Dodger President Walter O’Malley; Peter O’Malley.
O’Malley Family Wins
By Robert Schweppe
The O’Malley family leadership of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers during the seasons of 1951-1997 is among the finest among American and global sports teams. Such was its management of the Dodgers that in October, 1998, Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal ranked it as the best Major League Baseball franchise of the 20th century.
From the length of the O’Malley majority control of the Dodgers, the Dodgers and the New York Yankees stood apart in regular season wins from all other teams. In those 47 seasons of O’Malley ownership, only the New York Yankees and the Dodgers won more than 4,000 games.
1951-1997 (47 seasons)
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 4128 | 3260 | .559 |
DODGERS | 4074 | 3329 | .550 |
Cincinnati Reds | 3905 | 3487 | .528 |
Baltimore Orioles | 3866 | 3514 | .524 |
Boston Red Sox | 3828 | 3569 | .518 |
The difference in wins per season for the Dodgers and the Yankees from those years was a scant 1.15 wins per season.
1955-1997 (43 seasons)
On a second, closer review using the years 1955-1997, the New York Yankees and the Dodgers are not far separated as the cream of baseball’s best teams. A hair’s breadth separates the two teams’ performance in the regular season, and the Dodgers were just one World Championship behind the New York Yankees in that span. No other club had a winning percentage above .540. The difference in wins per season for the top two teams was a slight 1.14-win difference average over the time span.
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. | WORLD SERIES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 3733 | 3042 | .551 | 7 |
DODGERS | 3684 | 3101 | .543 | 6 |
And all of this was achieved during the O’Malley family era of the Dodgers.
The team performance of the Dodgers from 1951 to 1997 is all the more remarkable when you consider the dowdy performance of the organization from 1900 to 1939. In each of the four decades of the 20th century, starting with the 1900 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers never had a record above .500. They had appeared in only two World Series, 1916 and 1920. From 1921-1938, they finished in sixth or seventh place in 12 seasons where there were only eight teams in the National League.
Walter O’Malley became President of the Dodgers in October, 1950 and the 1951 team was his first as team president.
1951-1969
WALTER O’MALLEY AS PRESIDENT OF THE DODGERS
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 1744 | 1246 | .583 |
DODGERS | 1702 | 1294 | .568 |
Chicago White Sox | 1639 | 1359 | .547 |
NY/San Francisco Giants | 1638 | 1357 | .547 |
Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves | 1622 | 1369 | .542 |
The Dodgers and the Yankees were the only teams to win at least four World Championships in that time and win more than 1,700 games. The Yankees averaged only 2.2 more wins a season in that era.
(L-R): Dodger greats Pee Wee Reese; Carl Furillo; Jackie Robinson; Carl Erskine; Gil Hodges; Don Newcombe; Duke Snider; Roy Campanella stand behind the batting cage at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn. Those players and more helped the Dodgers capture the 1955 World Championship.
(L-R): Don Drysdale; Tommy Davis; Sandy Koufax; and Maury Wills, circa 1963 at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. The four players had superb 1962 seasons with Drysdale winning the Cy Young Award with 25 victories; Koufax won 14 games and was considered one of the best left-hand pitchers in the game; Tommy Davis led the National League in hitting with a .346 average. Maury Wills was the 1962 National League Most Valuable Player and stole 104 bases to set a then major league record.
Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax is greeted at the Vero Beach Airport by future Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda, center, and former Dodger Manager and future Hall of Famer Walter Alston on his arrival on the Dodgers’ 720-B fan jet on February 23, 1979. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Koufax rejoined the Dodgers as a pitching instructor. He pitched for four World Championship teams (1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965). He, along with Jim Gilliam and Johnny Podres are the only Dodger players to play for four World Championship teams. Alston managed the Dodgers to World Championships in 1955, 1959, 1963, and 1965, while Lasorda managed World Championship teams in 1981 and 1988.
AP Photo/Harry Harris
CLUB FRANCHISE WINS 1970-1997
The Dodgers, long known for their prowess in Major League Baseball, were among the game’s winningest teams from 1970-1997. As Major League Baseball and the world changed into the decade of the 1970s, a change came to the Presidency of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On March 17, 1970 at the St. Patrick’s Party at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida, Dodger President Walter O’Malley announced he would become the Dodger Chairman of the Board and his son Peter, would become the President of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team continued to play well on the field during the leadership of Peter O’Malley, a run that begins in the 1970 season until the end of the 1997 season.
