Phoenix Rising wrote:
Such a pity you abandoned your beloved Dodgers just because they moved out west. It was the right move at the time for that organization.
It would seem your history of the reason for the move west is a bit cloudy. Walter O'Malley wanted to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn and had plans drawn to construct a new Ebbets Field. The old Ebbets field had inadequate parking for the fan base that had moved, thanks to the GI bill for returning WWII and Korean conflict vets, to Long Island (can you say Levittown?) and even New Jersey. Not to mention that the old stadium was indeed old and needed major renovation.
O'Malley chose a site that was near to public transportation and the plans called for a domed stadium. However, Robert Moses whose title was NYC construction Coordinator but was in fact more powerful than the Mayor or any of the Borough Presidents could single handedly make or break any project. Moses wanted a stadium built in Queens and refused to condemn the property in Brooklyn O'Malley needed to build his stadium. The sight in Queens eventually became Shea Stadium.
When L.A. sniffed out the impasse between O'Malley and Moses they made the move to offer the Dodgers 350 acres at no cost to build their stadium. O'Malley not only accepted but convinced Horace Stoneham to move the Giants also. So you can really credit Robert Moses more than O'Malley for the move. Without Moses the Dodgers would most likely have stayed in Brooklyn.
Phoenix Rising wrote:
My dad (born Bklyn 1932) had the strength of character to stand by this team.
Thats one way to view it but what we can agree on no Dodger fan either Brooklyn or Los Angles would ever root for the hated Yankees.
I remember watching the HBO documentary on the Dodgers, The phucked up thing was that Walter O'Malley wanted to build a new stadium in Brooklyn with his own money, no taxpayers money, his own, and Robert Moses acting like a dictator just said no to the Brooklyn site. After the Dodgers and Giants left he helped formed the Mets to appease the Dodgers and Mets fan.
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