Central Maine Softball lost a good friend with the passing of Ben Howard.
Ben was an original member of the Capital Area Umpires Board and over the years, he was very proud of what he helped create.
He saw umpires from his board go all over the country from California to Chicago, to Florida, Texas, Alabama, Florida and even Canada.
After 35 years, Ben retired. He had an extraordinary relationship with the players. No matter how much a player might have disagreed with his call, the most he ever heard was “Oh, Ben.”
Even more extraordinary was that during those 35 years, Ben never ejected a player — he never had to. That is a special legacy. Upon his passing one board member mentioned he should have been 8 feet tall since that was how big his heart was and still is.
He will be sadly missed.
Raymond G. Dostie
Augusta
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