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BASEBALL

April 28, 2010

Woodstock Hall of Fame taps Donato

Mt. View coach on Canadian baseball league winner in ’79

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Central Maine fans are used to watching John Donato prowl the sidelines as coach of a girls basketball team, first at Messalonskee and currently at Mt. View.

Baseball has played a big role in Donato's life as well, both as a player and a coach. A pitcher at Middleboro High in Massachusetts and later Ricker College in Houlton, Donato went on to play for the Woodstock Shiretowners, a Canadian Senior Baseball League team in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

He and his teammates won the league title in 1979 and will be inducted to the Woodstock Sports Hall of Fame on May 15.

"We had some good ballplayers," Donato said. "We were allowed two imports."

Because he lived within a 15 mile radius of Woodstock, Donato wasn't considered an import. Those came from the University of Massachusetts in the form of infielder and pitcher Leo Kalinowski and catcher/outfielder Mark Sullivan.

Later, Mark Smith, who played some and was later cut by the Oakland A's, signed on with the Shiretowners.

The "senior" part of the league's title, referred to level of play and not to age. Players as young as 18 played in the league although most were in their 20s or 30s. Former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee played in the league shortly after his retirement in 1982 while former Red Sox bench coach and current Mets assistant Dave Jauss coached the Shiretowners in 1980.

"This was a big deal back then," player and coach Dale Allen said.

Donato was a two-time all-conference selection at Ricker his junior and senior years and also played in the Boston Park League and Cape Cod League. He settled in Houlton after college and coached baseball for 25 years, winning two Eastern Maine titles. His girls basketball resume was even more impressive as Houlton won 11 regional titles and five state championships in Donato's 17 years at the helm.

Woodstock, a town of 5,000 residents, beat Fredericton for the league championship in 1979 before 2,500 fans. They won 7-6 on a homer by Sullivan in the ninth inning in the final game of a seven-game series. Allen recalled Donato pitched well in the first game, going the final seven innings in a 13-inning game for the win.

"Donato was a good pitcher," Allen said.

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com

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