This Day in Walter O’Malley History: November 6

Appearing on the ABC-TV show “On Trial,” Walter O’Malley debates Congressman Emanuel Celler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, regarding “Should Baseball Be Subject to Anti-Trust Laws?” The program is a follow-up to recent committee hearings in Washington, D.C. about charges of monopoly in Baseball. Acting as the program’s “judge” was Harold M. Kennedy, a real judge of the U.S. District Court. Also appearing are John Harlan Amen, counsel for Rep. Celler and Paul A. Porter, general counsel for Baseball. At one point early in the examination, O’Malley was asked, “Your name?” “Walter O’Malley,” he replied. O’Malley was asked, “The same Walter O’Malley who is president of the Brooklyn Dodgers?” O’Malley’s reply showed his sense of humor. “The same O’Malley,” he said, “whose Dodgers blew a 13 and one-half game lead this year and will win the pennant and World Series next year.” On Trial, American Broadcasting Co., November 13, 1951 and The Sporting News, November 21, 1951  The show airs at 9:30 p.m. on WJZ-TV in New York.

Walter O’Malley corresponds with Richard A. Moore, President of KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles. Moore had written a letter to O’Malley on November 4 regarding the station’s interest in airing Dodger games on “free television.” O’Malley responds, “I have your follow-up letter of the 4th, and will be pleased to see you any time you are in New York or Los Angeles, when I am there.” O’Malley eventually made arrangements with KTTV, beginning on May 9, 1958, for road games to be televised from San Francisco. It was the start of a 34-year relationship with KTTV to televise games.

Several Los Angeles sportswriters comment on their first impressions of Walter O’Malley on his arrival to Los Angeles. George T. Davis of the Los Angeles Herald-Express writes, “I am ready to roll up my sleeves and go to bat for Walter O’Malley any time. Los Angeles is accustomed to powerful personalities. But in my opinion nobody coming to town ever made a more favorable impression than this man who led us out of the baseball wilderness by moving his Dodgers from Brooklyn.” Paul Zimmerman of the Los Angeles Times: “The Walter O’Malley who charmed the baseball fans at International Airport the other night when he made his first public appearance in the city of his choice certainly proved himself to be a far different person than the one we’ve been reading about recently in stories emanating from New York...Unless there has been a case of mistaken identity, this forthright and witty gentleman who stepped off the ‘Los Angeles Dodgers’ airplane must have undergone a complete metamorphosis during the half day it took him to fly from Gotham to our fair city.” Rube Samuelsen, Pasadena Star-News: “Mr. Walter O’Malley will make an extremely welcome addition to the Southland sports scene. There is a man who could give Dale Carnegie a run for it in demonstrating ways of winning friends and influencing people. His faculty of saying the right thing and at the right time is innate. Call it charm, call it insight, call it understanding, the gentleman’s got it.” Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Examiner: “Sentimental ties were strongly there (Brooklyn) and the spirit of the Dodgers deeply rooted. Walter O’Malley, a native New Yorker, could have thrived there admirably the rest of his life. That’s why we see a curious pioneering quality in his shift to Los Angeles. We trust his faith in this city hasn’t been misplaced and that the Dodgers will blossom into one of our landmarks presided over by him and his heirs. Who knows, some day they may name a place out here O’Malley Ravine.” The Sporting News, November 6, 1957

Rube Samuelsen of the Pasadena Star-News writes of Walter O’Malley’s appreciation for Bob Cobb, the President of the Hollywood Stars Pacific Coast League team and the credited inventor of the “Cobb Salad.” At the Dodgers’ civic luncheon on October 28th of that year, Walter O’Malley’s first words to the luncheon group after being introduced by master of ceremonies Joe E. Brown, “Mr. Toastmaster, you have done a fine job but you must be charged with an error. You failed to introduce Bob Cobb.” Cobb was a long time supporter of Major League Baseball coming to Los Angeles. Samuelsen wrote that it was Cobb who told O’Malley, “As far as Chavez Ravine is concerned, it’s the greatest spot in the United States for a modern baseball park.” Rube Samuelsen, The Sporting News, November 6, 1957

Scott E. Temple, Mayor of the City of Downey, California sends a letter and invitation to Walter O’Malley to consider land in his city as a home for the Dodgers, should the previously approved contract with the city of Los Angeles be nullified in legal proceedings. “With the cooperation of the Downey Board of Realtors, The Downey Chamber of Commerce, and the Citizens of Downey, we are happy to submit an excellent location for the permanent home of the Dodgers,” writes Temple. “Options have been secured for 55 acres of land, properly zoned, with access to all freeways.” Downey lies 20 minutes south of Los Angeles.

Joined by his son Peter, Walter O’Malley makes his first visit to India, stopping in New Delhi. He discusses the Dodgers in an interview with The Indian Express.

Walter O’Malley answers questions about the future of international baseball for The Sporting News while participating in the pro-am golf tournament prelude to the $150,000 Kaiser International Open at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California. O’Malley says that “The Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka are both logical places for franchises in America’s major baseball leagues, hopefully within the next five years. I’d like to see it because I’m very proud of the progress the Japanese have made in baseball. We’ve brought the Japanese teams to the Dodgers’ spring training camp (in Vero Beach, Florida) a couple of times, and the Japanese are students of the game. They work harder than our boys do in spring training. Our boys put in 3 1/2 hours of work and then they look for the nearest golf course or beach or go home and baby-sit while mama goes to the beach. Those Japanese are out there at 8 in the morning and they are still out there at 6 at night. They work. That’s one thing that disappoints me a little bit about our boys. I think we’ve lost a little something in physical conditioning. They could work a little harder, in my opinion. We’ve got too many trainers rubbing them down and mollycoddling them.” When asked about other possible international cities for major league teams, O’Malley thought Toronto could be a part of the majors, but not Mexico City. “Mexico is very enthusiastic over baseball. But a box seat in Mexico sells for 90 cents and it would not be economically feasible to finance a team that could compete with the others.” Ed Schoenfeld, The Sporting News, November 6, 1971  Six years later, on April 7, 1977 the Toronto Blue Jays made their debut in Major League Baseball.