Discord has reached local American Legion circles again. For the second time in less than a decade, Coffey Post 3 will not have an American Legion baseball team.

Good news for baseball fans, the city of Nashua will still be represented on the diamond this summer. The group that represented Coffey Post the last few seasons has broken ranks, and in an unusual move, will be sponsored by Hudson Post 48.

The former Post 3 junior and senior American Legion baseball teams will simply be called “Nashua Legion.” They will continue to play home games at Holman Stadium as well as Bishop Guertin’s Elliot Field.

“Basically, we ran into some administrative issues,” said Steve Hernandez, the team business manager and assistant coach. “Myself and the coaches decided we didn’t want to be associated with (Coffey Post). We decided to walk away. But then we realized it wouldn’t be fair to the kids.”

Thus Hernandez went to Legion officials Gary Webster and Rick Harvey, both state and Hudson Post 48 officials, after his meetings with Coffey Post officials in late winter/early spring proved fruitless. According to Hernandez and Harvey, the group only needs a Legion contact/host to be able to compete. Hudson Post 48 is giving the teams no financial help, Hernandez said.

Harvey would not comment on any of the Coffey Post issues, but on behalf of Post 48, he said in an email to The Telegraph that, “Post 48 was just happy to be able to sponsor both the Nashua Legion teams this year so their boys would have a place to play and be hosted.”

“We’ve raised our own money,” Hernandez said, saying four fundraisers during the offseason netted about $5,500.

There were several financial disagreements, it seems, mainly between Hernandez and Coffey Post officials, especially Coffey athletic director Royal Miller.

“It was their accountability,” Miller said. “They weren’t accountable for the money. We gave them money out of our budget and they had to go out and raise money.

“We have no hard feelings. We’ll have a team next year without them. I don’t believe in holding an organization hostage.”

Miller said that at the end of the season, “All the money gets put back into the general fund.” Hernandez argued that proceeds through game ticket sales, etc., were never used for the benefit of the club. Both have argued they have no idea where that money has been used, if at all.

But another huge bone of contention, Hernandez says, was Miller’s wanting to charge the players between $250-$300 each to play, a figure Miller says was about $220. Hernandez said that this year players are being charged $75 to make up the difference of any lack of official Legion financial support.

“Our philosophy is we don’t charge the kids,” he said.

Miller said he was never told directly from Hernandez that the team was seeking an affiliation with the Hudson Post, which has its own baseball team, but found out through a phone call from a third party. Coffey Post has requested that uniforms and equipment be returned, which Hernandez said he has no problem with. The uniforms the team has since purchased will just say “Nashua” on the front, Hernandez added.

In 2006, Coffey Post 3 also failed to put a team on the field. Only seven players signed up for tryouts, forcing the team to forfeit the season, which was supposed to be the 75th Anniversary of Coffey Post 3 sponsoring an American Legion baseball team.

Those seven players went on to play for other Legion or Senior Babe Ruth teams. Nashua High School North’s Brad Zapenas and John Sawyer were two players who joined Brookline Post 74.

Prior to the 2006 season, American Legion Baseball vice chairman Jay Hunnewell put rumors to rest about the Coffey Post 3 situation by sending an email to Legion coaches and media outlets to make it official – for the first time in 75 years, Nashua Coffey Post 3 would not have a team for the summer. “I’m still a little shocked,” said Hunnewell at the time. “It is definitely a blow to New Hampshire baseball. Nashua has been involved for a long time and will be a big loss for the competitive nature of Legion baseball in the state.

“I don’t know all the particulars. Apparently they had trouble getting players this year, which is even more shocking to me that the state’s second-largest city couldn’t get 18 players. A city that size really shouldn’t have any trouble. This is a situation that we have to look into.”

This year, it’s not lack of participation that has ended Coffey Post 3’s season. It appears to be a huge mess over dollars – whom they ultimately belong to and how they should be spent.

“I put the Legion as a business, that’s the way it should be run,” Miller said. “Just because you’re the financial authority for a baseball team does not give you the authority to raise money and spend money as you see fit.”

“I think it’s unfortunate,” Hernandez said. “I’m just about the baseball, I really didn’t want to deal with all this. It’s about the kids. We’ve had difficult getting kids to come out; we’re dealing with AAU and other programs. … We’re trying to restore the program to the way it was.”

The senior Nashua Legion team has a roster of about 18, has played a practice game this past weekend and is slated to open the regular season at 5:15 p.m. on June 18 against Portsmouth at Bishop Guertin’s Elliot Field.

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