STANDISH – American Legion baseball is a mainstay of the summer sporting scene, not just in Maine but around the country. Formed in 1926, and with more than 5,400 teams in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, it has helped countless future major leaguers and others become better baseball players in the months when schools out.

For the past few years, though, Bonny Eagle hadn’t been one of those 5,400, at least not on its own. In fact, Bonny Eagle hadn’t had its own Junior Legion team in six years.

Before this summer, that is, with the held of Standish Memorial Post 128.

It all started last summer, when Bonny Eagle paired with Gorham for a team in the 17 and under Junior Legion division. The interest level for the team in both towns turned out to be so high that it was obvious it would be easy to put together new team, said Max Salevsky, the Bonny Eagle team manager.

But having not had a Junior Legion team of its own in six years, and with uniforms, equipment, travel, insurance, and other ancillary expenses to think of, without a main sponsor Bonny Eagle wouldn’t have the budget for its own team.

That’s when Salevsky went to Post 128 in Standish, which was formed just six years ago and hadn’t yet been asked to support a team.

“Max approached us looking for any kind of help whatsoever, and after his initial meeting with us we decided to not just be a sponsor but to be the main sponsor,” said Will Hamilton, the Post 128 adjutant. “Especially in this economy, we had a good fundraising year so we said, let’s go for it.

“All of us have either played or have been involved with baseball, so it’s one of the things we’ve talked about for a long time.”

With the Post’s support, the team was formed with a roster of 15 and went 12-10 overall this summer, making it into the semifinal round of the playoffs, where it dropped a three-game series to the Tri-Town team from the Minot/Mechanic Falls area, not a bad result for a program in its infancy.

“Not many people thought we were going to go as far as we did,” said Salevsky, whose team of mostly 15- and 16-year-olds was one of the younger teams in the division. “We did very, very well for this being our first year.”

But more importantly than wins and losses, Salevsky said, Bonny Eagle having its own Junior Legion team would benefit the high school program, and baseball in Standish, Buxton, Limington and Hollis, in general. The more opportunities to play baseball the kids have, the more they develop. And the better and bigger the program, the more backing baseball will get from the community, Salevsky said.

“I think it’s very, very important for us to have the Junior and the Senior Legion teams because it’s a stepping stone for these kids to grow our junior varsity and varsity programs in the high school,” he said. “I was very much keeping in contact with the high school coaches and letting them know what was going on and how these kids were progressing and so forth.

“I think in order to grow your district program you need to have a good feeder program. You have to have a good program to draw kids to it, because there’s a lot of kids who peel off at this juncture and go to lacrosse or to full-time soccer or basketball or another sport.”

Next summer Salevsky said he hopes Bonny Eagle will also have its own Senior Legion team, which this year still partnered with Gorham. While those talks are still in the preliminary stages, Hamilton said the veterans at Post 128 were pleased with the way the Junior Legion sponsorship had turned out, and would consider more Legion baseball sponsorships in the future.

“We were just thrilled that we did have the money in the budget, and we intend to carry the sponsorship forward next year,” Hamilton said. “We want the community to know that we’re there for them, as well as the veterans, so that’s really why we got involved.

“We’re just absolutely thrilled that we can help out the young people in the area.”

Standish Memorial Post 128 members Lou Stack, left, the commander, and Henry Deschaine, center, talk with Junior Legion coach Max Salevsky at a game in July. With the sponsorship of the Post, Bonny Eagle fielded a Junior Legion team for the first time in six years this summer, and hope to expand to a Senior Legion team next year.
Members of Standish Memorial Post 128 stand with the Bonny Eagle Junior Legion team the organization sponsored this year