Dodgertown

Spring’s Eternal at Dodgertown

The Sporting News list of 100 Most Powerful People in Sports for the 20th Century, December 1999

  1. Pete Rozelle
  2. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
  3. Roone Arledge
  4. Branch Rickey
  5. Marvin Miller
  6. David Stern
  7. Rupert Murdoch
  8. Avery Brundage
  9. Ban Johnson
  10. Muhammad Ali
  11. Walter O’Malley
  12. Steve Borstein
  13. Phil Knight
  14. George Halas
  15. Babe Ruth
  16. Walter Byers
  17. Lamar Hunt
  18. Ted Turner
  19. Paul Brown
  20. Michael Jordan
  21. Jackie Robinson
  22. Pierre De Coubertin
  23. Juan Antonio Samaranch
  24. Donald Fehr
  25. Tex Rickard
  26. Roy Hofheinz
  27. Horst Dassler
  28. Red Auerbach
  29. Bill France Sr.
  30. Arnold Palmer
  31. Al Davis
  32. Birch Bayh
  33. Billie Jean King
  34. Paul Tagliabue
  35. Charlie Finley
  36. Clarence Campbell
  37. George Steinbrenner
  38. Peter Ueberroth
  39. Bert Bell
  40. Jacob Ruppert
  41. Dick Ebersol
  42. Mark McCormack
  43. Al Neuharth
  44. Tex Schramm
  45. Bill Veeck
  46. Arthur Ashe
  47. Howard Cosell
  48. Fathers Theodore Hesburgh and William Beauchamp
  49. Don King
  50. Connie Mack
  1. David Falk
  2. John Wooden
  3. Andre Laguerre
  4. August Busch Jr.
  5. Peter Seitz
  6. Roger Penske
  7. Wilt Chamberlain
  8. Jack Nicklaus
  9. Bill France Jr.
  10. Bowie Kuhn
  11. George Preston Marshall
  12. Ed Barrow
  13. Abe Saperstein
  14. John McGraw
  15. Larry MacPhail
  16. Dick Schultz
  17. Gary Bettman
  18. Adolph Rupp
  19. Walter Brown
  20. Jesse Owens
  21. Deane Beman
  22. Phog Allen
  23. Wellington Mara
  24. Charles Comiskey
  25. Eddie Robinson
  26. Knute Rockne
  27. Arch Ward
  28. Jerry Jones
  29. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
  30. Bobby Orr
  31. Art Rooney
  32. Alan Eagleson
  33. Pele
  34. Bud Selig
  35. Tommie Smith and John Carlos
  36. Pat Summit
  37. Laurence Tisch
  38. Bobby Jones
  39. Tiger Woods
  40. Leigh Steinberg
  41. Henry Iba
  42. Bill Bowerman
  43. Anatoli Tarasov
  44. Albert “Happy” Chandler
  45. “The Voices of Baseball” — Mel Allen, Red Barber, Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Ernie Harwell,Bob Prince, Etc.
  46. Sonny Werblin
  47. Ed and Steve Sabol
  48. J.G. Taylor Spink and C.C. Johnson Spink
  49. Wayne Gretzky
  50. The Famous Chicken
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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

  1. Branch Rickey
  2. Pete Rozelle
  3. Roone Arledge
  4. Marvin Miller
  5. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
  6. David Stern
  7. Avery Brundage
  8. Walter O’Malley
  9. George Halas
  10. Mark McCormack
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Attendance 1953-1957 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Braves

Attendance 1953-1957 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Braves
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Under the purview of Director of Dodgertown Peter O’Malley, the Dodgers completed arrangements to purchase 110.4 acres of airport land, building and improvements for $133,087.50 from the city of Vero Beach, when final approval by the Federal Aviation Agency transpired on September 23, 1964. The agreement benefited the city’s general fund as the land would go on the tax rolls. The monies collected from the sale were to be “deposited in the Airport Fund for general aviation improvements and maintenance.” Three years prior, the city had guaranteed annual payments of $12,000 to the Airport Fund on behalf of the Dodger lease to satisfy the FAA which disagreed with the terms of the government’s original deed.William Jackson, Vero Beach Press-Journal, September 24, 1964 The city finalized arrangements for the Dodgers to become the only major league club in Florida to own their own spring training grounds on March 16, 1965, when O’Malley and Vice President and part-owner James Mulvey presented a check to Vero Mayor Jack D. Sturgis.

