Former University of Maine standouts John Sawyer, Dan Kane and Dave Gonyar, along with longtime umpire Ralph Damren, are among nine men on the lineup card as 2016 inductees for the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.
They will be joined by Dan Deshaies, Thom Freeman, Mike Mazerall, Gary Williamson and Amel Kiszonak, who will be honored posthumously. Recently retired Portland Press Herald sportswriter Tom Chard will receive the Sonny Noel President’s Award.
The Maine Baseball Hall of Fame will welcome the newcomers during its 46th annual induction ceremony and banquet scheduled for July 16 at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland.
Kane of Surry played on two UMaine College World Series teams in 1984 and 1986 and was named the 1987 ECAC New England Player of the Year. He coached for 27 years at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, winning three state titles.
Gonyar of Bangor played on two UMaine teams that advanced to the College World Series. The Orono native later built an outstanding baseball program as the coach at Bucksport High School.
Sawyer, who lives in Columbia Falls, was a crafty left-hander for Messalonskee High School in Oakland who pitched in the 1976 College World Series for UMaine. He was head baseball coach at Narraguagus High School in Harrington for 13 years, winning a state title in 1986.
Damren, a Pittsfield native who lives in Old Town, has umpired for 50 years at all levels and serves as rules interpreter for the Eastern Maine Board of Umpires Association.
Deshaies of New Gloucester has umpired 27 Maine high school state championship games and after having worked professionally at the Triple-A level for several years. He is the athletic administrator at Edward Little High School in Auburn.
Freeman of Wrentham, Massachusetts, led Bates College of Lewiston to Maine State Series titles in 1962 and 1963 and played four years in the New York Yankees organization.
Kiszonak of Lisbon Falls was a three-year letterman at UMaine in the 1930s and later managed the Roberts 88ers to semipro success during the heyday of Maine town team baseball.
Mazerall of Norcross, Georgia, was a dominant pitcher for Westbrook High School in the early 1960s. He played college ball at Loyola University in New Orleans and went on to pitch in the Red Sox organization for four seasons.
Williamson of Bethel played an integral role on the University of Southern Maine’s first Division III national championship team in 1991. He earned NCAA Regional MVP and World Series MVP honors.