July 3, 1956
A Dodger fan wrote to Walter O’Malley to express his concern that a game at Ebbets Field on June 27 should have been postponed because of heavy rains. O’Malley writes him back and explained, “I was at the game on the 27th, and frankly I expected hundreds of letters similar to yours but most of the fans must have appreciated that once the game starts it is absolutely out of ownership’s control and is fully in the hands of the umpires. Incidentally, I agreed with their decision to resume play when they did. We had 8000 youngsters who were admitted free as part of our Dodger Knot Hole program and they would have been terribly disappointed if the game had not become official. After the second and third downpour, however, I thought that the game would be called. This is the heaviest rain I have ever seen at Ebbets Field and, of course, many of our facilities suffered. I am a firm believer that a new ball park should have a translucent dome to prevent just those things which were mentioned in your letter.”