The 1960 Boys’ Basketball Team
The 1960 Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team made a special mark in Brewer athletic history. It was the first basketball team to win the Eastern Maine Championship after building off several successful seasons the years prior. It is important to appreciate the accomplishments of Brewer basketball prior to this season at that time period. In 1958, they became the first Brewer team in school history to reach the Eastern Maine Finals game, but lost to Caribou. In 1959, they reached the Eastern Maine semi-finals, but lost by one point to John Bapst. This game was lost in a sudden death playoff, after two overtimes. (Note: This format of sudden death, whoever scores the first two points, is no longer used in high school basketball.)
By the time the 1960 season arrived, the whole community was well engaged with the Witches performing on the court and was invested in their success. This was a time when boys’ basketball was the school and community event to attend during the wintertime as there were no other sports offered during the season. Unfortunately, girls’ competitive sports were very limited during this era so to be a cheerleader for boys’ basketball was also pretty special. JV games began at 6pm followed by the varsity team tipping off at 7:30pm. If a spectator wanted to watch the Brewer varsity game, they would have to get there before the JV game began to even get a seat! The atmosphere was electric with such a large and packed crowd. Many, many fans who could not be there in person, would listen intently to the games on the radio all season long.
At regular seasons’ end, the 1960 Witches’ record was 15-2 entering the Eastern Maine Large School Basketball Tournament as the #1 seed. Even though the Witches were in the large school division, Brewer was a relatively small school of 426 students at the time playing against much larger schools, often two to three times its size, such as Bangor, Cony, Waterville and Presque Isle. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, Brewer beat Cony 82-56. In the semi-finals, the Witches beat Waterville 69-50. Then in the Eastern Maine final, Brewer beat Presque Isle 85-59 to become the first Brewer basketball team to win the Eastern Maine Championship title! This was a special historical accomplishment for Brewer High School sports as no Brewer basketball team had reached this level of success.
The Basketball State Final against Lewiston was held at the Portland Exposition Gymnasium. The round-trip passenger train from Bangor to Portland was packed with all the Brewer fans. The entire city of Brewer and its surrounding communities were on that passenger train for the momentous occasion! This 1960 team was notably playing for a state championship title which was the biggest sporting event for the city to date. Although Brewer had earned two state championship titles in football in the 1950’s, there were no playoffs during that time period and the titles were earned based on their regular season record. Therefore, the 1960 Boys’ Basketball Team was the first team in school history to play in a statewide competition. Brewer led the state game at halftime by seven points, but Lewiston prevailed with a score of 81-64. With the state runner-up trophy in hand, the Witches returned to the City of Brewer as hometown heroes. The Brewer fans could not have been prouder of its basketball squad of 10 players for their historic accomplishment.
The 1960 Brewer Varsity Basketball Team was built on a foundation of exceptional unity and coordination. Teamwork was the essential ingredient to their success. When each player took the court, he knew his role. Communication, trust and respect for one another ensured their strong team dynamic. The Varsity Team was led by Larry Mahaney (2014 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee), Assistant Coach Bill Booker and a group of talented athletes. One of the greatest players in the history of the sport and a basketball legend in the State of Maine, Danny Coombs (2014 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee) averaged over 30 points per game (this was before the 3-point shot was adopted) and was a First Team All-State selection. In the Eastern Maine Tournament, Coombs still holds the all-time scoring record for three games with 104 points. Second year varsity player Dennis Vanidestine was a key player also scoring in double digits. Alan Leathers and Dave Farley, up from the JV team the year before, both became impact players. Like Coombs, Leathers was one of the team’s top performers and he was named a Second Team All-Tournament and Second Team All-State selection. Dave Farley (2014 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee), with his great speed, was a menace on defense. Palmer Little and Harry Bowden were tough rebounders. Jim Garrity added a lot of valuable experience at the guard position. Dave Harnum, Dennis Day and Fred Knowles added further depth to the team. Managers included Ron Given and Ron Rogerson. (It should be noted that four of the five starters of this talented team went on to play sports at Division I colleges.) While the Witches clearly had unique individual talent, it was the collective spirit of teamwork that truly set Brewer apart from their opponents. Every member of the team worked together tirelessly to achieve their common goals leaving a mark on Brewer basketball that is still remembered to this day.
With its Eastern Maine Championship and State Runner-up titles, the Boys’ Basketball Team left a legacy for future generations by what it accomplished that season. It was the team that all future Brewer basketball teams were compared to for decades. We are honored to welcome this memorable team into the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame!
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION PRESENTATION VIDEO OF THE 1960 BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS OF THE 1960 BASKETBALL TEAM INTO THE HALL OF FAME
Members of the 1960 Boys' Basketball Team: (L-R) Dennis Vanidestine, Alan Leathers, Jim Garrity, Dave Farley, Harry Bowden