Football is more than a game to Dan Maloney.
It taught him how to succeed on and off the field in his business career.
“Part of the story to me (is that) football really changed my life and prepared me to have a successful business career after football,” Maloney said. “I’ve learned a lot playing football, things like teamwork, perseverance, accountability and discipline. What I learned in the classroom is also important, I am not minimizing that, but things I learned playing football in addition to the classroom prepared me for business.”
He owns a construction company called Knowles Industrial Services, where he was worked the past 25 years.
Maloney was also successful on the field. The 1981 Edward Little graduate played four seasons at the University of Maine as an offensive lineman.
For those exploits, he is one of the five inductees into the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday at Lost Valley.
“I was humbled by it,” Maloney said of the call to inform him of the selection. “It’s quite the honor. With all the legacy in Lewiston and Auburn with the sports tradition with so many athletes I grew up watching or coaches I respected, with all the people in there, it’s a great honor.”
As a kid Maloney would go to Walton Field on Friday nights and he knew when he got to high school that he wanted to be on the field.
“To play for (Lawrence) ‘Doc’ (Hersom) was a big thrill,” Maloney said. “He was a legendary coach, and it was an honor and privilege to play for him.”
Maloney was named to the Sunday Telegram All-State Football team twice and was named Mr. Downtown All-State Football in both 1979 and 1980. He played multiple positions at EL, including offensive tackle, center, tight end, linebacker, nose tackle and defensive end.
He also played basketball and ran track, but football was his passion.
“Basketball in those days was more of a finesse game,” Maloney said. “I was kind of a bull in china shop. I couldn’t run, I couldn’t jump, I couldn’t shoot. Other than that, I was pretty good. The only thing I did was lead the team in personal fouls.”
After his junior season, college football programs started to take notice. Maloney received letters from Division III schools such as Bates, Colby, Bowdoin and the Coast Guard Academy to Division I programs Boston College and Navy.
“I really wanted to play at the highest level I could,” Maloney said. “I did early on get some interest from some bigger schools, but when they found out I was only 6-foot-2, I wasn’t quite as big as what they were looking for.”
Throughout the entire process, the two schools showing the most interest in the undersized offensive lineman were Maine and Brown, both Division I-AA schools (now known as the Division I Football Championship Subdivision).
Brown was very interested, but being an Ivy League school, Brown didn’t give out athletic scholarships. Maine’s new head coach at the time, Ron Rogerson, came in with a full athletic scholarship.
“He played at Maine and he was a Maine native,” Maloney said of Rogerson. “He was an assistant at Delaware for ten-twelve years. One of the things he emphasized to me (was) he wanted to keep the best Maine kids in Maine. He thought I was one of the best Maine kids, but he probably told that to a few others too. He said I was a top priority for him, and he wanted me to stay in the state.”
The summer before his freshman year at Orono, Maloney trained with Leavitt graduate John Hodgkins, who just completed his freshman year with the Black Bears. He said that John White, one of his coaches at Edward Little and a Maine alum, also helped him in the transition to college football.
Maloney mostly saw time on special teams as a freshman. After playing six positions at EL, he finally found a full-time home on the offensive line. He lettered all four seasons at Maine and was a member of the 1982 Yankee Conference championship team.
“We get together every fall to go to a game, and (Maine) has recognized us at halftime,” Maloney said. “It’s a lot of fun to get together with your old teammates. The university has done a great job welcoming us.”
Maloney was the first recipient of the (Sam) Sezak Award as outstanding offensive lineman at Maine in 1984. Also in 1984 he was a member of the All-Yankee conference team and a member of the A.P. All-New England team as an honorable mention.
“I knew Sam personally. He was a real gentleman, old school football coach and a big Maine football booster,” Maloney said. “It was great to receive an individual honor.”
After his college career was over, Maloney was an assistant for the 1985-86 season with the Black Bears, but after that decided coaching wasn’t for him.
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