Ed Flaherty, who began his baseball career as a Little League pitcher in Portland, quickly rose to the top of his profession.
On January 4, 1991, Flaherty was honored as national Division lIl coach of the year at the American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Dallas. Flaherty was voted Division III New England coach of the year 1989-1990-1991.
His national honor was an appropriate climax to an outstanding year.
Flaherty, 37, led the University of Southern Maine to the 1991 Division IIl World
Series baseball championship at Battle Creek, MI.
In six seasons as head coach of the Huskies, Flaherty had a record of 169-66, a winning percentage of .719. In 1991, USM was 38-6 including four consecutive wins in the
world Series when it outscored four opponents 42-10.
USM became the first college or university team in Maine to win a national championship in any sport.
A Portland native, Flaherty progressed through Little League, Babe Ruth, American Legion baseball for Caldwell Post. He was the first 13 year-old to make the All-Star team. The Portland Babe Ruth All-Stars won state championships in 1967-68 and 1969.
At Deering High he was a member of the Rams 1972 state champion under Fred Harlow
(Maine Baseball Hall of Fame 1974). Caldwell Post won state championships in 1970 and 1972.
At the University of Maine, Flaherty played for coach John Winkin (Maine Baseball Hall of Fame 1975) Caldwell Post won state championships in 1970 and 72. He led the Yankee Conference in hitting with a .389 average in 1975. That summer Flaherty played on the USA Collegiate All start team that finished fourth in the Division 1 World Series. His teammates included many future major leaders including Paul Molitor, Ron Hassey and Scott Sanderson.
Flaherty concluded his active baseball career in the Twilight League.
He twice led the league in home runs and was MVP In 1983.
He began his coaching career at Lyman Moore School in Portland, compiling a 30-3 record 1978-1981. At Deering High 1981-1985, he coached
the Rams to a 61-19 record, winning a state championship in 1983 and Telegram League titles in 1982-1983.
From 1982-1985, he coached Caldwell Post.
Flaherty's overall record was 91-14 with state championships in 1982 and 1984.
At USM, he has led the Huskies to NCAA tournaments in 1987-1988-1990 1991. His overall coaching record 1978-1991 is 351-102 (.774).
When USM won the national championship, one of Flaherty's assistants was Jeff Conley. Conley played for Flaherty at Deering High Schoo! and succeeded him as American
Legion coach of Shop N Save, the successor to Caldwell Post.
In offices related to coaching, he is serving the first term of a three-year appointment as President of the American Baseball Coaches Association.
He is Vice President of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association and will become President in 1993.
Flaherty is a member of the ABCA coaching/teaching materials committee.
He was a clinician at the ABCA 1992 convention.
From University of Southern Maine
https://www.southernmainehuskies.com/sports/bsb/coaches/Flaherty_Ed?view=bio
Now in his fourth decade as the head coach of the University of Southern Maine baseball team, Ed Flaherty has firmly established USM among the nation’s elite NCAA Division III programs. Flaherty has earned an outstanding reputation for his proven teaching ability, discipline and hard-nosed work ethic. His instructional baseball camps are highly regarded and among the best attended in the New England region.
Last season, Flaherty achieved a personal milestone when he became the 11th coach in NCAA Division III history to reach 1,000 career wins when the Huskies defeated Bates College on May 2. In his 33 seasons as head coach, Flaherty has compiled an impressive 1,004-450-4 record (.690 W-L percentage), including 17 seasons with 30 or more wins. Twenty-four times during his collegiate coaching career, Flaherty has guided the Huskies to a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament, including 15 consecutive appearances between 1987 and 2001.
His career winning percentage at the start of the 2019 season ranks him 15th among active NCAA Division III coaches with five or more years of service, and his 1,004 wins ranks fifth. All-time, Flaherty is ranked 24th in winning percentage and 11th in wins.
Under Flaherty’s direction, the Huskies reached the pinnacle of the NCAA Division III baseball world in 1991 when they traveled to Battle Creek, Michigan, and claimed their first national championship. That team was the first collegiate team from the state of Maine to win a national championship. Six years later, the Huskies compiled a then school best 39-9 record en route to capturing the program’s second national title. Among that season’s highlights were an 18-game winning streak, winning the first-ever Little East Conference championship, and hosting the NCAA regional tournament.
The Huskies have made six other World Series appearances. Their first trip came in 1989 when they finished fourth. After winning the national title in 1991, they successfully battled their way through the regional tournament in 1992 for a shot at back-to-back titles, but fell short, finishing seventh. USM also made back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2000 and 2001, and again in 2013 and 2014.
“The University of Southern Maine is respected for its strong athletic tradition in several different sports,” said Flaherty. “I’m pleased that our baseball program has been able to carry on, and build upon, that tradition during my career at USM. We take great pride in the fact that Southern Maine has one of the premier baseball programs in our region and the nation.”
His oldest son Ryan is a major league ballplayer for the Baltimore Orioles organization.
University of Southern Maine to Name Baseball Field in Honor of Veteran Head Coach Ed Flaherty on April 30
https://usm.maine.edu/athletics/university-southern-maine-name-baseball-field-honor-veteran-head-coach-ed-flaherty-april
From Portland Press Herald
https://www.pressherald.com/2017/04/30/special-day-at-usm-as-baseball-field-named-after-ed-flaherty/
“No, it was just a regular morning for him,” said Debbie Flaherty, his wife. “Really, what was most important to him is that he wants to win. He said this morning that this is a big game.”
The Huskies defeated Western New England 4-1 to improve to 25-8 on the season. But Sunday was a special day for other reasons. For the first time, the Huskies played on Ed Flaherty Field. The field was finally given a name as university officials honored their longtime coach.
“Wow,” said Flaherty, moments after the new name was unveiled on the left field scoreboard. “This is something I certainly didn’t expect.
“I am honored and humbled. And I feel a little weird about it. I’m still coaching these guys, and if I stay healthy I’ll continue coaching them for a little more.”
From YouTube . 800th win
From WMTW 8 . 1000th win
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