Costa Mesa football fan gets his just desserts

Since the mid-1960s, through thick and thin, Ed Baume has been a constant figure in Costa Mesa’s youth football scene.

Forty years later, the ramshackle program made up of a few local kids that moved from park to park trying to find space to play, struggling to field a full team each weekend, has a permanent home near Estancia High School.

A new snack bar at the facility was recently dedicated to Baume for his contributions to Costa Mesa kids football. It’s called “Ed’s Beach Bar & Grill,” and features electricity for refrigeration and cabinetry — rudimentary amenities, but ones that Baume certainly doesn’t take for granted.

The longtime volunteer first got involved when his sons started playing in the 1960s. After going through the program, his sons went on to coach in the league and enrolled their sons, who also went on to coach.

In the early 1990s, when Baume’s grandsons were taking the field, his friend John Forrestor used to drive his RV to Costa Mesa High School to serve snacks to the players and parents.

There were three Costa Mesa teams at the time and each week it was tough to find 16 guys — the minimum for a team to play a game — and just as difficult to find a field for practice.

“It was touch and go, but we survived and now it’s a healthy organization,” Baume said.

Recently, Steve Mensinger took the reins of the operation, increasing enrollment by 60% in a single year and negotiating with the city and the school district to have a full-time home at Parsons Field. Baume was a mentor to Mensinger and a source of credibility and experience in those negotiations.

“For the five years I’ve been involved with Pop Warner, Ed has been the guy who does what needs to be done selflessly. Few people in our community will give for 40 years,” Mensinger said.

“He was the glue that held the league together through thick and thin.”

The octogenarian is still involved as an ambassador for Pop Warner and a statistics keeper for Costa Mesa High School.

He said he was honored to have his contributions to the sport recognized.

“My wife says, ‘When do you plan to retire?’ I’m pushing 82 – I don’t plan to retire,” Baume said.