1960-69

1960

February 10, 1960

Did Dodgertown make a difference to the Dodgers' winning record? A recent table in The Sporting News thought there was a direct connection. Since the Dodgers first began Spring Training in Dodgertown in Vero Beach in 1948, they had won two World Championships and six National League pennants. Their winning percentage was a .591 pace and going on the old 154-game schedule, averaged out to be slightly more than 91 wins a season. 1

February 27, 1960

Kaoru Betto, a former great Japanese baseball player, has arrived in Dodgertown for Spring Training to observe the team as they prepare for the season. Betto is a director of the Tokyo Daimai Orions (today the Chiba Lotte Marines) and would remain with the Dodger team for the season. Betto was the 1950 Pacific League Most Valuable Player for the Orions and finished the season as the 1950 Japan Series MVP. After his playing career is over, he would manage the Daimai Orions, Kintetsu Buffaloes, Taiyo Whales and Hiroshima Carp. Betto would be inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

March 4, 1960

Dodger Manager Walter Alston had some fun with outfielder Don Demeter in the batting cage. As the "Iron Mike" pitching machine ran out of baseballs from its supply, the pitching arm threw, but no pitch could be made. Alston, sitting behind the batting cage watching Demeter, asked him, "What was wrong with that one?" Demeter was taken by surprise and looked back at Alston. After a few more non-throws by the pitching machine, Demeter caught on to the joke. The outfielder walked out of the batting cage and said, "That guy's got something out there today. Didn't even see it." 2 According to sportswriter Bob Hunter, the "Iron Mike" had the first sore arm of spring.3

March 6, 1960

Bandleader Horace Heidt is a visitor to Dodgertown. He was recording a song titled "Charge!" and wanted to use voices of Dodger players to be used on the recording. "Charge!" was the unofficial rally theme for the Dodgers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the 1959 season when they became World Champions. 4

March 7, 1960

Bud Holman, the man who invited and encouraged the Dodgers to have Spring Training in Vero Beach, was honored by Eastern Airlines for 30 years of service to the corporation. 5

March 8, 1960

Florida was called "The Sunshine State" but so far in Spring Training, the Dodgers had more cold than sun. Maury Wills spoke of his remedy for the cold nights. "I put four blankets on my bed, but it took the fifth one before I could keep warm." "CBS Sports Spectacular" came to Dodgertown to film a special on Spring Training to be aired March 20th. 6

March 11, 1960

Eastern Airlines President and military hero Eddie Rickenbacker throws out the first ball before a Dodger game in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. Also, a moment of silence is held for former director of Dodgertown, Edgar Allen, who had recently passed away. 7

March 12, 1960

The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers were to be honored by the City of Vero Beach as part of the city's "1960 Fiesta of Sports in Vero Beach." The dinner would be held after the Dodgers-Athletics game in Holman Stadium.  8 Awards were presented to Walter O'Malley as "Grandfather of the Year" for the recent birth of a son to his daughter, Terry O'Malley Seidler. O'Malley spoke to the audience and praised the Dodger organization and their pleasure of having Spring Training in Vero Beach. "This," said O'Malley, "is not only a great team. It's a great club-a great organization. I don't know anyone I would want to trade in our whole setup." 9

March 12, 1960

Eddie Rickenbacker, the President of Eastern Air Lines spoke at the dinner to kick off the "1960 Fiesta of Sports in Vero Beach" and spoke of the impact to have the Los Angeles Dodgers have Spring Training in Vero Beach, Florida. Rickenbacker told Vero Beach citizens when he travels, he does hear of Vero Beach and the Dodgers. "This is a fact you should keep in mind," said Rickenbacker. "It is publicity you just can't buy." 10

March 13, 1960

Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times writes of the control issues facing Sandy Koufax and what the young left-hander is doing to solve them. "Lack of control is my problem, and I know it…..I know I've got a good fastball," said Koufax, "but you can't get by in the majors with just that one pitch….What I'm trying to do down here is work on control of my curve, change-up and slider. I've made up my mind to concentrate on these pitches in the exhibition games, even if I walk 15 guys a game." Finch finishes his column by writing "And if Koufax can co-ordinate all his stuff consistently, you'll be looking at a 20-game winner." 11

March 15, 1960

Duke Snider and Gil Hodges were overheard as they spoke about young Dodger players at their position. The Dodgers were experimenting by working out outfielder Tommy Davis at third base. Snider was heard to say he hoped Davis would become an infielder, as the Dodgers had 12 outfielders in Spring Training. "Gee, I hope so," said Snider. Hodges added, "Well, at least they're not trying to make a first baseman out of him. We already got four," said Hodges, the Dodger first baseman. 12

