UMass Lowell Hall calls for Cahill

By Bill Kipouras, Salem News


Jon Cahill hasn't changed. He's still the epitome of humility, the same as he was as a schoolboy baseball star at Peabody High, then as a collegian at UMass Lowell.

Even UML's latest Hall of Fame announcement that earmarks Cahill for induction May 13 reflects the modesty that has always been his trademark.

Cahill, reached in Traverse City, Mich., where he's the field manager of a Class A Frontier League independent baseball club, couldn't help but reflect on the accomplishments of another Hall of Fame inductee, Jill (Croft) Paige, an outstanding women's track athlete.

"Jill put UMass Lowell on the map in track. I was in school for two years while she was there, and Jill attracted attention and accolades the minute she walked in the door. She's up there with the greatest athletes in school history. Jill set national records; I only set school records," Cahill said humbly.

Still, his own deeds were good enough to make UML feel he was the prototypical complete player and among the very best in its school annals.

"My best memory is that I pitched a complete game win against Concordia (N.Y.) and pitched relief four innings in the next game against them. We won the (Northeast) Regionals and advanced to the Division 2 World Series in Montgomery (Ala.)," Cahill, now 29, said. "I'll always remember that part."

Cahill appeared in all 185 games in his four-year collegiate career as a pitcher-shortstop, starting all but one. But he was truly extraordinary in that 2001 NCAA Northeast Regional series that qualified UMass Lowell for the College World Series for the first time ever.

The River Hawks needed to win a pair to knock out Concordia, and Cahill delivered the KO punch. He was 5-for-10 with four runs scored and four RBIs in a 6-2, 8-0 Sunday sweep that clinched the school's first NCAA Regional crown.

He pitched a complete game in the 6-2 victory, tossing an 8-hitter with eight Ks and two earned runs allowed. He was 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and one RBI in the first game and socked a three-run homer in the 8-0 romp.

"I got Jon a Superman T-shirt after that performance," his then-college coach, Jim Stone, said on the UMass Lowell website.

Stone coached UMass Lowell for 37 years and called Cahill one of the best five players he ever had.

He was named American Baseball Coaches Association All-America First Team, an ABCA Northeast Regional Player of the Year and Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year. He still tops UML in career marks for singles (186), doubles (66) and runs scored (194).

Cahill, who grew up in South Peabody, was co-recipient of the college's Lester H. Cushing Award as the best male athlete when he was a senior in 2001. He shared the honor with Ron Hainsey, now a defenseman for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.

The River Hawks were 134-51 (.724) over his career.

"I would truly love to bring every teammate I had at Lowell into the Hall of Fame with me," Cahill said. "I played on teams that got four NCAA bids. Only if you're involved with that type of winning tradition can you be considered for a great honor like this.

"I heard I was nominated, and that in itself would have been good enough for me. UMass Lowell did a lot for me," he said. "It's a great school, and I'll always be grateful for what he did for my life."

Cahill said he was also thrilled to play at Peabody High in the company of Steve Lomasney, Jason Perkins, Mike Proto and Frank Candela, among other greats in the mid-1990s. The Tanners reached the Division 1 state final his senior year, losing to Leominster.

"I saw how hard people like Lomasney and all the others worked, a kid like (star left-hander) Mike Spinelli of Revere, and it made me realize what kind of work effort I would need in college," said Cahill.

Despite his baseball heroics in college, Cahill went undrafted. He deserved a chance just off his offense and no less a person than Stone said Cahill was "A-Rod-ish" in the field.

"I did get an opportunity with the Angels; first at Provo, Utah in rookie ball, then couple of seasons in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which is A ball in the Midwest League. But it was mostly as a utility player," said Cahill. "As a utility guy, you played once every five games. I played all 185 at Lowell and I don't think I ever adjusted to the utility role."

Cahill said the one and only regret about his affiliated time with the Angels is that he never asked to try it as a pitcher.

He did play independent ball with the Washington (Penn.) Wild Things, later was batting coach at Ohio Valley in the Frontier League, and available to take over the helm at Frontier's Traverse City franchise when his predecessor signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

His goal is to pursue managing as far as it will take him and, at 29, he has plenty of time to pay his dues.