Editorials

This Date In Dodger History: Walter O’Malley Becomes Dodger President

October 26, 1950

As Stan Kasten and the rest of the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group continue to build the Los Angeles Dodger franchise, we take a look back at another president and owner of the Dodgers.

Walter O’Malley was a minority stakeholder of the Dodgers for many years after starting out as the chief legal counsel for the team.  However, on this date back in 1950, O’Malley became team president and owner after becoming the majority stakeholder, taking over for Branch Rickey. He would then hold that position for twenty years.

Once he became president, the Dodgers enjoyed some of their greatest success as they won the NL pennant four times in the 1950s and became World Series champions in 1955. The team also took two trips overseas to Japan for Goodwill Tours that advanced international baseball.

Under O’Malley, the Dodgers made the move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles after the 1957 season and he was a driving force behind the construction of Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers would play in the Coliseum in 1958 until their brand-new 56,000 seat stadium was ready which cost $23 million to build.

O’Malley gave way to his son in 1970 for presidency and he would pass away in 1979, but the Dodgers stayed in the O’Malley family until 1998. After they sold the Dodgers, the O’Malley family stayed out of sports ownership until they bought the San Diego Padres in 2012, led by son Peter O’Malley.

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In case you missed it, here’s the Dodgers pool celebration, PLUS Yasiel Puig’s celebration dance off!

http://youtu.be/LknQOqL7uME

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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