March 16, 1960

Bad weather caused a cancellation of the Dodgers-Reds game at Dodgertown. The weather wasn't bad because of rain, but rather golf ball sized hailstones and a tornado warning were enough to call it a day for the two teams.13 One newspaper reporter wrote, "Actually, the game was not called off by the umpires, but by the Vero Beach police department." In addition, Dodger pilot Bump Holman flew the Dodger Convair 440 airplane to Palm Beach to avoid storm damage to the Dodger plane. 14 Dodger Vice President Fresco Thompson said, "I've been coming down here for 13 years and never have seen anything like this hail storm." 15

March 16, 1960

Sportswriter Bob Hunter of the Los Angeles Examiner spends a day in Spring Training with Dodger Manager Walter Alston. Hunter starts his column at 7:30 a.m. "(Alston) awakens to a sharp shrill blast of police whistle being blown with a vengeance through the paper-thin walls as Charlie, the night man, madly stalks the hallways. This is the cruelest way ever invented to awaken a person." Hunter follows Alston to breakfast, morning meetings with the coaching staff and players, a morning workout, a lunchtime press conference, more meetings, an afternoon workout, meetings with the team trainer, preparation for the next day's workout, some fishing before dinner, and a bridge game with minor league managers Danny Ozark and Greg Mulleavy before the day ends at 11 p.m. 16

March 16, 1960

Ebbets Field seats have made their way to Dodgertown's Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida. After the property owners made the decision to replace Ebbets Field for apartments, 1,500 remaining box seats from Brooklyn were sent to Florida. Previously, seats from the Polo Grounds had been purchased by the Dodgers for use in Holman Stadium. 17

March 17, 1960

Walter O'Malley discusses the value of the Dodgers' Spring Training base in Vero Beach, Florida. "It is not a question of what we have in Dodgertown, entirely, but what it would cost to duplicate the setup here. It would cost $750,000 to build these dormitories. The Holman Stadium layout was constructed for $50,000. That would cost $150,000 now. We have something no other baseball club can match. Here we bring in all of our major and minor league players to one spot….Here in Florida our whole Dodger staff gets a look at every player we have under contract….We have seven fields, plus all the other equipment that no other clubs have at their disposal. You can see that our advantages are multiple." 18

March 17, 1960

The Dodgers held their annual St. Patrick's Day party at Dodgertown. On the menu for the evening was a note, "Alston Salad Without Dressen." Charlie Dressen was a former manager and coach for the Dodgers, but this season was the manager for the Milwaukee Braves. 19 One of the annual highlights of St. Patrick's Day is the entertainment put on by Dodger staff. Coach Bobby Bragan played the piano and sang, there was a "three-man" quartet of Bragan, Coach Greg Mulleavy, traveling secretary Lee Scott, and broadcaster Vin Scully added his singing voice. 20

March 19, 1960

The Dodgers' Spring Training schedule is being washed out by rain as an exhibition game was canceled for the fourth consecutive day. In 1959, the Dodgers were rained out for five consecutive games and finally flew to Havana, Cuba to play one intrasquad game and two games with the Cincinnati Reds. In the summer of 1959, the Cuban government was overthrown and Castro installed himself as a communist dictator, so the Cuban government was not interested in offering a hand to help the Dodgers play their exhibition schedule this season. One reporter wrote "Fidel Castro has loused everything up." 21

March 20, 1960

It has been said a twin-engine airplane can fly with one engine and on this date, it needed to for the Dodger-owned Convair 440 airplane. The team was en route to Orlando to play the Washington Senators in an exhibition game, but shortly after takeoff, the starboard engine ceased to function, leaving only the port or left side engine operating. Duke Snider, a left-hand hitter who battled left-hand pitchers, said, "This is the first time I ever rooted for a left-hander." 22 Pilot Bump Holman and his co-pilot Jim Curzon deftly handled the airplane and returned to Vero Beach, 25 miles away. The players applauded on the safe arrival and landing. The team would have taken the team bus to Orlando, but the bus battery was dead. So, players climbed into private cars and drove to Orlando and their efforts paid off with a 7-5 win. 23

March 20, 1960

The television show "CBS Sports Spectacular" visited Spring Training bases in Florida and made a stop at Dodgertown. Interviews were conducted with Walter O'Malley, Vice Presidents Buzzie Bavasi and Fresco Thompson and Manager Walter Alston. The viewing audience also saw pitching form from Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres and Larry Sherry. Charlie Neal and Gil Hodges discussed fielding. A television camera was placed in the catcher's position in the batting cage as rookie Frank Howard took swings from a pitching machine.24

March 25, 1960

Los Angeles Times sports editor and columnist Paul Zimmerman's column discusses the value of having Spring Training games in Arizona, but mentions the value of the Dodgers' site in Vero Beach, Florida. "The success of the Los Angeles Dodgers in assembling all their farm teams at the same training site in Vero Beach has set a lot of major league clubs to thinking." 25

