The corner of Dexter Court and 86th Road in Woodhaven will be co-named Max Rosner Way in honor of local baseball legend and trendsetter Max Rosner at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 1.
The Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society (WCHS), alongside The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA), The Woodhaven Business Improvement District (WBID), Councilman Bob Holden, and Queens Community Board 9 are sponsoring the event.
According to the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society, Max Rosner became the owner of the Dexter Park stadium, built in 1923 and located on Jamaica Avenue. The stadium became the birthplace of night baseball thanks to Rosner. He also became the owner of an independent semi-pro baseball team, the Bushwicks.
“The residents of Woodhaven are so proud of the history of Dexter Park and Max Rosner, an immigrant from Hungary who fell in love with America’s Pastime and ended up owning a piece of it,” wrote Ed Wendell, executive director of WCHS. “He started off as a shortstop for a semi-pro team and then eventually became their manager. In time, he would buy the Bushwicks and build a stadium.”
The park is known to have hosted baseball history legends including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Josh Gibson and Satchel Page.
“From playing host to many of the greatest players in MLB, to the greatest players in the Negro Leagues, from the 1920s through the 1950s, to being the birthplace of the great innovation of Night Baseball – there is a lot for residents of Brooklyn and Queens, and Woodhaven in particular, to be proud of,” Wendell added.
On top of semi-pro baseball games, Rosen was instrumental in the feature of other sports at Dexter Park, including boxing, wrestling, football, polo, soccer, and in the mid-1950s, stock car racing.
A luncheon will be held after the co-naming at historic Neir’s Tavern, on 87-48 78th St., in Woodhaven.
