North Campus Celebrates Baseball Legend Demie Mainieri With Plaque
North Campus continues to cement the legacy of Demie Mainieri, the first junior college baseball coach to win 1,000 games.
On Jan. 10, the campus dedicated a 23 X 16 inch acrylic plaque with a photo of Mainieri and a listing of his accomplishments from 1960 to 1990. The memorial is located at the entrance of Demie Mainieri Field at northwest 110th street and 32nd avenue.
Among those who attended the ceremony were North Campus President Fermin Vazquez, current Miami Dade College Head Baseball Coach Lazaro Llanes and former assistant baseball coach Jim Mansilla.
The Sharks played Lynn University in an exhibition on the field after the dedication.
“There’s people that are going to walk in and [ask], ‘Who’s Demie Mainieri?’ Nobody knows what he really did, when he started the program and the heights that he brought it to, so I mentioned to [ President Vazquez] that it would be nice if there was some kind of plaque or recognition,” said Demie’s son, Paul, who won a national title as the head coach at Louisiana State University in 2009 and is now overseeing the baseball program at the University of South Carolina.
Under Demie Mainieri’s leadership, the North Campus Falcons brought home their only national title in 1964. He finished his career with 1,012 wins and was inducted into seven Hall of Fames. Mainieri also served as athletic director.
The baseball field at North was renamed in honor of Mainieri in 1989; however, games at the field were discontinued in 1995 after the athletics department was moved to Kendall Campus amidst budget cuts.
But four years after Maineri’s death, the field underwent a $2.5 million dollar facelift and reopened in 2023.
Mainieri was a giant away from the baseball diamond as well. He is remembered for the warmth and care he showed his players and the baseball community.
“I’m so fond of the memories I had with him…,” said Mansilla, who played for Demie in 1969 to 1971. “[What] I learned from him I incorporated in my coaching style like pushing [the players] and making them understand that they were a part of something bigger than everybody.”
Today, Demie Mainieri field is used by local high schools such as Mater Lakes Academy and Hialeah Gardens High School.
It has also been used by organizations like the Federación Profesional Cubana de Béisbol (Cuban Professional Baseball Federation), which held a Hall of Fame exhibition game against the Sharks on Jan. 18. In addition, the facility has served as a practice field during the World Baseball Classic and Caribbean Series.
“Think about the moms, dads, abuelitos (grandparents), primos (cousins) and tios (uncles) that are showing up now to watch their loved one play baseball,” Vazquez said. “They get a moment to touch upon that little bit of history of Miami Dade College and Demie Mainieri.”
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