April 2, 1960

Dodger infielder Jim Gilliam watched as 6-foot-7-inch Frank Howard worked out at third base to see if he could adapt to the position. Howard had played a small amount of games at third base in the Texas League in 1959. Gilliam said, "How are you going to hit a line drive over his head? And if you did, the left fielder would catch it." 26

April 6, 1960

Dodger scout Leon Hamilton accepts an assignment to become the camp supervisor of Dodgertown. Hamilton began scouting for the Dodgers in 1950. 27

April 8, 1960

Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times writes his wrap-up of the 1960 Spring Training season and comments on Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. "Despite the many advantages of training in Arizona, the Dodgers probably never will leave Dodgertown of their own volition. The facilities of their player production line at Vero Beach are incomparable, and it would cost a fortune to reproduce them today." 28

April 10, 1960

Los Angeles Times sportswriter Frank Finch later discusses his worst moment of the 1960 Spring Training. "There was that empty feeling the day the "B" key broke on our German-made typewriter in the press room at Vero Beach, where no immediate repairs could be made. Until Red Patterson (Dodger publicity director) came to the rescue with a spare blunderwood (a derivative name for the Underwood typewriter), we had to write -uzzie -avasi….-ase-all, Vero -each, like this, and instruct the Western Union operator to substitute B's for -'s. It was a harrowing experience, -elieve me." 29

June 16, 1960

The Dodgers were informed of the termination of their lease of Dodgertown by the city of Vero Beach. Vero Beach Mayor Harry Offutt said the reason for the cancellation of the lease was "Present contracts had not been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration." The Los Angeles Examiner then refuted the claim by the Mayor as they displayed a photostatic copy of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (forerunner of the FAA) approving the contract between the Dodgers and the city. 30

September 21, 1960

The Los Angeles Dodgers have invited the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan to Spring Training in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. Walter O'Malley extended the invitation to Matsutaro Shoriki, principal Giant owner and the owner of Yomiuri Shimbun, a prominent Japanese newspaper. This is the first time in baseball history a Japanese team will come to the Spring Training site of a major league team. 31

December 18, 1960

The Dodgers released their 1961 spring training schedule and announced their largest schedule of games at Holman Stadium in Dodgertown since they opened the site in 1948. Among the teams they would face during the 1961 Spring Training would be the American League Champions New York Yankees, the Minnesota Twins (formerly the Washington Senators) in their first season, and the expansion Washington Senators. The Twins were the Senators until they moved to Minnesota, and the new expansion team was named the Washington Senators. 32

December 28, 1960

Chick Walmsley has been appointed camp supervisor of Dodgertown. Walmsley was the concession director for the St. Paul Saints, a Dodger minor league team. 33

1 ^ The Sporting News, February 10, 1960

2 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 4, 1960 

3 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 4, 1960

4 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 6, 1960

5 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 8, 1960

6 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 8, 1960 

7 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 12, 1960

8 ^ The Sporting News, March 9, 1960

9 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 23, 1960

10 ^ The Sporting News, March 23, 1960

11 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1960

12 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1960

13 ^ The Sporting News, March 23, 1960

14 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1960 

15 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1960

16 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 16, 1960

17 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 16, 1960 

18 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1960   

19 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 23, 1960

20 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 30, 1960

21 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1960

22 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, March 24, 1960

23 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, March 24, 1960 

24 ^ The Sporting News, March 30, 1960

25 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1960

26 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1960

27 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 6, 1960

28 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1960

29 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 10, 1960

30 ^ The Sporting News, June 29, 1960

31 ^ Ray Wilson, The Sporting News, September 28, 1960

32 ^ Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1960

33 ^ A.L. Hardman, The Sporting News, December 28, 1960

1961

February 21, 1961

The first Dodger minor league player to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics is in camp. Jay Arnette, an outfielder, played guard for the University of Texas basketball team and was selected on the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He played in the Dodger minor league system from 1961 to 1964, rising as high as Double-A with Albuquerque in 1963. He scored 23 points in the eight game Olympic tournament as the USA defeated Italy in the gold medal game, 112-81. Arnette's teammates on the 1960 USA gold medal basketball team included Basketball Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, and Jerry West. He would leave baseball and play two full seasons (1963-64 and 1964-65) and three games of the 1965-66 season with the Cincinnati Royals.

