Tommy Lasorda

Everybody wanted to copy the Dodger organization because of Mr. O’Malley’s leadership. And everybody in baseball listened to him. He gave them ideas. He told them what was best for baseball and how to do it. He was a great businessman. He delegated leadership, and he built what we felt was an organization with a heart. An industrious organization and a family-type organization. He wanted it that way. He was the guy who did everything for (Jackie) Robinson and the black players in spring training that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. He made them all feel like they were an important part of the organization. He was color blind. He treated everybody alike.