In succeeding years, the Dodgers were successful in purchasing additional acres (some 340 more) of Vero Beach land to expand the base of operations. Careful maintenance and use of the land made the Dodgers popular friends of the surrounding Vero Beach community.

Still faced with racial prejudice in the South, O’Malley had African-American players who were unable to play golf in their free time at one of Vero Beach’s two golf courses. In 1953, he had designed a pitch and putt golf course around the man-made lake with input from the players so that they could use it in spring, 1954. But with limited holes and space for that course, O’Malley decided to do what he felt was right — to build and maintain his own course, adjacent to Holman Stadium and the lake on the Dodgertown property. In 1965, he hired two minority coaches — African-American Jim Gilliam, a likeable former Dodger player and Preston Gomez of Cuban descent. The nine-hole course, named Dodgertown Golf Club, opened in 1965 and was available to the Dodger players, as well as the public. As an avid golfer himself, O’Malley could be found with Dodger players and executives on the links in his free time. To best aid his game, he personally oversaw the design of the course and the placement of its sand traps!

Two of O’Malley’s top competitors on the links were his good friends Dr. Jim Priestley, the internationally renowned surgeon at Mayo Clinic and Jim Mulvey, part-owner of the Dodgers and President of Samuel Goldwyn Productions in Los Angeles. As the boss and with a twinkle in his eye, he could get a bunker placed overnight to discourage these opponents.

“Those stories are true,” said Peter O’Malley. “For instance, Dr. Priestley would always kind of push his ball off to the right of the fairways, maybe 180, 200 yards. So my dad would think, ‘That would be a good place to put a trap.’ I remember one night when he did that. He called over the grounds guys and before you knew it they had the hoes out and sand, and the next day there was a trap.”Peter Kerasotis, Dodger Blues, Golf Journal Magazine, March/April 2002

O’Malley would take an early morning ride around the Dodgertown complex and say “Good Morning” to employees busily preparing for the business of the day. At each of the games, Kay O’Malley had her trusted official scorebook in which she kept score of every game.

Seven years later, O’Malley expanded the golf interests of the Dodgers to include a piece of property adjacent to 43rd Avenue and 26th Street to an 18-hole course, called Safari Pines Country Club. The course featured a rare par-6 hole of nearly 667 yards. Subsequently, the name of the club was changed to Dodger Pines Country Club. In addition, 50 mobile homes were placed around the course, providing the Dodgers with a source of revenue to help offset the expenses of owning their own spring training camp.

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  • After baseball, one of Dodgertown’s most popular activities for players and executives alike was golf. Walter O’Malley built two golf courses on the Dodgertown property (a nine-hole course in 1965 and an 18-hole course in 1972). This John S. Dykes illustration celebrates the golfing fun at Dodgertown.After baseball, one of Dodgertown’s most popular activities for players and executives alike was golf. Walter O’Malley built two golf courses on the Dodgertown property (a nine-hole course in 1965 and an 18-hole course in 1972). This John S. Dykes illustration celebrates the golfing fun at Dodgertown.
  • A postcard of the Dodger Pines Country Club, which included a par-6, 667-yard hole designed by Walter O’Malley.A postcard of the Dodger Pines Country Club, which included a par-6, 667-yard hole designed by Walter O’Malley.Copyright © Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc.
  • In 1953, Walter O’Malley designed a nine-hole pitch and putt golf course. Kay O’Malley, holding the flag, is joined by <nobr>(l-r)</nobr> Elizabeth Hickey, Edna Praeger, Evit Bavasi, May Smith and Lela Alston.In 1953, Walter O’Malley designed a nine-hole pitch and putt golf course. Kay O’Malley, holding the flag, is joined by (l-r) Elizabeth Hickey, Edna Praeger, Evit Bavasi, May Smith and Lela Alston.
  • Walter O’Malley takes a swing on the Dodger Pines Country Club course as Manager Walter Alston stands behind him with an unidentified man.Walter O’Malley takes a swing on the Dodger Pines Country Club course as Manager Walter Alston stands behind him with an unidentified man.