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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After months of discussions with officials both in Brooklyn and Los Angeles throughout the summer of 1957, O’Malley finally chose his course of action. On Oct. 7, 1957, the Los Angeles City Council voted 10-4 to agree to enter into a contract with the Dodgers. The next day, the Dodgers announced they were indeed moving to Los Angeles for the 1958 season.

In a period of change, especially for the players and front office staff, Vero Beach was the one constant, a place called “home” for two months of spring training that had a familiar and special feel to it. Dodgertown employees who remained through the years became friends of the ballplayers, staff and front office, unifying each camp. It was three-time National League MVP Roy Campanella captivating players and staff, who sat in a semi-circle, with his stories, anecdotes and instruction in an area outside the camp clubhouse which permanently became known as “Campy’s Bullpen.” It was poker games by the sportswriters and team executives, including O’Malley, late into the night. It was wives gathering poolside to chat, tan and relax in the hot Florida sun. It was photographers Herbie Scharfman and Barney Stein doing their professional magic and recording for history the activities of each camp. It was Manager Alston slamming his 1955 World Series ring against Larry Sherry’s door and cracking the diamond-studded stones in anger over the noise made by pitchers Sherry and Sandy Koufax returning to base after curfew. It was Nurse Anatasia Plucker dispensing her “salt solution” in paper cups to players suffering from heat exhaustion.Pascal James Imperato, M.D., “Himself, Mrs. Plucker, and the rites of spring, New York State Journal of Medicine, February 1989, Page 87 It was Charlie Ehrmann running the Dodgertown canteen, while his wife “Archie” worked in the business office. It was a local welcoming committee and thousands of fans at the Vero airport when the Dodger plane arrived to break the seal on another spring season.

While O’Malley had his hands full with the business matters in Los Angeles, especially his efforts to initially find a place to play and then finally build his dream stadium there, Dodgertown continued to thrive. In 1957, Piper Aircraft Company arrived in Vero Beach set up its “research and development center on the grounds of the former Naval air station.”Sidney P. Johnston, “A History of Indian River County”, Page 118 The additional industry and population would also help the area’s beginning as a resort town.

On March 31, 1961, famed evangelist Dr. Billy Graham held a Good Friday service at Holman Stadium during his Florida Crusades, joined by a Crusade choir of locals numbering nearly 400.Vero Beach Press-Journal, March 30, 1961

O’Malley completed Dodger Stadium, his 56,000-seat showplace in Los Angeles, in 1962. It was the first privately-financed stadium since Yankee Stadium opened in 1923. The topography of the Chavez Ravine area was so hilly, that construction teams had to move some eight million cubic yards of earth. But, both Holman Stadium and Dodger Stadium were designed similarly by Capt. Praeger and O’Malley, as they literally took the dirt and pushed the ground up to form the sides of the bowl. Both stadiums have unparalleled sightlines and fans are close to the action. And, they both have colorful landscaping that adds to the ballpark’s natural beauty.

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  • Roy Campanella abilities as a batter and catcher are well-chronicled, but the three-time National League MVP also has a special corner at Dodgertown known as “Campy’s Bullpen” where he shared stories with players and staff.Roy Campanella abilities as a batter and catcher are well-chronicled, but the three-time National League MVP also has a special corner at Dodgertown known as “Campy’s Bullpen” where he shared stories with players and staff.
  • Evangelist Dr. Billy Graham speaks to a large gathering during his Florida Crusades at Holman Stadium on March 31, 1961.Evangelist Dr. Billy Graham speaks to a large gathering during his Florida Crusades at Holman Stadium on March 31, 1961.
  • Walter O’Malley and Capt. Emil Praeger, who designed Holman Stadium, team up again for the engineering of Dodger Stadium. More than eight million cubic yards of earth were moved to create the unique sightlines of Dodger Stadium.Walter O’Malley and Capt. Emil Praeger, who designed Holman Stadium, team up again for the engineering of Dodger Stadium. More than eight million cubic yards of earth were moved to create the unique sightlines of Dodger Stadium.Los Angeles Times Collection, UCLA Library Special Collections
  • Dodger Stadium and Holman Stadium, designed and constructed similarly, put fans close to the action with unparalleled sightlines.Dodger Stadium and Holman Stadium, designed and constructed similarly, put fans close to the action with unparalleled sightlines.Barry Howe Photography Copyright © 1992