No one knows how Robert Michaud got the nickname Bobo or why the Westbrook native became a New York Yankees fan.
But that’s how he’ll be remembered. Mr. Michaud, 89, formerly of Gorham, died Friday.
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“Baseball was his life,” said his daughter, Jeanette York.
The left-handed pitcher played minor league ball in North Carolina for the Albemarle Rockets and later in his home state for the Portland Pilots.
He never made it to the majors and ended up joining the boys he grew up with working at the S.D. Warren paper mill for more than 40 years.
His athleticism still served him well – at the pool table and dart board at the Westbrook Eagles Club. “He was one of the better players,” his daughter said.
Mr. Michaud also spent endless hours on the golf course at Gorham Country Club and was out hitting balls until a couple of years ago, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
He moved into an assisted living facility, Country Village in Casco, and though he stopped watching baseball games, he talked about his beloved team until the week before he died, York said. “He still wore his Yankees hat,” she said.
Mr. Michaud had a daughter and a son. He and their mother were divorced. He is also survived by three grandchildren and a great-grandson.
He had many friends, his daughter said. Not surprisingly, none of them – nor his own father – agreed with him about baseball.
“There was a lot of bantering there,” said York, referring to her dad’s dissent from Red Sox Nation.
Before pursuing a career in baseball, Mr. Michaud served in the Navy aboard the USS Yorktown during World War II.
In addition to belonging to the Eagles Club, he was a member of the American Legion.
Although most of his ties were to Westbrook, he moved decades ago to Gorham, when he was forced out of his home due to the construction of Wayside Drive during urban renewal, his daughter said. He lived in Gorham until he moved to Country Village.
Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:lbridgers@pressherald.comTwitter: @lesliebridgers
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