Walter O’Malley, the legendary former owner of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers whose vision brought Major League Baseball to the West Coast and fueled the groundbreaking creation of a new home for baseball, will join fellow Hall of Fame players and broadcasters on the Dodger Stadium Ring of Honor.
The tribute is particularly fitting considering O’Malley owned the Dodgers when they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and Dodger Stadium was built.
He will become the 15th member of the Dodgers’ Ring of Honor, alongside the retired numbers of players Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Don Sutton, Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson (whose No. 42 is retired throughout baseball) and Don Drysdale, managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda, and broadcasters Jaime Jarrín and Vin Scully.
“Walter O’Malley was a pioneer, whom we can thank for expanding baseball into a truly national game – and also, through his goodwill exchanges with Japan, an international one,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. “He loved baseball, and he loved the Dodgers, illustrated by the longtime brilliance of Dodger Stadium, a ballpark for the ages.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Walter’s legacy, and we are grateful that Peter, who built upon that foundation so impactfully, will join us for this celebration.”
O’Malley’s Ring of Honor ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10, before the Dodgers’ 6:10 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was added to the team’s promotional calendar as part of Dodgers Alumni Weekend.
Peter O’Malley, president of the Dodgers from 1970-1998, is going to represent the O’Malley family at the event and accept the honor on behalf of his father.
“My sister Terry and I are grateful to Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and the Dodger organization for this Ring of Honor recognition,” Peter O’Malley said. “Designing, financing and building a stadium for the Dodgers was my dad’s goal for many years. After 62 seasons, he would be very happy with how Dodger Stadium accommodates millions of fans today thanks to the enhancements by current ownership.”
Walter O’Malley joined the Dodgers in 1943 as vice president and general counsel before becoming a co-owner the following year and majority owner in 1950. Over the next six seasons the Dodgers won four National League pennants and in 1955, their first World Series title under O’Malley’s ownership.
O’Malley brought the Dodgers to L.A. when all options were exhausted in Brooklyn, becoming the visionary behind the design, construction and financing of Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers went on to win three more World Series within their first eight years in Los Angeles.
Walter O’Malley’s Hall of Fame induction
O’Malley passed away on August 9, 1979, before being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. He was elected by the veteran’s committee with 75% of the vote.
Overall, he remains one of the most influential men in baseball history.
However, his legacy in Brooklyn paints a different legacy, with fans from that era still disappointed and angry at the former owner for moving the team across the country.
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