This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • According to the Los Angeles Times, Dodger season ticket application forms were moving extremely fast, with 1,000 applications snapped up within an hour. Arthur E. “Red” Patterson, Dodger Assistant General Manager, said he “was amazed at the response since the first announcements appeared in yesterday morning’s newspapers.” The Dodgers had to rush more application forms to various offices of United and American Airlines, which were being used as outlets besides Wrigley Field. Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1957

  • A 165-foot ski jump is constructed at Dodger Stadium (from the right field side to the left field side of the field) as part of the Giant International Ski Show and Grindelwald Ski Swap which opens today and runs through October 27. The jump hill is 28 stories high, nearly twice the height of the Dodger Stadium. Manufacturers, retailers and area ski operators all show their wares at the event, while slalom racing, fashion shows and world-famous personalities highlight the attraction. Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1963

  • Walter O’Malley compliments Carl Lindemann, Jr. of NBC Sports in New York for the network’s coverage of the 1972 World Series and then adds. “The only World Series I made this year was the World Series of Golf at Akron, Ohio, where modesty requires I tell you I won the Amateur Trophy. Next step on my golf tour will be the Hawaiian Open. Last week I did the Kaiser Open at Silverado and played with Gene Littler, neither of us unfortunately distinguishing ourselves. All our best.”

  • Robert Kent, President of the Kiwanis Club of Los Angeles, informs Walter O’Malley by letter that O’Malley has been re-elected to Honorary Membership in the club. “We deeply appreciate your loyalty to Kiwanis and to its ideals,” writes Kent.

  • British rock star Elton John wows the sellout crowd of 55,000 at Dodger Stadium with his countless hits, becoming the first pop act to play there since the Beatles on August 28, 1966. He also played the next day. John wore a sequined Dodger uniform, complete with an LA cap and number 1 on his shirt. According to Robert Hilburn’s review in the Los Angeles Times, “John’s Saturday and Sunday appearances were indeed akin to a World Series for rock music fans. Not only is singer-composer-pianist John the biggest star in pop music, but his weekend concerts marked the first time a rock act had played Dodger Stadium — the city’s most prestigious and best-designed athletic facility — since the Beatles in 1966. The audience response, predictably, was tumultuous at times. In fact, the 55,000 fans Saturday reacted to the key moments of John’s show with the kind of enthusiastic abandon that O’Malley and his staff had probably thought was limited to a series-winning, bottom-of-the-ninth Steve Garvey double.” Robert Hilburn, "Elton a Hit at Dodger Stadium", Los Angeles Times, October 27, 1975

  • Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager hit back-to-back home runs in the 7th inning and the Dodgers win Game 5 of the 1981 World Series, 2-1 and take a 3-2 Series lead.