this year as individuals.

That the Black Bears went to Omaha came as a shock at the time. Maine had finished 9-12 (4-5 in the Yankee Conference) in 1963. The '64 team had two seniors, nine juniors and 12 sophomores moving up from the freshman team.

"What made the team was the sophomores," says Thompson, the team captain. "The starting team in Omaha, counting Joe [Ferris] at pitcher, had six sophomores, two juniors and one senior. Sophomores DeVarney, Lanza and Stump were right in the middle of the lineup."

Though young, "We were as good a defensive team as anybody," says Thompson. "Jack [Butterfield] ran a lot of defensive drills, cutoff drills, being in position."

Still, that such an inexperienced team could go to the College World Series still seems preposterous, just as it did then to at least one team member.

"After going 6-1 on the spring trip somebody said, 'We're going to play in Omaha'," says Merrill. "I said, 'What's in Omaha?' I was so naive. Omaha didn't mean anything to me."

The Black Bears opened the Yankee Conference race by sweeping two from Connecticut, and closed it by sweeping a showdown with second-place Vermont for the conference title. Suddenly the Bears were paired with Northeastern in a best-of-three at Fenway Park for a ticket to Omaha. Conventional wisdom was that Northeastern would get its ticket punched, but Maine swept a doubleheader behind Ferris and Tom Murphy, 9-5 and 4-2. On to Omaha.

Maine opened the double-elimination World Series by beating Seton Hall, 5-1, behind Ferris, but then got thumped by Minnesota, 12-0, seemingly confirming conventional wisdom that the Black Bears didn't belong. Ahead was Arizona State, but Dick Dolloff pitched a stunning 4-2 victory, advancing Maine to a game with Southern California.

Pitching with a broken wrist and with USC Coach Rod Dedeaux riding him for seven innings, according to Merrill, Ferris held the defending champions at bay. Then, says Merrill, Dedeaux turned on his own team in disgust and "I knew that we would win."

Maine won, 2-1, and joined Missouri and Minnesota with 3-1 records for the championship round. Drawing straws, eventual champion Minnesota drew the bye and Missouri edged Maine, 2-1, to reach the final against the Gophers.

Ferris, who finished the season 9-0, says, "I don't think I was behind all season. Maybe at Rhode Island, I gave up a few runs and we ended up beating them bad."

Looking back, DeVarney says, "The big thing is, it was a team. It was fun. Everybody had a good time."

Ferris was named Most Outstanding Player in the World Series and  Thompson was the series all-star team third baseman. Lanza was named All-New England, DeVarney was second team and center fielder Larry Coughlin, second baseman Vic Nelson and Merrill were honorable mention. Ferris, DeVarney and Lanza were All-Yankee Conference first team, while Coughlin and Merrill were second team. Merrill, DeVarney and Coughlin were All-Maine State Series selections.  

Members of the '64 team not aforementioned were Ray Bisbee, Bruce Cary, Mike DeSisto, Dick Flaherty, Art Heathcote, John Hutchins, Brent Keene, Dick Kelliher, Charlie Newell, Dick Perkins, Roger Richards, Steve Sones and Doug Swain.

The University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame will induct a 10-member class to the 195-member hall at a ceremony held on Friday, Oct. 5 at the Black Bear Inn and Conference Center. For a full list of this year's inductees, please click HERE.

-UMaine-