February 21, 1961

John Roseboro was not on the initial flight to take the Dodgers from Los Angeles to Vero Beach, Florida for Spring Training. Roseboro's wife Jeri gave birth to Roseboro's second daughter. The catcher sent a telegram to Vice President Buzzie Bavasi that read, "Have daughter, will travel-when possible." 1

February 21, 1961

James Wong Howe, a two-time Academy Award cinematographer, is in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, to work on a documentary entitled "Biography of a Rookie." The film was to showcase a baseball rookie's Spring Training in the attempt to make the major league club and the subject was Dodger center fielder Willie Davis. The documentary was to be directed by Mel Stuart, who would later direct "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."  2

February 22, 1961

The Yomiuri Giants baseball team from Tokyo, Japan is expected to be the first passengers on the Los Angeles Dodgers' DC-6B plane purchased from Western Airlines. The Convair 440 airplane, formerly the Dodgers' plane, had been sold to an agency in Spain. The plane, modern for its time, would have an automatic pilot and be equipped with radar. 3

February 23, 1961

Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times writes how differently the history of baseball would have been changed except for events in March, 1959. The Dodgers had assigned Maury Wills on a conditional basis to the Detroit Tigers. If Wills made the Tiger squad, the Tigers would pay $31,500 to go along with the $3,500 they had paid the Dodgers for the review of Maury. Maury Wills hit .478 in spring training for Detroit, but they returned him to the Dodgers. Wills would later join the Dodger club during the 1959 season and lead them to a World Championship that season and then to World Championships in 1963 and 1965. 4

February 23, 1961

Walter O'Malley explains the contributions of the Dodgers to the City of Vero Beach regarding a dispute of the 21-year lease signed by the team in 1955. O'Malley reminded the city, "In the 14 years we have been operating Dodgertown we have spent three million dollars on maintenance, supplies and salaries of local employees. In that time we have taken in $122,000 in gate receipts." 5

February 25, 1961

The newest gadget in baseball instruction is demonstrated at Dodgertown. A pitching machine known as "Fireball" is displayed. The machine can throw a vast repertoire of pitches as curve, screwball and sinker. The device can be arranged to throw from the left side or the right side of the pitching rubber. The Dodgers used the machine to play intrasquad games before the pitchers were ready to pitch in a game. Bunts were not permitted in the game and one or two extra outfielders were permitted. The machine pitched a shutout 1-0 and was the winning pitcher and the losing pitcher. 6 The device helped the Dodgers play a seven inning intrasquad game in 35 minutes and a nine inning game in 52 minutes.  7

February 28, 1961

The Yomiuri Giants arrive today in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida on the maiden flight of the Los Angeles Dodgers new DC-6B plan. Also on the flight is future Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider who had remained in Los Angeles to continue treatment of an injury. 8 As the plane landed, the doors were kept closed for a just a few moments so the Dodger plane could be christened "Dearie" by Mrs. Marie "Dearie" Mulvey, a Dodger stockholder. 9

March 5, 1961

New Dodger coach Leo Durocher had won three consecutive intrasquad games, so Dodger Manager Walter Alston and Vice President Buzzie Bavasi decided to end the winning streak. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Durocher's team was the visitors and the game was scoreless. Bavasi told Alston that if the home team scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game at that moment, ensuring Durocher's defeat. As Durocher's opposition then scored a run in the bottom of the inning, Alston ended the game. Durocher said, "It's a Bavasi plot and I could smell it a mile away." 10

March 7, 1961

The "Leo Durochers" defeated the "Clay Bryants" in a Dodger intrasquad game, 9-4 as the two Dodger coaches ran their clubs. The starting pitcher for the Bryants was Ritsuo Horimoto, a 29-game winner in 364.2 innings for the Yomiuri Giants in 1960. Horimoto pitched two scoreless innings. Another Yomiuri Giant pitcher, Sho Horiuchi, pitched three innings for the "Bryants", allowing three runs. Horiuchi made his second visit to Dodgertown after previously visiting as an invited guest for Spring Training in 1957. 11

March 9, 1961

The final intrasquad game played by Dodger personnel was called off after playing six innings because of high winds. The wind affected play so badly that there were 16 walks and 11 stolen bases in the six innings. First baseman Gil Hodges was a catcher in the game and threw out two base stealers. 12

March 10, 1961

The Yomiuri Giants defeated a team of Dodger minor league players, 4-0 in a game at Holman Stadium. 13

March 11, 1961

The first exhibition game of the Dodgers' season in Vero Beach was highlighted by the playing of the Japanese and American national anthems during pre-game ceremonies. Famous sportswriter Sotaro Suzuki, accompanying the Giants to Dodgertown, threw the first ball. The Giants won the game 1-0 defeating the Dodgers minor league Spokane Triple-A team in a five inning preliminary game before the Dodgers' exhibition game against the Kansas City Athletics. Walter O'Malley had the recording of the National Anthem of Japan purchased from a Los Angeles record shop. 14

March 15, 1961

Football Hall of Famer Harold (Red) Grange is present at Holman Stadium as the Milwaukee Braves defeat the Dodgers in 11 innings, 4-3. 15

March 15, 1961

The Dodgers presented two documents to the City of Vero Beach showing their lease for the property of Dodgertown had been approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (forerunner of the Federal Aviation Administration) in 1955.