1970-1997
The top five teams in wins during these 28 seasons are:
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 2384 | 2014 | .542 |
Baltimore Orioles | 2381 | 2007 | .543 |
DODGERS | 2372 | 2035 | .5382 |
Cincinnati Reds | 2370 | 2034 | .5381 |
Boston Red Sox | 2344 | 2059 | .532 |
In those 27 seasons of the Presidency of Peter O’Malley, the Dodgers won just 12 fewer games than the New York Yankees and nine fewer games than the Baltimore Orioles. The Dodgers led the National League in wins and were third overall. The Dodgers won two World Championships, trailing the Yankees and the Reds by one.
Six-time Gold Glove first baseman Wes Parker at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. Parker played for the Dodgers from 1964-1972 before entering a second career in broadcasting baseball and doing some acting. Parker was an integral member of the 1965 Dodger World Championship team. On August 21, 2007, Parker was named to the MLB All-Time Gold Glove Team as the top defensive first baseman since the Gold Glove Award started in 1957.
(L-R): Dusty Baker; Steve Garvey; Reggie Smith; and Ron Cey. The four Dodger players who set a major league record by each hitting 30 or more home runs in the 1977 season. That had never been achieved in major league history.
FIRST TEN SEASONS OF FREE AGENCY
1976-1985
The Dodgers had a new opponent that entered Major League Baseball in 1976. It wasn’t a team or a player, but a new concept. For the first time in history, players were eligible for free agency after six complete seasons of service at the major league level. A new market was created for players, and player turnover reached new highs as players attained the service level and left to sign for other teams.
The Dodgers remained with their policy of scouting, signing, developing, giving new talent a chance to make the team and bold trades. In the first 10 seasons of free agency, the Dodgers more than held their own with the third best winning percentage in baseball.
The top five clubs in wins in the first 10 years of free agency were:
1976-1985
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 902 | 658 | .578 |
Baltimore Orioles | 896 | 661 | .575 |
DODGERS | 872 | 697 | .556 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 861 | 704 | .550 |
Kansas City Royals | 860 | 701 | .552 |
Source: Mcubed.net/mlb/
1976-1997
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 1879 | 1556 | .547 |
DODGERS | 1826 | 1618 | .530 |
Boston Red Sox | 1819 | 1621 | .529 |
Baltimore Orioles | 1814 | 1617 | .529 |
Cincinnati Reds | 1789 | 1651 | .520 |
It’s tough to win in Major League Baseball. Throw in the most earthshaking concept, the birth of free agency for players after their sixth major league season in 1976, and the goal to win games and World Championships becomes exponentially tough. You have to rebuild your roster annually when players leave and play well to just stay in place.
Celebrating the 1988 World Championship in the Dodger clubhouse at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, October 20, 1988. L-R: Dodger President Peter O’Malley; World Series MVP Orel Hershiser; Dodger Executive Vice President, Player Personnel Fred Claire; Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda; and NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas. Before Game 4, Costas had said the Dodgers had the worst starting lineup in World Series history. Motivated by the statement, the Dodgers won Game 4 and then defeated the Oakland Athletics in five games to win their sixth World Championship.
(L-R): Antonio Osuna; Hideo Nomo; Chan Ho Park, circa Spring Training 1996, Dodger clubhouse; Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. Pioneer Dodger pitchers Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park are seated at their clubhouse lockers in Dodgertown. The 1995 season was known throughout baseball for “Nomomania” as the Japan-born star won National League Rookie of the Year honors. Park, MLB’s first player born in South Korea, was looking forward to joining the Dodger pitching rotation. He completed his 17-season career as MLB’s winningest pitcher from Asia with 124 victories.
From 1976 through the 1997 seasons, in the first 22 seasons of free agency, the Dodgers prospered. They were first in the National League and second overall in baseball in World Championships (2), World Series appearances (4), post-season appearances (13), regular season wins (1,826) and regular season winning percentage (.530) to the New York Yankees. In the time span, the Yankees averaged only 2.2 more wins per regular season. The Dodgers were one of only four teams to win more than 1,800 games in the era and one of five teams to win at least two World Championships. Mcubed.net/MLB