Handicapped, celebrity and Boothbay area golfers joined together at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club on Saturday, Sept. 26, to raise money for Special Olympics Maine.

Taking to the course were 31 celebrity golfers from as far away as Texas, many of whom have returned yearly to the event, which is now in its 25th season.

“I am seeing big changes here," said Ken Hodge, a retired winger for the Boston Bruins.

Hodge was returning for his 10th celebrity visit to the now renovated 18-hole course. He said he no longer sees fellow teammates Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, but enjoys returning to Boothbay to participate in the Charities Classic event.

Retired Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee was one of 22 finalists to compete for the $10,000 prize in the putting competition.

Before taking the 40-foot putt, Leon Blackman said he would donate the money to the cause if the ball dropped in the hole. He missed the putt. The prize was sponsored by Leroy’s Seafood. No one won the hole-in-one competition.

“I have been living out of my car for the last week,” said Lee, who had been to six charity events in the previous eight days. He hugged Yankee fan Gerry Weinberger while claiming he was also a fan of the New York club.

“I beat them 12 times," said Lee.

During the closing ceremonies, Lee auctioned off a celebrity autographed bat he had made out of Vermont maple. He said he would personally help get the signature of pitcher Luis Tiant, who was unable to attend the golf tournament; although, he warned the winner not to try to get it himself because Tiant guarded his property in southern Maine with a chained bear.

The bat sold for $250. Several other items were raffled and auctioned off to benefit the cause.

In addition to retired football and baseball greats, the acting company from “Snitches,” a police movie to be released in 2016, formed their own five-some for the event.

Course pro Chad Penman set the fleet off in golf carts to each of the 18 tees while explaining the rules of the “Straight Scramble” in which each of the five team members played the best of each shot on the hole. The first place score of 54 for the 18 holes was gained by the team captained by Dan Shea. 

In the closing ceremonies, a mock check for $40,000 was handed to a representative of Special Olympics Maine, CEO Phil Geehold.

“We need to look at people by what they can do, not by what they can’t do,” said Geehold in receiving the contribution.

Brenda Blackman was co-chairman and master of ceremonies for the event.