Mantor Library, University of Maine Farmington

Baseball was played informally at Farmington State Normal School early in the school’s history. Because enrollment by men was much smaller than women, Normal faculty and the occasional local high school student often stepped in to field a team of players. The early teams played local high schools and town teams.

Although little is known about participation by Normal women in the sport, they apparently had a team in 1897. The handwritten note on the back of the team's photo postcard reads:

"Is this a good ball team?"
"Is it? Well I guess!"
"Did you ever see anything slow that came from the F.N.S."

In the 1920s, the Normal men's teams, coached by Erroll Dearborn, continued to play local teams from New Sharon, Farmington, Phillips and Mexico. In 1927, Gorham Normal School was added to the season schedule, launching a decades-long sports rivalry between the two colleges. The first instance of the team being referred to by a nickname -- the Teachers -- was in the 1928 yearbook.

Baseball disappeared from the Normal School's sports from 1930 to 1938, only to have a brief “rebirth” under the coaching of Richard Mallett in 1939. With a new nine-acre athletic field nearing completion in 1940, the schedule expanded to include Bates Junior College and Portland Junior College. However, there were no men’s sports for much of the 1940s due to World War II, including no baseball team from 1941 to 1952.

The war years brought a new focus on fitness for women, which translated into more sports opportunities. While athletics remained mostly limited to competition between classes, departments and dormitories, "play days" with Gorham Normal School began in the early 1940s. With more activities offered, the Normal women began participating in organized sports in greater numbers. The first softball team made its debut in 1942.

In the 1950s, the Men’s Athletic Association at Farmington State Teachers College began providing funds for baseball. Lawrence Stofan took on the coaching duties in 1953 and the schedule expanded to include Plymouth State Teachers College (New Hampshire) and Salem State Teachers College (Massachusetts). During this decade, women’s athletics began transitioning from exclusively intramurals to include a limited number of softball “playdays” with other Maine colleges and high schools.

By 1962, FSTC baseball had a new schedule, which included tougher competition, under the coaching of Roger Wing. Two years later, the team placed second in Northern Division of New England College Athletic Conference and the teams continued to improve over the next few years. By 1967, they had a two-year record of 22-6, one of the best in New England, under the coaching of Leonard MacPhee. The 1966-67 team finished as co-champions of New England State College Conference.

The softball team continued to play intramurals with occasional play days in the early 1960s. They did not play competitively against other colleges until a softball "sports day" was held by the Maine Association Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1977.

Baseball continued strong at the University of Maine at Farmington through the 1970s. UMF began competing in the Northeast College Conference in 1972 and won the championship that year. It had its fifth consecutive winning season and “the most successful year ever for athletic teams at UMF” in 1975. They won the Northeast College Conference co-championship and participated in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District 5 tournament. UMF star Jerry Collett broke several UMF pitching records.

The softball team continued to participate in the MAIAW softball tournament through 1986.

By the early 1990s, the baseball team regularly made the NAIA District 5 playoffs under the guidance of Coach Robert Lieb. The 1991 team included David Caldwell, who helped the team to their fourth straight trip to the NAIA District 5 tournament. That same year, the softball team qualified for NAIA District 5 tournament for fifth year in row and was coached by Len MacPhee.

In 1993, Richard “Dick” Meader began coaching the baseball team and they made it into the NAIA District 5 Final Four. Coach Meader’s son, Daren, was named to Maine All-Conference Team and the NAIA All District Team and was Maine Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. In 1998, Coach Meader was named Coach of the Year in the Maine Athletic Conference and Daren was named to the MAC All-Conference Team, along with teammates Brian Cox (outfield) and Brett Chase (first base). Daren was also named NAIA New England Player of the Year. That same year, the softball team had a 21-6 season, Coach Lieb was named MAC Coach of the Year, and short stop Crystal Hulit, catcher Stacy Pinkham, pitcher Denelle Surman and outfielders Christiana Lyons and Michelle Blanchard were named to MAC All Conference Softball Team.

In 1999, Mike Fullerton broke the UMF career home run mark in a single season with 13 home runs. He went on to be named an All-Maine Athletic Conference All-Star.

In 2010, Dick Meader retired from coaching baseball, but continued coaching Men’s basketball at UMF until his retirement from UMF in 2020.

Sources: The Farmington Normal; Effesseness, Effesteco, UMF Yearbooks; newspaper articles; University of Maine at Farmington: A Study in Educational Change (1864-1974), Richard P. Mallett, © 1974; Baseball, McLean Collection; History of Modern Sports at UMF, Estella McLean, McLean Collection.