Walter O’Malley Brooklyn Dodgers Papers, 1946-1957. 1 cubic foot in 1 record carton.
Accessions 2004.003 and 1997.471
This collection of documents and news clippings is a selected portion of the papers of former Brooklyn National League Baseball Club (Brooklyn Dodgers) president Walter O’Malley. The bulk of the collection comprises correspondence and memoranda from 1946-57, covering the period of O’Malley’s roles as counsel to, and vice president of, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and afterward his ascension to the presidency of the organization in 1950.
The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, and reports, chiefly typewritten, some original letters and many carbon copies as typed by office staff. Other items include stadium plans, city committee and consulting engineers’ reports, press releases, and clippings from New York City and Brooklyn newspapers that cover the 1946-57 period. The material chiefly relates to the Dodgers’ efforts to secure a site and build a new stadium in Brooklyn to replace Ebbets Field, and failing to do so, the team’s move to Los Angeles in 1957. Included in these records is correspondence with such notable figures as city construction coordinator Robert Moses, Mayor Robert F. Wagner, New York State Governor Averell Harriman, Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore, and architect/engineer Buckminster Fuller.
A number of documents includedin the collection are available for viewing on the Walter O’Malley website.