Whether in Brooklyn or Los Angeles, the Dodgers owner history includes eras where one individual oversaw the franchise and times — including currently — when a group ran the team.
Among the more prominent owners in Dodgers franchise history are Charles H. Ebbets, Walter O’Malley and his family, News Corp., Frank McCourt and Guggenheim Baseball Management.
Ebbets became the Dodgers’ first sole owner in 1902, though at the the time the team was named the Brooklyn Superbas. In 1909 he welcomed minority partners in response to funding the building of the famed Ebbets Field.
O’Malley bought into the team in 1944, he later orchestrated the Dodgers’ move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and became their only owner in 1975. After his son, Peter, inherited the team for nearly two decades, it was sold to News Corp. in 1997.
That marked a downturn in Dodgers history, and the McCourt era was turbulent in its own right as Frank and Jamie went through a divorce.
That did lead to the Dodgers being auctioned and eventually purchased by Guggenheim Baseball Management in a record sale.
Owner history
Charles Byrne and Ferdinand Abell (1883-1890)
Charles H. Byrne, Joseph Doyle and Ferdinand Abell (1891-1897)
Charles H. Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell, Harry Von Der Horst and Ned Hanlon (1898-1902)
Ebbets was elected as team president and entered into a partnership with Von Der Horst and Hanlon after Byrne’s death in 1897.
Charles H. Ebbets (1902-1908)
Von Der Horst, Hanlon and Abell sold their shares to Ebbets in, making him the sole owner of the franchise, known at the time as the Superbas.
Charles H. Ebbets, Edward J. McKeever and Stephen W. McKeever (1908-1925)
The McKeevers were added to the ownership group after the purchase of land for Ebbets Field.
Stephen W. McKeever, and heirs of Edward J. McKeever and Charles H. Ebbets (1925-1938)
Marie Mulvey and heirs of Edward J. McKeever and Charles H. Ebbets (1939-1943)
Walter F. O’Malley, Branch Rickey, John Smith, Marie Mulvey and heirs of Charles H. Ebbets (1944)
Heirs of Ed McKeever’s put up his stock, which is purchased by O’Malley, Smith and Rickey.
Walter F. O’Malley, Branch Rickey, John Smith and minority shareholders (1945-1950)
O’Malley and Smith purchase 50% of the team from the Ebbets heirs to amass 75% control of the franchise.
Walter F. O’Malley and multiple minority shareholders (1950-1975)
O’Malley takes majority control from Rickey to assume 66.2% of the team.
Walter F. O’Malley (1975-1979)
O’Malley secures full ownership of the Dodgers by purchasing final 33.8%.
Peter O’Malley (1979-1997)
Peter becomes Dodgers owner in the wake of his father’s death. The Dodgers win their fifth and sixth World Series titles under the O’Malley family in 1981 and 1988.
News Corp. (1998-2003)
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. purchased the Dodgers for $311 million, but the tenure is rocky and includes missing the postseason in all six seasons.
Frank McCourt (2004-2012)
McCourt bought the Dodgers from News Corp. for $430 million and embarked on one of the more intriguing — if not tumultuous — ownership tenures in MLB history. The Dodgers returned to the postseason during this time, but Frank and Jamie filed for divorce in October of 2009.
That set the wheels in motion for the Dodgers to be sold at a record price after the franchise was torpedoed in a very public and hostile divorce.
Guggenheim Baseball Management: Mark Walter, Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, Peter Guber, Bobby Patton and Todd Boehly (2012-2018)
With Walter serving as controlling owner, Kasten the president and CEO, and Johnson a parter owner, Guggenheim paid $2 billion to purchase the Dodgers.
They revitalized the franchise through the Major League roster, farm system and Dodger Stadium upgrades. In 2017, the Dodgers reached the World Series for the first time since 1988.
Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss join Guggenheim Baseball Management (2018-2019)
King and Kloss purchased a minority stake in the team.
Alan Smolinisky and Robert L. Plummer join King, Kloss and Guggenheim Baseball Management (2019-present)
In September of 2019, Smolinisky and Plummer joined the Dodgers ownership group by purchasing a minority share.