March 16, 1961

The Dodgers have a new brother pitcher-catcher battery in camp. Already on the major league club are pitcher Larry Sherry and his brother, catcher Norm Sherry. The team has added bonus right hand pitcher Joe Moeller and his brother, catcher Gary Moeller. 16

March 17, 1961

Gil Hodges is in the starting lineup as catcher for the first time since the 1948 season. Manager Walter Alston wanted to create more flexibility for the 1961 season and the team could save a roster spot if Hodges could be used as the third catcher. Hodges threw out Detroit Tiger outfielder Al Kaline trying to steal second, but Hodges had to be removed from the game in the second inning after being struck on the side by a pickoff throw when he was a base runner. 17

March 17, 1961

LIFE magazine in this issue writes of the Yomiuri Giants' Spring Training visit to Dodgertown. "An entire Japanese baseball team disembarked at the Vero Beach, Florida training camp to prepare for the 1961 season. They were welcomed by a clubhouse man (John Griffin) in a long kimono….." The article contained photos of the Giant players running wind sprints and Maury Wills playing banjo while Giant catcher Shigero Fujio played a shakuhachi, or windpipe. 18

March 18, 1961

Sportswriter Sotaro Suzuki writes a column in the Los Angeles Examiner to express his appreciation for the invitation of the Yomiuri Giants to hold Spring Training in Dodgertown. "The magnificence of this 110-acre site was overwhelming," wrote Suzuki. "The scenic beauty of the camp was almost unbelievable." Suzuki saw the Brooklyn Dodgers play in the 1920 World Series and was present at Yankee Stadium when it opened in 1960. When Matsutaro Shoriki wanted to begin professional baseball in Japan, he turned to Suzuki to write the constitution that would form the Central and Pacific Leagues beginning in 1929. 19 Suzuki concludes his column by writing, "I think this is the great merit of baseball through which I am sure we will create better understanding and friendship between the two baseball-loving nations of the United States and Japan."  20

March 18, 1961

The City of Vero Beach notifies the Los Angeles Dodgers they will waive their notice of dispossession from the Dodgertown lease. The city had filed a notice to dispossess the Dodgers of their lease in Dodgertown on June 14th of the previous year. 21

March 20, 1961

The New York Yankees defeated the Dodgers, 11-8 in a game played at Holman Stadium. Dodger rookie Willie Davis hit an inside-the-park home run in the first inning, but a later home run by Mickey Mantle helped the Yankees win. 22 Among the visitors at Dodgertown that day are Yankee Hall of Fame player Joe DiMaggio, a special instructor for the Yankees, and Mrs. John McGraw, the widow of Hall of Fame manager John McGraw. 23 Also, Dodger Manager Walter Alston told his players they would be making more bus trips in Spring Training if they didn't improve their efforts to pick up after themselves on the Dodger plane. 24

March 22, 1961

In appreciation for the efforts of Dodger employees, Walter O'Malley announced at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida, the organization would establish a profit sharing fund. O'Malley told team personnel in a staff meeting that "I want you all to know that we are proud of the job you all have been doing. We think we have the finest organization in baseball." 25

March 22, 1961

To break up the routine of Spring Training, Walter O'Malley flew team personnel and guests to a day trip to Montego Bay in Jamaica. The trip was made in the Dodgers' new DC-6B plane and had a brief brush with the Cuban government. As the Dodger plane flew to Jamaica, it flew over a tip of the island of Cuba. Cuban aviation officials thought the plane was a commercial brand and questioned Bump Holman, the Dodger pilot, on the identification of the plane. Holman answered, "Los Angeles Baseball Club", and the question was re-asked. After six tries of his first answer, Holman thought quickly and said, "Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Club." At this response, the word from Cuban aviation was, "Fine, go ahead." 26

March 23, 1961

It is a Dodger exhibition game that becomes the stuff of legends. Sandy Koufax pitches seven scoreless innings and does not allow a hit as the Twins rally to defeat the Dodgers, 5-4. The team had flown to Orlando for the game and was short on available pitchers when one expected relief pitcher missed the flight. Koufax loaded the bases on walks in the first inning and catcher Norm Sherry advised him to not to overthrow to improve his command and last longer in the game. The left-hander settled down and baseball experts credit that game as the moment when Sandy Koufax began to become the future Hall of Fame pitcher. 27

March 25, 1961

Walter O'Malley writes a telegram to Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary for President John F. Kennedy, to invite the President and his family and the White House press corps to attend a game at Dodgertown either on March 27 against St. Louis or on March 29 against the Chicago White Sox. O'Malley tells Salinger in the telegram, "Half hour away via our DC 6B (plane) can fly party of 66. No publicity this end. Sincere invitation for change of pace. After all, as his father knows, he almost became President of the Dodgers." The final sentence refers to an interest by Joseph Kennedy to purchase a controlling interest of Dodger stock in 1950 in order to place his son John in charge. 28

March 26, 1961

Dodger starter Johnny Podres pitched nine scoreless innings to shutout the Baltimore Orioles in a Spring Training game. It is thought to be the first complete game shutout in an exhibition by a Dodger pitcher since Carl Erskine in 1955. 29

