‘Catching’ a family tradition

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    HOULTON – It’s not easy carrying on a legacy, but “Blondie,” as he affectionately calls her, has cultivated a sport even he has never outgrown.
Chelsi Murray, 15, gets a few tips from her great-grandfather Hugh Libby, 90.
    Hugh Libby, 90, now watches his great-granddaughter Chelsi Murray carry on a family tradition in her own arena … as a softball catcher.
    It’s a rare opportunity to be able to see a skill that you appreciate passed on through generations. Libby grew up playing baseball as a lad when he attended the one-room schoolhouse in Amity.
    “I played through school, high school, on town leagues and even on a Zephyr Hills League in Florida,” he explained. “I’ve just always played baseball and softball. We just kept a game going all the time.”
    Murray has followed in her great-grandfather’s steps even to the degree of starting as a pitcher and switching to catcher.
    Libby started out pitching, but due to world events, his position changed.
    “Our catcher had to go to war,” he said.
    As soon as Murray was old enough to sign up for sports, she said, “I was first in line.”
    When she was 5 years old, Murray played softball and basketball, ran track and participated in the ski club, karate and soccer at the Saco and Scarborough recreation centers.
    “In softball, I started out as a pitcher,” Murray explained. “We had four on the team, and one girl was really fast. She threw a consistent 70 miles per hour fastball even in middle school. No one dared to catch for her. But, I wasn’t afraid so I gave it a try and loved it.”
    Even when Murray was playing in Saco, Libby found his way to the ballgames to cheer on his great-granddaughter.
    Murray’s family moved to Houlton this year, and she quickly got involved in the athletic programs.
    “I like playing for Houlton,” she said. “I like the fact that my friends, mom, grandparents and even my great-grandfather can go to my games. Gramp came to my soccer games, as well as my basketball games and even to the tournament in Bangor.”
    When Libby found out that Murray got the nod for starting catcher on the Houlton varsity girl’s softball team, he was ready with advice.
    “He came right over to the house to help me get in order and warmed up,” said Murray.
    Libby is able to impart knowledge of the game on to his great-granddaughter, and she benefits from that.
    “He told me how I should oil my glove, how to be ready to throw down to second base without standing up and to always watch my pitcher and runner at the same time,” Murray said. “But, more importantly, he told me to listen to my coach.”
    “I give her some advice,” Libby said. “I tell her to step closer to the plate, she’s awful short, but once she’s on base, she can go fast … she’s a strong runner.”
    The one thing Libby sees as an obstacle is “Blondie’s” vision.
    “She has to wear those contacts to see the ball,” he said. “Sometimes, she’s late to swing and comes up underneath it. But, she can work that out.”
    “The most challenging part of the game for me is visually,” Murray agreed. “I have complete color deficiency. Being totally color blind, I can’t always see or judge movement or distance.”
    Murray is fitted with special polarized orange contact lenses made for her by the Nike Company. The lenses polarize the ball, allowing her to see the contrast as the ball moves, so she can tell the direction the ball is moving in.
    Murray doesn’t let her eyesight hold her back.
    “My motto is ‘play hard, practice harder,’” she said. “There’s no such thing as the last day of the season — only the day before the start of another preseason.”
    “I’m proud to watch Blondie play,” Libby said. “She’s a rugged athlete. She’s got a strong arm and she’s a good thinker. I’ve seen her make some tough plays. She can get the job done and doesn’t let many balls get by her.”
    Libby recalling the “glory days” of baseball in Houlton remembers when the Shiretown had a stadium  and hosted the Boston Braves.
     “That team is now known as the Boston Red Sox,” he said.
    It used to be that people always got together for baseball, and sometimes they had to be innovative just to play.
    “Long ago, there wasn’t much else to do, but work,” he said. “During hard times when there wasn’t much money for teams, we made our own wooden bats, filled seed sacks for bases, and saved rubber bands from potato barrel ticket stacks to make our own softballs. When we had a big enough ball of rubber bands, my father would cut a leather covering and thin strips of leather to sew the ball tight. We would soak it until it was the same weight as a regulation softball.”
     And the love of the game continues for Libby through watching Murray play the game with the same passion that he showed on the diamond.
    “I’ve seen her hit a home run and then lay down a bunt,” he said. “She’s coachable. Blondie does a great job for only being a freshman. I hope to get to more games.”
    “I’m thankful for my mom, grandparents and great-grandfather who have carted me to games and practices and have always supported my love for sports. In 1933, Gramp was Houlton’s catcher and not too many can say they have four generations of family at games or 75 years’ of experienced advice,” Murray said with a smile.