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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In February 1947, the Dodgers had set up their training camp in Havana, Cuba, a long way from the Borough of Brooklyn, but Rickey strategically wanted to keep his “great experiment” under wraps as long and as quietly as possible. Racial discrimination was less prevalent in Havana, where black players had regularly participated in the Cuban Winter Leagues. Although Robinson would not be housed at the team’s headquarters, the plush Hotel Nacional, he would have relative insulation and a safe haven at the Hotel Boston in old Havana.Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, “The '47 Dodgers on Havana: Baseball at a Crossroads,” Spring Training, 1996 issue

Although, perhaps, that spring training would be remembered for the efforts of baseball to thwart the Mexican League’s attempt to vie for major league talent through high-priced contracts and Dodger Manager Leo Durocher’s one-year suspension for “conduct detrimental to baseball,” nevertheless Rickey had prepared Robinson in the isolation of Cuba for the huge task ahead.

In 1948, the Dodgers would establish camp in Vero Beach particularly for the many minor league clubs, while at the same time maintaining a major league camp again outside of the country. This time, the Dodgers moved locations to Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic, which also provided good weather and less expensive costs, compared to pricey Havana. Attendance in Havana was also lackluster, causing one series between the Dodgers and the St. Louis Browns to be cancelled, plus Cuban fans seemed satisfied to watch their own exciting baseball league. Durocher returned to the field, after his suspension, for the 1948 season.

Scrambling to get the Dodgertown camp prepared for the influx of players, coaches and support personnel by February of 1948, Rickey and Harris had to get the two unused barracks, which had been dormant since the end of World War II, patched, painted and cleaned. Offices had to be established, a mess hall for feeding the masses and recreational facilities developed. Two practice fields and a third with stands were made ready for play. When Bavasi had visited in November and recommended to Rickey to proceed with his plan, weeds were nearly overtaking the barracks. And that was just on the inside.

Rickey promised to give Vero Beach residents a taste of the major league Dodgers when he scheduled two exhibition games on March 31 and April 1, 1948 against the top farm team, the Montreal Royals.

“The Dodgers have an excellent rookie camp in Vero Beach,” wrote Jimmy Powers in the New York Daily News. “The kitchen and equipment room are first class. Vero Beach is much farther north than Miami, as a result too decent and too quiet for the hoodlum element to bother with. Its streets are clean. Its citizens are highly respectable. It has great civic spirit.”Joe Hendrickson, Dodgertown

When not eating and sleeping baseball, the minor league players were kept occupied on base with shuffleboard, ping pong tables, a juke box, pool tables, pinball machines and movies three times a week. To further keep the players busy, Rickey wanted a swimming pool to be built and asked Holman and city fathers to start a fund for one to be built by 1949. The innovative Holman guaranteed the construction himself, to be reimbursed using funds from future Dodger exhibition games and thus the pool was built. Wooden street markers around Dodgertown read “Rickey Boulevard, Durocher Trail, Flatbush Avenue and Ebbets Field.”

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  • Prior to making Vero Beach their spring training home, the Dodgers were international vagabonds. In 1947, the Dodgers trained in Havana, Cuba, as this program cover for games from February 20 to April 6 shows. Jackie Robinson prepared for his initial season in the majors in relative obscurity. In 1948, even though the Dodgers had established headquarters in Vero Beach for their minor league teams, the major league club trained in Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic and played two exhibition games at Dodgertown and the balance in Miami.Prior to making Vero Beach their spring training home, the Dodgers were international vagabonds. In 1947, the Dodgers trained in Havana, Cuba, as this program cover for games from February 20 to April 6 shows. Jackie Robinson prepared for his initial season in the majors in relative obscurity. In 1948, even though the Dodgers had established headquarters in Vero Beach for their minor league teams, the major league club trained in Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic and played two exhibition games at Dodgertown and the balance in Miami.
  • The flat Florida landscape provided a perfect setting for preparation of each baseball season. Under Walter O’Malley, the entire Dodgertown complex advanced to a new level as he made numerous improvements.The flat Florida landscape provided a perfect setting for preparation of each baseball season. Under Walter O’Malley, the entire Dodgertown complex advanced to a new level as he made numerous improvements.
  • Dodgertown’s old batting cages, where pitching machines threw strike after strike to Dodger hitters, preparing them for the upcoming season.Dodgertown’s old batting cages, where pitching machines threw strike after strike to Dodger hitters, preparing them for the upcoming season.
  • Branch Rickey’s many baseball training techniques include a good old-fashioned track race between Dodger players.Branch Rickey’s many baseball training techniques include a good old-fashioned track race between Dodger players.