March 29, 1961

Vice President Buzzie Bavasi talked of the value of the Dodgers' Spring Training in Vero Beach, Florida. "We've had all kinds of pressure on us to pull out of Florida and train in the West. They want us at Palm Springs, among other places-but we're going to stay in Vero Beach. We have too much invested to leave. In 14 years we've built a stadium, our other practice fields and kept up our quarters (which are the finest in baseball). We think we have the ideal spot, so why move?" 30

March 31, 1961

The Yomiuri Giants depart from Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida after being the Spring Training guests of the Dodgers. Sportswriter Sotaro Suzuki was quoted as saying, "Our training trip here has met with gratifying success. We are thankful to Walter O'Malley, to his organization, and to Los Angeles writers for their friendship and assistance." 31

March 31, 1961

The Rev. Billy Graham makes an appearance in Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida for a Good Friday service during his Florida crusades. 32 He is joined by a Crusade choir of locals numbering 400. 33

April 1, 1961

Matsutaro Shoriki, publisher of Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and owner of the Yomiuri Giants thanks Walter O'Malley for the invitation to have the Giants conduct Spring Training in Dodgertown. "Thank you deeply for the kindness extended the Yomiuri Giants' Baseball Club. Through the efforts and perseverance of you and your staff, the Yomiuri Giants Baseball Club now is a rejuvenated club, and I am sure, by learning 'The Dodgers' Way of Playing Baseball' at Vero Beach, the Giants will not only make a fast get away but will eventually capture the pennant; and while doing so, implant in the other Japanese teams, the American way of playing baseball." 34

April 9, 1961

"Biography of a Rookie," a documentary on the 1961 Spring Training season of Dodger rookie Willie Davis in his bid to make the major leagues was scheduled to be broadcast on this date. 35

April 12, 1961

Sandy Koufax pitched in the "getaway" game from Spring Training in Florida as the Dodgers defeated the Twins, 7-3. Koufax continued a string of 22 consecutive scoreless innings. Catcher Norm Sherry predicted, "Sandy will win 20 games this year." Sherry was not too far off as Koufax would win 18 games in 1961. Koufax noted where his improvement began. "It took me six years to get through my thick skull," said Koufax. "I'm not taking such a big windup. I'm throwing easier and I have more confidence now."  36

April 12, 1961

Bob Hunter writes a feature on Edward "Cowboy" Rogers, the Western Union operator at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. Newspaper writers in 1961 filed their copy with Western Union personnel as the fastest and most reliable way to transmit their stories to the respective newspaper. Rogers told Hunter this spring was an all-time record for filing stories as Dodgertown was covered by Los Angeles and Tokyo sportswriters. The Tokyo writers were there to cover the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, invited to Dodgertown for Spring Training by Walter O'Malley. 37

1 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1961

2 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1961

3 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, February 22, 1961

4 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1961

5 ^ Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1961

6 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1961

7 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, February 28, 1961

8 ^ Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1961

9 ^ Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1961

10 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 5, 1961

11 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1961

12 ^ The Sporting News, March 22, 1961

13 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 10, 1961

14 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 22, 1961

15 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1961

16 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 16, 1961

17 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 18, 1961

18 ^ LIFE magazine, March 17, 1961

19 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 18, 1961

20 ^ Sotaro Suzuki, Los Angeles Examiner, March 18, 1961

21 ^ Los Angeles Examiner, March 18, 1961

22 ^ The Sporting News, March 29, 1961

23 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 20, 1961

24 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 20, 1961

25 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 22, 1961

26 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 22, 1961 

27 ^ The Sporting News, April 5, 1961

28 ^ Walteromalley.com, This Month in History, March 25, 1961

29 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 5, 1961

30 ^ Chester Smith, Pittsburgh Press, The Sporting News, March 29, 1961

31 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Examiner, March 31, 1961

32 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1961

33 ^ Vero Beach Press-Journal, March 30, 1961

34 ^ Matsutaro Shoriki Correspondence to Walter O'Malley, April 1, 1961

35 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1961  

36 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 12, 1961

37 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 12, 1961   

1962

January 31, 1962

Leo Durocher returned to the Dodgers as a major league coach in 1961 and was coaching third base in his sleep in Dodgertown. Columnist Melvin Durslag writes of Durocher rooming with broadcaster Vin Scully the previous spring and how Durocher woke up Scully up at 3 a.m. as Durocher yelled at a base runner, "Go, go, go!" in his sleep.  1

February 24, 1962

The Los Angeles Dodgers take the maiden flight of their Lockheed Electra II plane to Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida for Spring Training. Artist Pete Bentovoja of the Los Angeles Times drew his version of activity on a typical Dodger flight so completely the Dodgers used the artwork for the cover of their 1962 media guide. The Dodgers' Electra II is the only private plane in all sports.  2

