The Sanford Mainers first took the field in 2002 and have remained a fixture in the community ever since, drawing more than 10,000 fans in 2018. FILE PHOTO

SANFORD — Goodall Park and the Sanford Mainers are like a marriage made in heaven.

A genuine asset to the Sanford community, the Mainers are synonymous with winning and the outpouring of local support for the team is evidence that baseball truly connects generations at Goodall Park.

The story behind the Mainers is both heartwarming and community minded at the same time.

Back in 1993, former Major League All-Star and home run champion George Foster teamed up with Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino to create a summer venue for top college baseball stars to showcase their skills for professional scouts and enhancing their opportunities to continue playing beyond the traditional college baseball season.

NECBL began play in 1994 in cities and towns across New England. In the fall of 2001, the league asked the then-Town of Sanford about the potential of fielding a team locally. Marcel Blouin, Sanford’s retired Parks and Recreation Director, drew together a contingent of town officials and proposed historic Goodall Park as a potential home field for a new NECBL team.

As excitement for bringing a summer team to Sanford grew, funding to start the Mainers was provided by generous local businessmen Allen Mapes, Ron Woodward, and Geoff Titherington, and from Bethel businessman Neil Olson, who had formerly been a part of the Lowell All-Americans, a former NECBL team.

The Mainers were launched in the summer of 2002 and by 2003, area investors Bob Hardison, Bob Gonyou, Joe Vitko, Gary Miller, and Curtis Jacks also signed on as part of the Mainers management team.

That management group recognized that the Mainers were a source of civic pride and community involvement and they agreed that the team should be managed by community shareholders. They transferred ownership of the Mainers to an all-volunteer group of citizens from Sanford, Springvale and surrounding  communities, becoming a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization in the process.

By 2004, the Mainers were the hottest ticket in town and secured legendary status by winning its first NECBL championship. That legacy was further enhanced with a second league title in 2008 and appearances in the league championship series in 2014 and 2016.

Mainers players have become fixtures in the community by donating time to local service projects, visiting sick children in the hospital, spending time and signing autographs at area nursing homes, and running summer camps and clinics for children in Sanford.

More than 10,000 fans attended Mainers games at Goodall Park in 2018, further cementing the strong relationship that exists between the team and community residents.

Former Sanford manager Chris Morris hit the nail on the head when describing to his players what it’s like to play baseball for the Mainers.

“Every year I tell the guys that this place is special. There’s not a lot you can describe until you’re here and you can experience it,” said Morris. “We’ve already had guys that have come up to me and said, ‘I was at the grocery store and (local residents are like) the Mainers are here and they just want to talk with you and get to know you.’ That’s what this community is about. There’s such a long tradition of success and history here with the Mainers and Goodall Park. I think once these guys really get into the swing of things, they’re going to realize how special it is to play here for a summer.”