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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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“Many weeks of discussions and negotiations followed, various possibilities were considered. Questions were raised and answered. Throughout this period, I worked closely with Samuel Leask, the Mayor and County Officials.
“On September 16, 1957, at my suggestion, the City Council of Los Angeles adopted a resolution giving me authority to make a specific proposal to the Dodgers (substantially, the terms as are now in the contract).”72
On August 26, 1957, the Dodgers issued an announcement stating in part: “The recent announcement (on August 19) that the Giants are leaving New York City has produced renewed interest in the Dodger problem here and abroad...Locally, the Dodgers are on the record as offering to build their own stadium with their own money at Atlantic & Flatbush Avenues if the land can be made available promptly and at common sense figures. For over a year the Dodgers have had a standing offer to put $5,000,000 in a new stadium to pay $500,000 annual rental plus 5% of gross admissions as a New York City amusement tax. If all efforts fail locally the Dodgers could buy the necessary land in Los Angeles on which to build their own stadium, which would be on the tax rolls. The same program has been offered to New York City where the Dodgers only need the help of the city in condemning the land.”
As the 1957 season wound to a conclusion, Brooklynites were becoming increasingly saddened that the tide had indeed turned to Los Angeles and they were about to lose a team that had meant so much to the fabric of their society. But, it was not the only factor that would leave Brooklyn, almost as fast as the populous. The famous Coney Island beachfront attraction was fading in popularity and the city’s neighborhoods and demographics were rapidly changing. The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper had folded and some 70,000 employees who had worked at the failed Brooklyn Navy Yard were looking for work, changing the look and feel of the city.73 The Long Island Railroad Station at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues needed to move to the opposite side of the street in order to straighten the tracks so that new up-to-date trains could run into Brooklyn and provide better service according to Commissioner Moses.74 The loss of “Dem Bums” was one more disappointment to their city’s changes, and understandably a hard one for Brooklynites to swallow, along with the others, but O’Malley made the difficult decision that could be made under the circumstances left him by local politicians.
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