Tianjin, China’s Dodger Baseball Field Fondly Commemorated as Special Gift

Forty years ago in 1986, the first field dedicated for the game of baseball opened in the People’s Republic of China, a gift from longtime Dodger President Peter O’Malley.   

The impact of that field is still appreciated and remembered to this day, and everything it represents in China’s development of youth, amateur and professional baseball.

O’Malley first traveled to China from February 14-16, 1980 meeting with leaders of the All-China Sports Federation. That was the beginning of his journey and friendship with high-ranking sports officials to learn what was going on there in baseball and how he could help. It was the start of friendships and O’Malley’s many trips to China. Over the years, O’Malley’s interest in providing assistance and exchanges continued.

During the 1984 Olympic Baseball tournament at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, O’Malley invited friends from China, including Li Menghua, Minister of Sports and one of the leaders of the nation’s governing body, and Wei Ming, President of the Chinese Baseball Association as well as in charge of all sports in Beijing, to meet with him. In December, 1984, O’Malley sent Dodger minor league manager Kevin Kennedy and scout Tim Johnson to China for two weeks to conduct a series of baseball instructional clinics in Kunming. Both Kennedy (Texas, Boston) and Johnson (Toronto) later managed in the major leagues.

In 1985, O’Malley made two important trips to China with great assistance from Cai Jizhou, Vice President, Chinese Baseball Association.

O’Malley and Bowie Kuhn, Major League Baseball Commissioner (1969-1984), were in Beijing from June 5-9, 1985 to watch an exhibition baseball game between New York’s C. W. Post College and Sichuan Province. The two discussed “ballpark planning” with Wei Ming. O’Malley returned in the fall to scout potential sites and finalize plans for a field dedicated to baseball.

In March, 1986, O’Malley welcomed three Chinese National baseball team coaches – Song Ping-Shang from Beijing, Sher Wei-Ji from Shanghai and Tu Ming-Hui from Sichuan – to Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida to observe Dodger Spring Training activities.

O’Malley’s remarks during dedication ceremonies on September 12, 1986 at Tianjin Institute of Physical Culture:  “The field is more beautiful than I imagined and I am grateful to the faculty and students for their contribution. The field is yours! My wish to the players is that they enjoy playing baseball here for many years. My wish to the spectators is that this field gives you many hours of entertainment. It is now my dream that this Dodger Baseball Field will enhance both the growth of baseball here and the friendship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.”

Dodger Baseball Field in Tianjin was in constant operation from 1986 for three decades and was used for professional, amateur and youth baseball teams and leagues, fulfilling O’Malley’s vision for growth and development.

The current status of Dodger Baseball Field (as of Fall, 2026) since it was retired is provided by Caleb Liu, Tianjin sports historian.

“The field hasn’t been forgotten,” Liu reports.

“Back in 1986 the site sat near the edge of the city. Today it’s one of Tianjin’s busiest, most congested neighborhoods, which made it less suited to baseball. At the end of 2017, Tianjin University of Sport moved 14 miles to a new much larger campus with modern, international-standard competition venues, and the old campus became a residential community.”

A new project called “Tibei Luneng Mansion” began in 2020. According to Liu, “Tibei” means north of the Institute of Physical Culture. Currently, the Donghu Campus of Hexi District Central Primary School sits next to the old grandstand of the original baseball field. The school’s playground is where Dodger Baseball Field once stood. A real estate sales center and coffee bar occupy the preserved grandstand building itself, which is separate from the school, which uses its own building next to it. Liu reports, “Architects deliberately designed the school playground along the outline of the old baseball field, so people would remember a ballpark once stood there. The idea had the support of both the local government and the public. 

“Peter’s friendship with Tianjin is also one of the most treasured parts of the university’s history museum. And the field turned out to be a seed. Since the Chinese Baseball League went professional (in 2002), Tianjin has won six league championships and finished runner-up four times, and it has won four National Games titles (held every four years). Trace those results back, and you find Peter O’Malley and the seed he planted.

“The renovation was designed by the Tianjin Architecture Design Institute. Architectural write-ups on the project say that part of the original grandstand and some of the interior structures were preserved intact inside the new building.”

Indeed, the 2,500-seat grandstand, added to Dodger Baseball Field for the 16th Asian Baseball Championship in 1991, was preserved and renovated as part of the new building, another reminder of what once was on that land and its importance to the growth of baseball in China.

Also in 1991, a granite marker was placed outside the grandstand with a bilingual explanation that the field was donated by Dodger President Peter O’Malley, covered 50,000 square meters and was first in use September, 1986 and seating for 2,500 was added in 1991. 

Liu also wrote in a post on X, “The original grandstand and both wings are still standing, round windows and all. A crown-shaped glass facade now wraps the main entrance; the architects say it honors the Lions' championship years. The entrance is a real estate sales center now. Above its coffee bar hangs a batter in mid-swing, made from hundreds of yellow, baseball-sized balls. The building has a new purpose, but the designers kept baseball in it.”

That’s the history and current status of Dodger Baseball Field and we are grateful for Liu’s research.

Thirty-five years ago, on September 12, 1991, The People’s Government of Tianjin bestowed a rare honor at the time, naming Peter O’Malley an “Honorary Citizen” with a scroll stating, “It is a great honor to Confer the title ‘Honorary Citizen of Tianjin of the People’s Republic of China’ on Mr. O’Malley, president of Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc. U.S.A.”

“The field was appreciated upon opening and successfully used and enjoyed by players and fans,” said O’Malley. “The thoughtful planning of the new setting is absolutely beautiful and I look forward to returning to Tianjin University of Sport in the near future.”   

-- Brent Shyer