WILTON – Herbie Austin’s Christmas present came two days early in 2002.

The former right-handed pitcher from Wilton learned on Dec. 23 that he would join the class of 2003 to be inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, joining celebrity Maine players like former President George H. Bush and author Stephen King and some legends, like Austin’s good friend and former teammate from Wilton, Burt “Lefty” Vinal, who had already been inducted.

The former hurler, famed for his sneaky fastball, a mean underhanded curveball and a quick change-up, began his baseball career in the pastures of East Wilton, where he was born in 1928.

He learned the love of the game from his father, Richard, a former pitcher himself, and developed himself into an athlete at Traip Academy, where he pitched his team to 40 wins, played outfield when he wasn’t on the mound and accumulated an impressive .357 batting average over his high school career. His childhood was filled with trips to Boston, where he watched the Red Sox and the Boston Braves from the stands.

“I just loved it,” Austin said, reminiscing about his love for America’s Pastime. “I played just for the fun of it. Back then, you never wanted to come out of that game.”

Austin headed back home after graduation and began playing for the Wilton Loggers, equivalent to today’s semi-professional level, in the Timber League. Coupled with “Lefty” Vinal, the two hometown boys pitched their team to the 1948 New England Amateur Championships, shutting out Connecticut in a best-of-three series played in Farmington.

That championship win advanced the team to the American Baseball Congress Tournament in Battle Creek, Mich., where Austin’s impressive arm earned him a spot on the tourney all-star team.

In Battle Creek, which Austin called the greatest baseball experience of his life, he caught the eye of scouts from the St. Louis Cardinals and tried out for the team. Despite striking out all the hitters he faced in the tryout, Austin’s 5-foot-7 height and 135-pound frame dissuaded the scouts, and several years later he retired from the Timber League, where he was a perennial All-Star, always batting about .300 and shutting down batter after batter from the mound.

“The league just folded up eventually. They couldn’t get enough money to even pay the referees and it just fizzled out,” he said.

“Baseball will probably never come back that strong in this area. After I finished, I missed it for a while, but I got married and started a family and had to keep working to pay the bills.

“Oh, did I love to pitch, though. I just loved the challenge.”

He is married to Jackie, his wife of more than 50 years, and has four children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He plays golf, enjoys the outdoors and spends time with his family. A daredevil from the start, Austin parachuted at age 55 and more recently hit the strip in Las Vegas to ride the elevator ride that launches riders in the air and then freefalls more than a dozen stories at “Five G’s.”

The induction is the cherry on the top of a long and memory-making career. Although the official ceremony isn’t until July 20, he was recently given a sentiment from Maine politicians Chandler Woodcock and Tom Saviello and signed by speaker of the house Patrick Colwell.

“I never dreamed I’d have anything like this happen to me,” said Austin. “It’s quite an honor, really. It gives you a real good feeling. It’s not something that happens more than once in your lifetime. It’s quite a thing.”

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