WALTER O'MALLEY

'Walter Francis O'Malley' (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958 he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

Contents

Early years

Dodgers

Move to Los Angeles

Retire from presidency

Death

Timeline

Popular culture

References

External links

Early years

Walter O'Malley was the only child of Edwin Joseph O'Malley (1883-1955), who was working as a cotton goods salesman in the Bronx in 1903, but would later become the Commissioner of Public Markets for New York City. Walter's mother was Alma Feltner (1882-1940).^[1]
O'Malley attended the Jamaica High School in Queens and then the Culver Academy in Indiana. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1926. He then attended Columbia University in New York City, but after his family lost their money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he switched to attending night classes at Fordham University. He completed his law degree in 1930 at Fordham Law, and then worked as an assistant engineer for the New York City Subway. He then worked for Thomas F. Riley who owned the Riley Drilling Company and they formed the partnership of Riley and O'Malley. With the help of Walter's father's political connections, the company received contracts from the New York Telephone Company and the New York City Board of Education to perform geological surveys. Walter then started the Walter F. O'Malley Engineering Company, and published the ''Subcontractors Register'' with his uncle, Joseph O'Malley (1893-1985).
On September 5, 1931, he married Katherine Elizabeth Hanson (1907-1979), whom he had dated since high school, at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. They had two children, Theresa O'Malley Seidler (1933- ) ^{[2] [3]} and Peter O'Malley (1937- ). ^[4] Kay had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 1927 before the engagement and had to have her larynx removed. She was unable to speak above a whisper the rest of her life. Walter O'Malley ^[5]

Dodgers

In 1933, Walter met George V. McLaughlin who was president of the Brooklyn Trust Company. It was through George that Walter was brought into the financial arrangements for Ebbets Field in 1940.
In 1942 he was appointed the attorney for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and he became the president and chief stockholder on October 26, 1950, taking over for Branch Rickey, who was a trailblazer in baseball by instituting the farm system and breaking the racial barrier with Jackie Robinson.^[6]
The Dodgers remained successful under O'Malley, they won the National League pennants in 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. In 1955, the team won the World Series for the first time in their history. Attendance had been declining, from a peak of 1.7 million in 1946 and 1947 to just over one-million per year in the mid 1950s. O'Malley tried to raise money and get the political backing to build a new ballpark elsewhere in Brooklyn. The one person whose backing he needed was Robert Moses. Moses, through the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, was in control of development in New York. O'Malley had wanted to build a new Brooklyn Dodger stadium at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue, but Moses wanted the Dodgers to move to Queens and play in Flushing Meadows Park where the Mets play today. Ultimately O'Malley decided to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles. Baseball Club Holds Edge in Chavez Ravine Test. ^[7]

Move to Los Angeles

Following the 1957 season, he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles. He also was influential in getting the rival New York Giants to move west. He needed another team to go with him, for had he moved out west alone, The St. Louis Cardinals - 1600 miles away - would have been the closest National League team. O'Malley met with Giants owner Horace Stoneham - who was considering moving the Giants to Minnesota - and talked Stoneham into joining him on the west coast at the end of the '57 campaign. The moves broke the hearts of New York's fans but ultimately was successful for both franchises - and for Major League Baseball as a whole. In the years following the move of the New York clubs, Major League Baseball expanded to include three other California based teams, two in Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona and Seattle. O'Malley was given 352 acres in Chavez Ravine by the Los Angeles city government and built the 56,000 capacity Dodger Stadium for $12 million. The Dodgers temporarily took up residence in the Los Angeles Coliseum while they awaited the completion of Dodger Stadium, and were soon drawing more than two-million fans a year. They remained successful on the field as well, winning the World Series in 1959, 1963, and 1965. The Los Angeles Angels also played in Dodger Stadium for their first four years.^[8]

Retire from presidency

On March 17, 1970, Walter turned over the presidency of the team to his son Peter, remaining as Chairman until his death. Peter O'Malley held the position until 1998 when the team was sold to Rupert Murdoch.^[9]

Death

Walter O'Malley was diagnosed with cancer, and sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic, then his wife Kay died.^[10] He died of congestive heart failure on August 9, 1979 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.^[11]

