This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • A school for baseball coaches begins at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida and runs for 10 days. It is aimed at teaching coaches at the college and high school levels, as well as Little League and similar youth programs. “Let me stress that this experience in coaching schools, which will set up a new system and new patterns for such work, is a non-profit enterprise,” said Dodger President Walter O’Malley. “I got up the idea, with the Brooklyn Baseball Foundation in mind. But the proposition has grown in scope, and our faculty has been expanded from four to 10, with the probability of further accessions. Manager Walter Alston will be the dean of ‘The Brooklyn College of Baseball’ at Vero Beach. Pee Wee Reese, Carl Erskine, Art Dede, scout; umpire Larry Goetz, Charley Gelbert, coach at Lafayette College; Buck Lai from Long Island University, Dr. Eugene Zorn, Dodger team physician, and physical education experts like Dr. C. L. Brownell of Teachers’ College, Columbia and Emory Seymour of Emory University, make up the faculty. There will be field demonstrations, class courses and film showings, as well as Goetz’s classes in umpiring techniques. A tremendous amount of work will be crowded into those 10 days.” Enrollment had to be carefully screened to include only those who have business at the school, since the low $120 instruction and housing fee attracted potential vacationers.

  • Walter O’Malley sends a letter of appreciation to Milton Berle for handling the emcee duties at the Baseball Writers Association Dinner in Los Angeles. O’Malley writes, “You were generous to give up another evening of your time but there must be satisfaction in knowing that the people who attended the Baseball Writers Dinner were all delighted with the way you handled the program. Many thanks.”