This Day in Walter O’Malley History: April 29

First Lt. Theodore R. Rosenberg of the U.S. Forces 590th Transportation Company sends a letter of thanks to Walter O’Malley: “I would like to express our appreciation for the 1958 editions of the Official Baseball Guide. Each year the men in the Company look forward to receiving the new rules and regulations of baseball. The guides were received today, 29 April 1958. Again I would like to thank you for the men of the 590th Transportation Company.”

Columnist Leonard Koppett writes in The Sporting News about the qualities of successful baseball owners. “The first point that emerges (not surprisingly) is the strong direction given by one tough-minded, capable, alert and dedicated executive at the top: Walter O’Malley in Los Angeles and Bob Howsam in Cincinnati...Let’s isolate some of their characteristics and approaches to the job: 1. They have appropriate background. 2. They stress stability in positions of authority. 3. They choose personnel on the basis of ability, not reputation. 4. They base their talent flow on their own player development. 5. They make trades only to fill immediate and specific needs, using their farm surplus to get any needed veterans. 6. They pay enormous (and effective) attention to the less visible aspects of their business — scouting, ticket promotion, budgeting, etc. 7. They give it their full time. 8. They stay out of the limelight, leaving that to the ones who provide the product they are trying to sell, the players...Try that eight-point checklist on Charlie Finley or Ray Kroc. Or a number of other club owners in any sport. It may help explain success and failure a lot better than formulas.” Leonard Koppett, The Sporting News, April 29, 1978