This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • In the Second Annual United States Atlantic Tuna Tournament, which was entered by nine teams, Chairman Walter O’Malley made news as he took the lead in the competition with the largest tuna brought in with the lightest tackle. O’Malley reeled in a 79 1/2 pound tuna on an 18-thread line. New York Times, August 28, 1939

  • The color scheme for Dodger Stadium is agreed to by Walter O’Malley and architect Emil Praeger. Praeger submitted a 10-foot long color sketch that showed the colors of the seats on each level of the new stadium. O’Malley reported back to Praeger after seeing the sketch, “We like the color study as submitted and have no violent reactions, quite the contrary.”

  • Dodger three-time MVP catcher Roy Campanella writes a letter from New York to Walter O’Malley informing him of his interest “in becoming a manager of a major league ball club, preferably the Los Angeles Dodgers.” He continues, “Healthwise I feel as though I can manage this task and baseball wise I have no doubts.” Campy, a quadriplegic following his automobile accident in 1958, was hired by O’Malley and worked for the Dodgers for many years, not as a manager, but rather in the club’s Community Relations Department. He traveled many seasons to Spring Training in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida, instructing Dodger catchers as Steve Yeager, Joe Ferguson, Mike Scioscia and Mike Piazza.

  • “The Beatles” play at Dodger Stadium before a jammed-packed crowd of screaming fans in their second-to-last live performance ever. George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr dressed in the Dodger clubhouse and made their way to their concert position near the pitcher’s mound, as they walked through the Dodger dugout and onto the field. The price of concert tickets ranged from three to six dollars.