This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • Walter O’Malley has a 12:30 luncheon appointment with James Farley at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City. Farley was the 53rd Postmaster General of the United States and was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Farley also served as campaign manager for Roosevelt when F.D.R. won New York State governor elections in 1928 and 1930 and the U.S. Presidency in 1932. The General Post Office in New York City is named after Farley and is a national landmark. The known slogan for mailmen, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” appears on this building. Farley was the Postmaster General when he recommended a U.S. stamp to honor the opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A poll of stamp collectors in the U.S. was overwhelmingly not in favor of such a stamp. It took the order of President Roosevelt to make the Baseball Hall of Fame stamp a reality. The first stamp of this issue was sold to Commissioner Kenesaw Landis from Farley at the dedication of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on June 12, 1939.

  • Walter O’Malley attends the 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers National League Pennant Dinner at the Hotel Lexington in New York. Among the esteemed guest list are Baseball Commissioner A. B. “Happy” Chandler, N.L. President Ford C. Frick, Warren C. Giles, Philip K. Wrigley, Gabe Paul, Lou Perini, R.R. Carpenter, Jr., Horace Stoneham, John Galbreath and Charles S. Feeney. Dodger President Branch Rickey and his son Branch Rickey, Jr. are at the dinner, along with Dodger part-owner John L. Smith, Dodger Secretary Henry L.Ughetta, Dodger Directors Hector H. Racine and Bud L. Holman. The 1949 Dodgers were 97-57 under Manager Burt Shotton, but lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in five games.

  • A note in Harold C. Burr’s column in the Brooklyn Eagle about the Baseball Owner’s Meetings in Phoenix: “President Walter F. O’Malley flew in from Brooklyn last night. Mr. O’Malley brought up the recent television broadcast in which Jackie Robinson is alleged to have declared that the Yankee front office is discriminating against players of his race. “We have no feud with the Yankees,” said the prexy, “except from April to October.” Harold C. Burr, Brooklyn Eagle, December 3, 1952

  • Walter O’Malley and top brass from baseball, including Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, National League President Chub Feeney and American League President Joe Cronin, attend an awards banquet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench was named Baseball Player of the Year at the banquet. Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully and former Dodger player and manager Casey Stengel were also in attendance.

  • Walter O’Malley is elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in its balloting for executives/pioneers. As owner of the Dodgers, O’Malley helped in the design of, built and privately financed Dodger Stadium, which opened in 1962, and he was a leader in the westward expansion of baseball, making the pastime truly national. With O’Malley as President, the Dodgers won four World Championships in 1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965 and 11 National League Pennants. Induction ceremonies are July 27, 2008 in Cooperstown, NY.