brooklyndodgermemories

"He was an innovator. He’s an owner who will be in the Hall of Fame some day. His name will be remembered as long as they play baseball. I can remember when I first came to the Dodgers, he was always kidding with the players. It didn’t matter if you were a Koufax or a Drysdale or you were a kid from Venezuela or the Dominican (Republic). He made you feel wanted. I lost a friend; baseball lost a great man.”


~ Preston Gomez

"He took a struggling franchise out of an antiquated ballpark and brought baseball into the modern age.”

George Will

"At the time I began as executive director of the Players Association in 1966, Walter O’Malley was really running the game. His fellow owners relied on him in terms of direction and major policy decisions to an extent you wouldn’t believe until you looked into it. There’s no question that whatever O’Malley wanted, (Commissioner Bowie) Kuhn did it. First, he was brighter than most of them, if not all of them. Secondly, when I asked an owner why that great influence, he said, “The owners come to a meeting and they typically don’t even know what’s on the agenda. They just don’t even pay attention to it, or any of the literature that was sent them. In contrast, O’Malley comes not only knowing what’s on the agenda, but prepared to speak on every point."

~~ Marvin Miller



"He had this dream. He wanted to build the first domed stadium in baseball above the Long Island railroad tracks. All he wanted was the land. He wanted a stadium that would be like a gigantic modern theater. The Houston people copied a lot of his ideas.”

~ Red Patterson

"The chairman of the board of the Dodgers will take his place along with Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Babe Ruth as probably one of the three most vital forces in baseball history. Commissioner Landis restored a sport almost destroyed by the Black Sox scandal, the Babe elevated the game to a place of public esteem and O’Malley was baseball’s catalyst in its expansion and unprecedented acceptance.”

Bob Hunter
Valley News

Victory Party. Brooklyn, New York: Celebrating at the Brooklyn Dodgers' victory party at the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn, October 4, are (left to right), Duke Snider, hitting star; Warren Giles, president, National League; Walter O'Malley, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers; Johnny Podres, pitching sensation who won the two series games; and Gil Hodges, who hit in the two Dodger runs that defeated the Yankees in the final game. This marked the first time the Dodgers have ever won the championship crown. October 4, 1955

left to right: Branch Rickey of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Walter O'Malley President of the Dodgers chat with Ford Frick,President of the National League.
June 14, 1951

And that's why I'm in the HOF, Tony because everyone loves me except you, and Jackie42.

Jackie, that is excellent, nobody can complain that we aren't fair and balanced. I don't agree with most of it, but that is a good presentation.

They all feared O'Malley, and all of them didn't want to hurt themselves. I think Red Barber was blackballed after his comments about attendance at Yankee Stadium in the 60's.

Yes he was, and the O'M hated Red because he was Rickeys guy.

Red was still fairly young, late 50's when the Yankees fired him, and I'm sure he was confident he would hook on with another team, that never happened. Barber went from one of the most sought after announcers in all of sports to not being able to get a job.

WE are talking Red Barber here, the father of baseball announcers. Surely unless all the owners were told to stay away, someone would have offered Red a job. Now thats a question I would love to ask Vin Scully.

Having Red Barber announcing the Mets (in '66 and after) would have been really cool! Too bad it never happened.

O'M was the boss, unofficial commissioner, and he must have blackballed Red.

O'Malley had tremendous power and influence, and he was able to operate in the shadows, which was his favorite way to operate. Branch Rickey learned that the hard way.