This Day in Walter O’Malley History:
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Dedication ceremonies for the grand opening of the Chavez Ravine Sports Center at 1100 Academy Road in Elysian Park are held. Official invitations were made on behalf of Walter O’Malley and the Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners. Dodger Vice President of Stadium Operations Dick Walsh made the presentation from the Dodgers to the City of Los Angeles. Many Dodger players were guests at the 3 p.m. ceremonies. According to the Los Angeles Times, the “41-acre tract of park land near Dodger Stadium was turned over by the Dodgers to the City Recreation and Parks Department for public use.” Los Angeles Times, December 17, 1965 The center features two regulation baseball diamonds and an eight-acre parking area.
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In his letter to longtime Dodger photographer Herbie Scharfman, Walter O’Malley writes, “Dear Herbie: It takes the grapevine a long time to get information to me. I have just learned that you were hit by a line drive during the World Series and that you have had some convalescence since. It is now too late to send flowers so I will save the money and parley it into a bet on the first tee in Vero Beach where I know you will make your drive into the lake. Seriously, Herbie, all the best to you and bounce back fast.” The darkroom at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida was named in honor of Scharfman, who took many of baseball’s most compelling images.
