Books on Walter

A trio of baseball and history books shed light on what’s happening in the Dodger organization and in the cities of Brooklyn and Los Angeles during Walter O’Malley’s ownership of the Dodgers from 1944-1979. 

They include The Dodgers Move West by Neil J. Sullivan; Forever Blue, The True Story of Walter O’Malley, Baseball’s Most Controversial Owner, and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles by Michael D’Antonio; and City of Dreams, Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles by Jerald Podair.

These books include well-documented research by the authors of O’Malley’s 10-year effort to find a solution to aging Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. O’Malley’s vision was to privately finance, build and maintain a new stadium for the Dodgers in Brooklyn in the mid-1950s. Eventually, his goal came to fruition in Los Angeles when Dodger Stadium opened on April 10, 1962. They also explore the westward expansion of Major League Baseball and detail challenges O’Malley was confronted with on the East and West Coasts. Despite those obstacles, the Baseball Hall of Fame executive moved forward with a singular focus of accomplishing his goal. 

During his time, the Dodgers won four World Championships (1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965) and 11 National League Pennants.