On this date, Gene Autry was awarded an American League franchise in Los Angeles. It would be the start of a four year strained relationship between Autry and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley. O’Malley called Autry his friend invariably. But in the meantime he did everything to make the latter’s life impossible. O’Malley didn’t…
Today in 1956, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley sold the home of the Dodgers, Ebbets Field, to real estate developer Marvin Kratter. Looking back, this was the omen of the Dodgers’ move after the 1957 season. The sale to Kratter included a three-year lease, with an additional two years to be added in January, to…
Today it is exactly 72 years ago that the Brooklyn Dodgers acquired the contract of Jackie Robinson. It would take five more days before Robinson would make his MLB debut. It was during an exhibition game against their AAA team, the Montreal Royals, where Robinson was playing after he signed a contract with the Dodgers…
It is no secret that the city of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention Center want to get rid of the 51s. Perhaps this is the reason that Cashman Field is heavily neglected. At the end of last season the sewage near the home team dugout broke down as the toilets started to bubble…
Sixty years after Walter O’Malley traded Robinson to the arch rival of the Dodgers, the New York Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers will erect a statue to honor Jackie Robinson. California-based sculptor Branly Cadet will create the Robinson statue ,which will be ten feet tall, around the theme, “Leveling the Playing Field.” With the help…
Dodgertown in Vero Beach saved Dodgertown, the former spring training complex of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers was left alone by the team in 2008 when they moved to Arizona. The facility used to be a naval air station that was converted into a spring training camp with barracks, stadium, practice fields and a golf course…
Even though the history of the Dodgers goes back to 1883 when the Brooklyn Grays were founded, the history of the illustreous Dodgers would start in the early 1900’s when Charlie Ebbets bought the team, then still playing at Washington Park. From 1905 Ebbets started to purchase pieces of land in Flatbush, then a slum…
I love the pic shown above. It shows Hank Aaron on the left and Willie Mays on the right. This is a picture with some historic significance. It shows two players with uniforms of the towns they started their career at, but uniforms of two totally different clubs. The picture also shows something that I…
Gil Hodges, the manager that guided the Mets to their very first World Series title during their miracle run of 1969 (sorry Cubs fans), will mostly be remembered as the first baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers. With him the Dodgers won their only World Series as Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955. …
I wrote the following piece for my monthly colum in the Cuban baseball magazine Universo Beisbol. In this piece I want to share my point of view on the move of the Dodgers to Los Angeles. Over the years, the LA press and especially the O’Malley family have re-written history in favour of Walter O’Malley….
