This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • New York Mayor Vincent Impellitteri and Walter O’Malley distribute gift certificates for purchase of baseball equipment to promoters of 20 sandlot leagues at the Dodger offices at 215 Montague Street in Brooklyn. Michael O'Brien, New York Daily News, November 27, 1952  Some 30,252 baseballs and 2,352 bats were donated by the Brooklyn Amateur Baseball Foundation, which is sponsored by the Dodgers and supported with receipts from the Mayor’s Trophy Game between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees. New York Journal-American, January 2, 1953

  • Roy Campanella visits Walter O’Malley’s office and was encouraged to step on a scale in O’Malley’s office. When the scale showed catcher Campanella’s off-season weight at 220 pounds, Campanella said, “Aw, I’m lighter than that. Why, these shoes weigh five pounds.” The Sporting News, December 22, 1954

  • Writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, columnist Vincent X. Flaherty takes it upon himself to promote a brand new ultra-modern baseball stadium for Los Angeles. He wrote to Arthur Froehlich, the world’s leading race track architect and asked if he would sketch out a concept for a Los Angeles baseball stadium with the finest fan-friendly amenities. Flaherty began communicating with Dodger President Walter O’Malley in 1953 and was an important supporter in efforts by Los Angeles to attract a major league baseball team. The Examiner published Froehlich’s stadium rendering, complete with 80,000 seats, 21,000 parking spaces (including valet service) and a Stadium Club for fine dining.” In Flaherty’s column he recaps his thoughts to Froehlich by stating, “Baseball has been a decadent operation in point of dressing up its house and catering to the public. For the most part our ‘great’ major league parks are dingy, antiquated affairs and there has been small change for the better in a half century. I am writing to you because you have designed many modern race tracks. It is my conviction that baseball could make itself infinitely more attractive if it followed the progressive pattern of race track facilities.” Vincent X. Flaherty, Los Angeles Examiner, December 22, 1955

  • The Most Powerful People in Sports top 100 for the 20th Century are announced by The Sporting News and Walter O’Malley is ranked 11th on the list. In baseball, he ranked fifth. In another December 1999 poll, O’Malley ranked eighth in ABC Sports’ Top Ten Most Influential People “off the field” in all sports history, as voted by the Sports Century panel. In baseball, O’Malley ranked fourth.