Dodgertown
Spring’s Eternal at Dodgertown
The Sporting News list of 100 Most Powerful People in Sports for the 20th Century, December 1999
- Pete Rozelle
- Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
- Roone Arledge
- Branch Rickey
- Marvin Miller
- David Stern
- Rupert Murdoch
- Avery Brundage
- Ban Johnson
- Muhammad Ali
- Walter O’Malley
- Steve Borstein
- Phil Knight
- George Halas
- Babe Ruth
- Walter Byers
- Lamar Hunt
- Ted Turner
- Paul Brown
- Michael Jordan
- Jackie Robinson
- Pierre De Coubertin
- Juan Antonio Samaranch
- Donald Fehr
- Tex Rickard
- Roy Hofheinz
- Horst Dassler
- Red Auerbach
- Bill France Sr.
- Arnold Palmer
- Al Davis
- Birch Bayh
- Billie Jean King
- Paul Tagliabue
- Charlie Finley
- Clarence Campbell
- George Steinbrenner
- Peter Ueberroth
- Bert Bell
- Jacob Ruppert
- Dick Ebersol
- Mark McCormack
- Al Neuharth
- Tex Schramm
- Bill Veeck
- Arthur Ashe
- Howard Cosell
- Fathers Theodore Hesburgh and William Beauchamp
- Don King
- Connie Mack
- David Falk
- John Wooden
- Andre Laguerre
- August Busch Jr.
- Peter Seitz
- Roger Penske
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Jack Nicklaus
- Bill France Jr.
- Bowie Kuhn
- George Preston Marshall
- Ed Barrow
- Abe Saperstein
- John McGraw
- Larry MacPhail
- Dick Schultz
- Gary Bettman
- Adolph Rupp
- Walter Brown
- Jesse Owens
- Deane Beman
- Phog Allen
- Wellington Mara
- Charles Comiskey
- Eddie Robinson
- Knute Rockne
- Arch Ward
- Jerry Jones
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
- Bobby Orr
- Art Rooney
- Alan Eagleson
- Pele
- Bud Selig
- Tommie Smith and John Carlos
- Pat Summit
- Laurence Tisch
- Bobby Jones
- Tiger Woods
- Leigh Steinberg
- Henry Iba
- Bill Bowerman
- Anatoli Tarasov
- Albert “Happy” Chandler
- “The Voices of Baseball” — Mel Allen, Red Barber, Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Ernie Harwell,Bob Prince, Etc.
- Sonny Werblin
- Ed and Steve Sabol
- J.G. Taylor Spink and C.C. Johnson Spink
- Wayne Gretzky
- The Famous Chicken
ABC Sports ranks the Top Ten Most Influential People "off the field" in sports history as voted by the Sports Century panel in December, 1999
- Branch Rickey
- Pete Rozelle
- Roone Arledge
- Marvin Miller
- Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
- David Stern
- Avery Brundage
- Walter O’Malley
- George Halas
- Mark McCormack
Attendance 1953-1957 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Braves

O’Malley made several key introductions and gave the dedication message and followed that with the unveiling of a plaque for the stadium which read, “The Brooklyn Dodgers Dedicate Holman Stadium to Honor Bud L. Holman of the Friendly City of Vero Beach, Walter F. O’Malley, President, Emil H. Praeger, C.E., Designer, 1953.”
M.M. “Jack” Frost, Vice President of Eastern Air Lines, stood in for Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, President of Eastern Air Lines, and unveiled the plaque with O’Malley. Holman briefly responded to the honor and that was followed by a prayer from Rev. Ed Gabler of the Trinity Episcopal Church, flag raising ceremonies by the color guard from Felix Poppell Post, American Legion and the national anthem by the band.
In the first game at Holman Stadium, the Dodgers defeated the Athletics, 4-2. The Athletics, with their President Connie Mack in attendance, scored the first run in the top of the first inning, but Brooklyn bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the first. Right-handed pitcher Carl Erskine allowed just one run and four hits as the starter for the Dodgers, while center fielder Duke Snider drove in two runs in a three-run first inning for Brooklyn.
Erskine recollects, “I pitched the opening game and got the win. I have some home movies from that game. There’s a shot of Mr. (Bud) Holman and Mr. (Walter) O’Malley with the plaque dedicating the stadium. Someone took shots of me pitching from the bench, which was on the first base side back then. There’s even a picture of me getting a base hit. It was a big day.”Dodger Spring Training Yearbook, 2002, Vero Beach Dodgers
Aesthetics of a stadium were always high on O’Malley’s list, whether in Brooklyn, Vero Beach or Los Angeles. As a horticulturist in his personal life, O’Malley found solace in getting away from his rigorous work schedule to grow orchids in his greenhouse in Amityville, NY. The use of color and landscaping in a stadium were important elements to O’Malley. A heart-shaped, man-made lake was built behind Holman Stadium, as a tribute to his beloved Kay. Later, her favorite saying came from the musical Damn Yankees, “You’ve gotta have heart.” O’Malley wanted something to enhance the setting of Holman Stadium, to remain as an on-going monument to the Vero Beach community for years to come. The answer became one of Holman Stadium’s most unique features. O’Malley dotted the outfield with Royal Palms, a landmark, of sorts, for the ballpark and an addition that grew in popularity over time. To honor her husband, Mary Louise Smith, the widow of O’Malley’s business partner John L. Smith, wrote a check to donate the cost of the 50 Royal Palm trees gracing Holman Stadium.Frank McGrath, Fall River, Mass., Herald News Sports, March 19, 1954
From that first game at Holman Stadium, the entire Dodgertown site received rave reviews. The experiment to build a reasonably inexpensive stadium with modern amenities, through Capt. Praeger’s design, had worked to perfection. But, for the next four years, O’Malley’s focus shifted to the important task of finding a suitable site on which to build his masterpiece, a 50,000-seat domed stadium in Brooklyn.
The business of baseball interfered with O’Malley’s grand opening of Holman Stadium. According to the Vero Beach Press-Journal on March 26, 1953, “It was at the dedication game that Lou Perini, owner of the Boston Braves found Ford Frick, Warren Giles, Will Harridge and Walter F. O’Malley, all members of baseball’s executive committee. It now can be told. The five men missed the Athletics-Dodgers game. They left the stadium after the dedication ceremonies and held a meeting. Their discussion on Wednesday afternoon, March 11, laid the groundwork for the moving of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee.”Bob Curzon, Vero Beach Press-Journal, March 26, 1953
Walter O’Malley and Connie Mack, Philadelphia Athletics owner and longtime former Manager Connie Mack exchange pleasantries at the Holman Stadium dedication on March 11, 1953.
The heart-shaped lake behind Holman Stadium is a tribute to Kay O’Malley from her husband. An enthusiastic baseball fan, Kay kept score of every Dodger game.
Walter O’Malley observes one of many beautiful palm trees on the Dodgertown property.