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| Introduction |
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| The Early Years |
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| Entering The... |
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| The Dodger Saga |
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| A New Era Begins |
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| Ebbets Field Revisited |
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| The Memorable... |
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| Searching for New... |
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| L.A. Sends a Message |
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| This is Next Year! |
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| Putting Their Domes... |
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| The Political Game |
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| 1957 |
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| Page 36 |
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| Page 37 |
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| Page 38 |
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| Page 39 |
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| Page 40 |
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| Page 41 |
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| Page 42 |
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| Page 43 |
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| Page 44 |
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| Page 45 |
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| Page 46 |
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| Page 47 |
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| Page 48 |
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| Page 49 |
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| Los Angeles Bound |
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| Where to Play in L.A. |
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| Curveball Right... |
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| The Red Head is a... |
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| 1959: A Year of... |
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| Construction of... |
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| L.A.'s Sparkling New... |
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| 1963: A Taxing Year... |
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| The Business of.. |
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| Growing the Game... |
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| Moving to Chairman... |
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| The Last Inning |
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“When I joined the effort to bring the Dodgers here, no final determination had been made as to where a stadium would or could be built. Chavez Ravine was O’Malley’s choice I was told, if the Dodgers moved here, but other sites were to be considered as well. The main issue then was — not to get a stadium, but to get a first rate Major League Ball Club. It was recognized too, that a ball club is essentially a community institution — an organization of talented, colorful, skilful[sic] athletes — not merely a facility made up of land, bricks and mortar with a price tag on it. Our thinking was — without the Dodgers in it, any stadium — wherever built, at whatever cost would be of doubtful value to this community. Furthermore, we knew that any second rate, faltering club in Southern California would be more of a liability than an asset. People simply wouldn’t go to the games. It was the Dodgers we wanted. The prime issue then was — how to get the club to come. Consequently, the urgency imposed upon me by the officials to negotiate with speed, skill and some latitude was heavy indeed; not once however, did I exceed or violate instruction given me. No commitment was ever made by me without prior, specific authorization.
“My first meeting with Walter O’Malley took place on the morning of August 21, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. By this time I was well prepared. I had benefited by numerous conferences with members of the City Council, members of the Board of Supervisors and with Mayor Norris Poulson. I had in addition obtained a great many of the essential facts.
“My first meeting with Walter O’Malley lasted all day. It was evident at once that while he knew all about the arrangements between other ball clubs and the cities where they were located, he wanted a completely different arrangement with Los Angeles if he moved here. Mr. O’Malley declared that he wanted to build his own stadium with Dodger financing. He was determined to make his club’s stadium the most modern, the most imaginative ever built. He told me he had dreamed of this for years — that he already had a model built, even though he had not yet decided where to build it, or when. (Mr. O’Malley, Captain Praeger and I spent some time during the afternoon studying the model together in relation to the Chavez Ravine property; I had a map with me.)
“Many questions were discussed in this first meeting I had with O’Malley. No commitments were made, but several points were made clear to him:
- Contrary to impressions earlier given, a maximum of 306 or 307 acres could be made available at reasonable price in Chavez Ravine. Three hundred fifty acres were not available.
- A City reservoir on the property — (within the area needed) must remain. Nor could the reservoir be moved or lowered. We must work around it or abandon the Ravine as a possible site.
- Any plan contemplating land ownership by the Dodgers Corporation must be developed on a legitimate buy and sell basis with values established fairly, in good conscience. There would be no free gifts or subsidy. We did not at this time discuss specific terms of a possible agreement. It would have been premature.
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