Francis "Babe" Anderson
PORTLAND- Francis "Babe" Anderson of Portland, died on August 17, 2015 at the Barron Center, in Portland.
Born on January 4, 1930, Babe was the son of Robert and Frances Anderson. His early years were spent in Portland, where he attended school. He married his sweetheart, Barbara Ann Rines, in 1957, and they were married for 48 years.
Although he did a variety of work during his life, Babe was best known as a cab driver and as an umpire/referee for a variety of sports. With his likeable, outgoing personality, coupled with his connection to local sports, "THE BABE" knew everyone in Greater Portland, including some of the more colorful characters. As a matter fact, he was probably at the top of the list of Portland's colorful characters.
Babe was a significant presence in the Greater Portland local sports scene for parts of seven decades, from the late 1940s, though the early 2000s, officiating everything from high school football and baseball, to men's and women's softball. He worked tirelessly to try to keep the Twilight Baseball League afloat when the league was struggling during the 1960s. His efforts were mentioned in well-received Jim Baumer book "When Towns Had Teams", which chronicled the Maine baseball scene in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Babe founded the Greater Portland Touch Football League in 1972.
He served as a timekeeper for the 1980 Marvin Hagler-Bobby Watts fight, which was held at the Cumberland County Civic Center and shown live on ABC TV. Babe gained brief national notoriety for his effort during that fight because Watts' corner claimed he let a round go too long.
Babe's contributions to local sports were acknowledged by Tom Chard's 2002 Portland Press Herald article, "On Call to Make the Call".
Francis was predeceased by his beloved wife, Barbara, in 2005. He is survived by son Dana Anderson, of Portland, son Joel Anderson, of Auburn, daughter Shelley Petty and her husband Joseph, of Portland, daughter Krista Envick and husband Eric, of Des Moines, Washington, daughter Julie Anderson, of Portland, thirteen grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
When not officiating sports, Babe would be found in front of the TV, watching sports. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, who will all greatly miss his wry wit and sense of humor.
The last few years of Babe's life were a struggle, while he fought the debilitating effects of advancing Parkinson's Disease. But Babe handled all that was thrown at him with dignity and his typical good humor, never uttering a single word of complaint about his lot. Babe's family is extremely grateful to his son, Dana, who provided most of his personal care for the past four years.
A memorial service will be held for Babe on Sunday, August 23rd, at the Coastal Cremation Services (Levey Chapel), 471 Deering Avenue, in Portland, at 5:00 PM. Friends are encouraged to attend and share personal stories of "the Babe", of which there will be many.
Online condolences may be expressed below.
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