This Day in Walter O’Malley History:

  • At the regular mid-summer meeting of the National League at the Palmer House in Chicago, N.L. President Ford C. Frick reports that he had been visited by Leonard Roach, a member of the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County, who had stated that he represented the civic organizations of Los Angeles, including the Board of Supervisors, the City Council, Chamber of Commerce, the Coliseum Board and the Rose Bowl Association. Roach advised him that these civic organizations wanted a major league club in Los Angeles, and perhaps San Francisco, and are willing to take care of the territorial problems of the Pacific Coast League and the purchase of a major league club or clubs if the major leagues will consent to the location or the transfer of franchises there.”

  • Responding to a letter from an irate female fan regarding Dodger Manager Charlie Dressen’s performance, Walter O’Malley says, “This week I was surprised that the Yankee fans and newspapermen were severely critical of Casey Stengel when his team was in a slump. This seems unsportsmanlike after the number of pennants and world championships he has brought to the Yankees. To an extent this applies to Dressen who might not be the most likeable person in the world but the cold record shows that he is the winningest manager in the history of the Brooklyn Baseball Club. I am sure you and all of us want to win ball games. That is more important than whether or not you have a personal affection or hatred for whoever happens to be the manager. Frankly, 99 out of 100 ball games are won or lost by the players and not the manager.”

  • Rosalind Wyman, the 22-year-old Los Angeles City Councilmember representing the Fifth District, made her first resolution at City Hall on July 7, 1953. According to the Los Angeles Times, Wyman urged “the Coliseum Commission to permit the American Legion to stage a baseball game in the Coliseum on July 18 as a purported demonstration that the Coliseum would be a proper place to stage major league baseball.” Los Angeles Times, Sports Brief, “Councilwoman Asks Test Tilt in Coliseum”, July 8, 1953  One of Wyman’s campaign pledges was to bring Major League Baseball to Los Angeles and she immediately tried to test that in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Her efforts to attract the Dodgers to Los Angeles were eventually successful and they relocated for the 1958 season. The Dodgers played their first four seasons in the Coliseum before Walter O’Malley privately built and opened Dodger Stadium in 1962.

  • Walter O’Malley writes to Jimmy Hahn, the son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, “Dear Jimmy: We saw birthday wishes to you on our message board the other night and I was hoping you would drop by the box to say hello as we had a few modest presents for you. All the best for many more wonderful birthdays.” James Hahn served as Mayor of Los Angeles from June 2001 - June 2005, after 16 years as City Attorney (1985-2001) and four years (1981-85) as City Controller of L.A.