When Skip Chappelle and Larry Gardner started the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame Golf Tournament six years ago, neither had any indication what a success the event would become.
Through six tournaments, Gardner said between $40,000 and $50,000 has been raised for the Hall of Fame, which is located at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, thanks in part to funding from the tournament.
“I think it was Skip and Peter Webb [who] were trying to get the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame off the ground,” said tourney director Gardner, who is the girls basketball coach at Fort Fairfield High School.
“I’ve known Skip for a long time, he used to coach at Fort. He said, ‘let’s do a [golf] tournament.’”
Chappelle, a former University of Maine basketball star and coach, is one of many players heading to Aroostook Valley Country Club in Fort Fairfield on Aug. 5.
The tournament, a four-person scramble, starts with an 11 a.m. (U.S. time) shotgun start. The course straddles the U.S.-Canadian border.
The tournament is the Hall of Fame’s only fundraiser.
Gardner said approximately 30 teams participated in 2016, the event’s best year from a participation standpoint.
“It depends on the weather,” Gardner said. “If [last year’s] an indication, I would expect another good turnout.”
Other former Maine players expected to attend include Jim Stephenson, Tom Pelletier, Steve Pound, Steve Condon and Matt Rossignol, and County personalities such as Dewey Dewitt.
Dewitt, a longtime broadcaster, is more than 90 years old and still plays golf about four times a week.
“He usually shows up and people like to see him,” said Gardner, who serves on the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors.
Stephenson, who now lives in southern Maine, played his high school basketball at Fort Fairfield before going on to play at UMaine.
The tournament also will feature cash prizes and two hole-in-one prizes, including $10,000 cash and a 2017 Honda Civic sponsored by Griffeth Honda of Presque Isle.
Gardner said tournament officials try to get as many Hall of Fame inductees as possible, along with board members and officials, to play in the tourney.
Between entry fees and an auction, the tournament made more than $10,000 last summer.
This summer, auction prizes include concert tickets, golf packages, and tickets to see the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and New England Patriots.
“It’s nice to get basketball people together on the golf course,” Gardner said.
The field is limited to 40 teams and the entry fee is $65 per person. It includes a post-tournament steak and chicken barbeque. Men’s, women’s and mixed divisions will be featured.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top four teams in gross and net categories, along with a skins game.
Anybody interested in signing up can contact Gardner at 551-5001.
