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Rick and Paul Rosum will step forward as honorees of the Stamford Old Timers Association at its annual dinner at the Italian Center. Their roots, however, were developed across town as members of the Myrtle Avenue Warriors.
The brothers were part of Stamford's legendary baseball success in the early 1950s. Paul, the oldest of three Rosum brothers, played on the Little Bigger League (now Babe Ruth) teams and for teams in the American Legion and Twilight Leagues. Rick played on the Little League city champions in 1951 (his home run gave his team the title), the Babe Ruth World Series champions from 1954 and at Stamford High.
Their baseball success, however, was bred on Myrtle Avenue. Their father, Paul Sr., taught them the game. In this bygone era, the neighborhood boys all played baseball. "From sun-up to sundown, it was all baseball, all the time,'' said Rick, who still lives in Stamford. "You had every ethnicity out there. We all learned to understand each other a lot better because we learned together."
The conditions were makeshift. The field was on a property owned by Metro-North. The boys built dugouts and a backstop. They also played at Cummings Park and virtually anywhere they could find an open expanse. "One lot was over by a place called the Incinerator," Paul said. "Right field was a cesspool."
Times were simpler. There was no organization, it was just neighborhood kids playing ball. "There weren't so many opportunities like there are these days,'' Paul said from Florida, where he moved nine years ago. "Now, there's too many things for kids to do. We never knew anything else. Baseball was our outlet."
The Rosum boys, including their late brother Robert, were always in the thick of the sandlot games. Each brother denied any sibling rivalry. "We rooted for each other. We didn't try to beat each other. We never really fought. Our parents taught us to respect one another."
When they are honored Monday night, Rick and Paul will flash back to their Myrtle memories. That's where they learned about baseball and about life. "The Myrtle Avenue Warriors will live in my mind forever,'' Rick said.
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