February 26, 1962

The Los Angeles Dodgers held their opening workout of the 1962 Spring Training season and were greeted by the Mayor of Vero Beach, Jack Sturgis, the Vero Beach High School Marching Band, and 1,500 fans. Mayor Sturgis presented the Key to the City of Vero Beach to Walter O'Malley. 3

February 27, 1962

Outfielder Duke Snider was named as the new captain of the Dodgers as Dodger Manager Walter Alston made the appointment. "We haven't had a captain since Pee Wee Reese retired after the '58 season. I think Snider will be an inspiration to our young players. I rather liked the idea of making him the captain and he liked it too," said Alston.  4

March 2, 1962

The Lockheed Electra II plane, otherwise known as the Dodger plane, is christened the "Kay 'O" in honor of Kay O'Malley, wife of Dodger President Walter O'Malley. 5

March 6, 1962

Florida may have been called the "Sunshine State", but temperatures dropped to 38 degrees during one spring workout. Dodger Manager Walt Alston cancelled the end of the session, but kept the Dodger players warm in the clubhouse with electric heaters and he and the team reviewed the Official Playing Rules. 6

March 10, 1962

Catching great Roy Campanella is present in Dodgertown for Spring Training and he throws out the first ball for the first game for the Dodgers at Holman Stadium in 1962. Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale each pitch three scoreless innings as the Dodgers defeat Kansas City, 8-0.  7

March 11, 1962

Roy Campanella sits down with Los Angeles Times writer Frank Finch as he reviews his life in baseball. He recalls how he used to catch three games in one day. "Shucks, when I was in the Negro league I'd catch a doubleheader in one town, ride a bus and catch another at night in a different town," said Campanella. The three-time MVP catcher spoke of Don Drysdale and what he would recommend to him. "Is Drysdale still fighting himself on the mound?" asked Campanella. "When Don was a rookie, I took him aside and told him that he didn't have to act that mean-that his sidearm delivery was mean enough in itself. Drysdale was great as long as he kept the ball down and pitched in and out, like Newk (Don Newcombe)….Sandy Koufax came to me one day and complained because I seldom called for his curve. I told him, 'forget the curve, Sandy. You've got God-given speed.'"  8

March 13, 1962

Columnist Sid Ziff of the Los Angeles Times is a passenger on the Dodgers' new Lockheed Electra plane and writes of Walter O'Malley playing gin on the flight. O'Malley was playing with General Motors executive Ralph Moore and Moore was winning. "He's got me, men. The king of gin (rummy) has lost his crown," said O'Malley.  9

March 13, 1962

Noted artist Nicholas Volpe completed a well-received portrait series of the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers to be distributed as part of an oil company promotion. Volpe was not yet finished doing artwork for the Dodgers. While playing in a bridge game with Dodger coach Pete Reiser in Dodgertown, Volpe picked up his pen in a lull in the proceedings and drew a sketch of Don Drysdale. The artwork was later used as the cover of the Dodgers' 1962 Spring Training program.  10

March 14, 1962

Paul Zimmerman of the Los Angeles Times speaks to Dodger Vice President Fresco Thompson of the value of Dodgertown. "Needless to say, the Dodgers, with a scouting system that blankets two continents, will be spending less money for youngsters and at a time when they have the best training organization at Vero Beach of any of the majors," wrote Zimmerman. Thompson elaborated on Zimmerman's comment, "Through trial and error we now have the ideal setup. It isn't perfect. We keep improving it all the time. Its biggest advantage is that a lot of specialists get a chance to look at the boys and give them special attention," said Thompson. 11

March 16, 1962

Columnist Sid Ziff of the Los Angeles Times writes of Walter O'Malley's solution when cold and overcast weather was to hold down the attendance for a Dodger-Twins exhibition game in Holman Stadium. "I don't think we'll have very many people at the ball game today. Looks like I'll have to get in the (poker) game in the back room tonight and make up that difference," said O'Malley.  12

March 18, 1962

Dodger Manager Walter Alston was unhappy that two days earlier, several Dodger players reported 20 minutes late for a game played at Miami Stadium. First, Alston lectured the players. When he had his opportunity to make his point of players' tardiness, he did so, by requiring the entire club to remain on the field for four and a half innings for a reserve game of the Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles following the regular exhibition game.  13

March 19, 1962

The Dodgers' annual St. Patrick's Day party is to be held this date. The Dodgers were on the Spring Training schedule to play five consecutive games on the road and one of those road dates occurred on March 17th. So, the Dodgers postponed their party to the next best available date, St. Joseph's Day. It was estimated trainer Bill Buhler blew up 1,648 balloons for the party.  14

March 23, 1962

A model of the Mercury space capsule, Friendship 7, that carried astronaut John Glenn into space for three orbits, was put on display at Dodgertown.  15

