Introduction

Successful on-field performances were a mainstay during the stable tenure of Walter O’Malley. In fact, as President of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950-70, the Dodgers finished in first or second place in the National League 12 out of 19 times. Add to that, the 10 years in which O’Malley was Dodger Chairman of the Board and the Dodger teams finished in first or second place on eight more occasions. With postseason appearances in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977 and 1978, the Dodgers were one of baseball’s most prominent teams in the era. Four Dodger teams won World Championships, including the first and only title in Brooklyn in 1955. The other World Champion Dodger clubs in Los Angeles included 1959, 1963 and 1965 under Walter O’Malley’s leadership. While O’Malley employed only three managers in 29 years, the Dodgers possessed some of baseball’s most recognizable stars, including Hall of Famers Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton. Joining those players in baseball immortality are Managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda, also members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Peter O’Malley was named Dodger President on March 17, 1970 and continued that leadership until March 1998, then becoming Dodger Chairman of the Board for the balance of that year. In his tenure, the Dodgers won two more World Championships – 1981 and 1988 – plus five National League Pennants and nine Jackie Robinson NL Rookies of the Year, including five consecutive from 1992-1996. Peter also advanced baseball internationally and made significant signings globally from Mexico’s Fernando Valenzuela to Australia’s Craig Shipley to South Korea’s Chan Ho Park to Japan’s Hideo Nomo, again expanding baseball’s borders.