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After 40 years, former two-sport pro Tom Brown retires from his Rookie League

This is Tom Brown's favorite time of day.

The 74-year-old has just ambled from his single-story brick home to the cozy baseball diamond in the back corner of his 7 1/2-acre property. He has hammered in the bases and dragged out garbage bins filled with gloves, bats and helmets.

Now it's almost 4 p.m., and he sits under his preferred shade tree, waiting on the children and their parents to arrive for one of the last lessons he'll deliver in this place.

It's a bittersweet time for the many who've been affected by Brown. He's retiring this week after 40 years of running his non-profit league in one form or another.