Timeline

★ 1903 Birth in New York City on October 9

★ 1926 Graduation from University of Pennsylvania

★ 1929 Stock Market Crash

★ 1930 Law degree from Fordham University

★ 1931 Marriage to Katherine Elizabeth Hanson, aka Kay Hanson on September 5

★ 1933 Birth of Theresa O'Malley, his daughter, on May 23

★ 1937 Birth of Peter O'Malley, his son

★ 1940 Death of Alma Feltner, his mother, on June 1

★ 1942 Appointed attorney for the Brooklyn Dodgers

★ 1950 President and chief stockholder of Dodgers on October 26

★ 1955 Death of Edwin Joseph O'Malley, his father, on April 10

★ 1955 Dodgers win World Series

★ 1957 Team moved to Los Angeles, California

★ 1959 Dodgers win World Series

★ 1963 Dodgers win World Series

★ 1965 Dodgers win World Series

★ 1970 Peter O'Malley, his son, becomes President of Dodgers on March 17

★ 1975 O'Malley owns 100% of Dodgers stock

★ 1977 "Chest surgery" in Los Angeles on June 9

★ 1979 Death of Kay, his wife, in Los Angeles on July 12

★ 1979 Treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota

★ 1979 Death of Walter O'Malley at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on August 9 Walter O'Malley Dies. Man Who Brought Dodgers West Succumbs to Cancer

Popular culture

O'Malley was mentioned several times in Danny Kaye's 1962 song tribute, "The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley!)," which spins a tale of a fantasy game between the Dodgers and the Giants. At one point, the umpire's call goes against the home team:
:''Down in the dugout, Alston glowers''
:''Up in the booth, Vin Scully frowns;''
:''Out in the stands, O'Malley grins...''
:''Attendance 50,000!''
:''So ....what does O'Malley do? CHARGE!!
Just before the St. Louis Cardinals began a series of games against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, in 1963, the Los Angeles Times published a large cartoon, drawn by artist Pete Bentovoja, modeled on the movies about the German submarine captain. The captain is Cards' manager Johnny Keane; his "lieutenant" is Stan Musial. They wear Cardinal uniforms with naval officers' caps bearing the "St.L" emblem. While Keane and Musial are speaking, other crew members load bats, like torpedoes, into torpedo tubes; the bats have players' faces (and names and batting averages) drawn on them. Keane looks through the periscope; the inset shows a battleship with a large head of O'Malley, wearing a naval officers cap bearing the "LA" emblem and puffing a cigar.
Keane: "Achtung Shtan [Stan]! I zought ve sunk sem last year?"
Musial: "Yavohl, Mein Kommander, Ve vill blast zem vit bigger und better torpedoes zis zeazon!" (The Cards made a terrific drive for the pennant but finished the season six games back of the Dodgers.)
Chronicling his executive management of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers was featured prominently in the HBO documentary, Ghosts of Flatbush

References

1. Walter in Wonderland
2. Daughter to Mrs. W.F. O'Malley.
3. Terry O'Malley Seidler.
Mother of 10, She Manages to Get By.
4. Son Born to Walter O'Malleys.
5. Kay O'Malley, 72, Wife of Dodgers Owner, Dies
6. O'Malley Elected To Succeed Rickey As Dodger President. Rickey Congratulates His Successor.
7. The Dodgers Settle Down at Last in Chavez Ravine
8. Mayor Is Blamed For Dodger Move; City Administration Scored By G.O.P. O'Malley Tie To Transit Unit Cited Authority Defends Contract. Republican spokesmen yesterday blamed Mayor Wagner for the loss of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles.
9. Peter O'Malley, 30-year old son of the president, Walter F. O'Malley, was promoted today to the post of executive vice president of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
10. Walter O'Malley, chairman of the board of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Rochester.
11. Walter F. O'Malley, Leader of Dodgers' Move to Los Angeles, Dies at 75. Unqualified Success. Walter F. O'Malley, the man who took the Dodgers out of Brooklyn and opened the West Coast to major league baseball, died yesterday in Rochester, Minnesota. He was 75 years old.

External links

★

★ Official Website: Walter O'Malley

★ Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile

★ Baseball Library: Walter O'Malley

★ Baseball Biography Project: Walter O'Malley

★ Findagrave: Walter O'Malley

★ Findagrave: Walter's mother: Alma Feltner

★ Findagrave: Walter's father: Edwin O'Malley

★ Findagrave: Walter's uncle: Joseph O'Malley

★ Wikia Genealogy: Walter O'Malley