March 23, 1962

Walter O'Malley announced in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida that the Dodgers would televise their Opening Day game in new Dodger Stadium on April 10, 1962. The game would be televised locally as the opening of Dodger Stadium was completely sold out.  16

March 23, 1962

Six former Dodgers return to Dodgertown as current members of the 1962 New York Mets, their first season in the major leagues. Mets Manager Casey Stengel, coach Cookie Lavagetto, and players Roger Craig, Gil Hodges, Charles Neal, and Don Zimmer, all played at one time for the Brooklyn or Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets were scheduled to play the Dodgers in an exhibition game at Holman Stadium. The transportation for the Mets this day was provided by the new Dodger Electra plane in a flight from the Mets' camp in St. Petersburg to Vero Beach.  17

March 26, 1962

Branch Rickey is a visitor to Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. He appears in a photo with Manager Walter Alston, Coach Pete Reiser and outfielder Duke Snider. In 1947, it is Rickey who selects Vero Beach, Florida as the place for the Brooklyn Dodgers to begin holding their Spring Training base there.  18

March 26, 1962

Carlos Rubio Alvarez, Vice President and General Manager of Club Aguila de Veracruz in Mexico writes a thank you letter to Walter O'Malley after a visit to Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. "Thanks for the fine welcome I received from you and your employees, during my recent visit to the Magnificent Training Camp of the clubs that you are the President. This visit has been for me a great satisfactory one and at the same time of a great objective teaching. I hope this to be the beginning of our relations which will be increasing in the future for the benefit of both parties."  19

March 28, 1962

Peter O'Malley is the subject of a feature article in The Sporting News in his first season as Camp Director of Dodgertown. His first actual assignment had been the previous year when he was responsible for the visit of the Yomiuri Giants when they visited Dodgertown in 1961. Hunter described the duties of the Camp Director. "He's the busiest man about Dodgertown, with his duties running the gamut from handling the ticklish Vero Beach political situation, making friends with an unfriendly radio station (which is broadcasting Dodger games this spring for the first time), selling scorecard advertising, assigning rooms, redecorating…..there are scores of other duties, too. You name 'em and Peter takes care of them."  20

March 28, 1962

Former Dodger pitcher and now scout Tom Lasorda was leading the Dodger minor league players in 15 minutes of exercises to get them ready for the day's workout. In the last warm-up exercise, Lasorda said, "Now, hands on hips" and the young players followed instruction. Lasorda then surprised everyone by saying, "Now, everyone……..twist!" The twist was a popular dance that was a national fad in 1962. 21

March 28, 1962

Columnist Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote a satirical column of his time in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida during Spring Training. The column headline read "A Letter From Jail." Murray's one-liners consisted of "The Dodgers train here because Walter O'Malley gets the facilities for $1 a year. It's the worst case of rent gouging I ever heard of……The décor shows what can be done with plywood and a blank mind. There are no rugs on the floor. In parts, there's no floor…..But it is a great place to train ball players. Or wild animals…..It's a great place if you're a mosquito. An OLD mosquito."  22

March 30, 1962

Catcher John Roseboro had been taking flying lessons and made his first solo flight as a pilot. Afterwards, he flew to Las Vegas on the Dodger plane (he was not the pilot) as the Dodgers broke camp in Vero Beach to play a series of exhibition games on the West Coast before the 1962 season began.  23

April 1, 1962

Columnist Paul Zimmerman of the Los Angeles Times writes of his appreciation of Dodgertown as a Spring Training site. "The Dodgers, who have the best set-up of any major league team because of their complex of training facilities that accommodate both the big team and the minor league adjuncts, do not go in for the opulence supplied most other big league organizations. This is an old Navy base. It is an interesting thing, however, that Dodger players who have gone on to greener pastures, shall we say, still pine for the barracks at Vero Beach, and the better organization."  24

April 4, 1962

Vice President Fresco Thompson discusses the value of Dodgertown as minor league players and major league players are together at one site, unlike most major league clubs. "Mingling with the Dodger stars, a kid soon loses his awe. He suddenly discovers that a big league star doesn't have three legs or is any different than the next guy. It helps his confidence. We try to teach our kids to make the good moves more consistently, and to cut down on the mistakes. That's the only difference between a big leaguer and a minor leaguer." The Dodgers were considered to be the first team to combine their major league and minor league players. Thompson felt and others agreed this concept accelerated the development of many Dodger players.  25

April 4, 1962

Casey Stengel, the Manager of the New York Mets spoke of the young Dodger talent in Spring Training this season. "Don't send that B squad (Dodger minor league players) of yours over to play my Mets again. Nobody ever heard of them kids, but they killed us. We can beat your varsity, but not the phenoms."  26

April 4, 1962

The New York Mets also used the Dodgers' new plane, the "Kay' O" for transportation during Spring Training. One New York Met beat writer said, "It's (the plane) really plush, right down to the carpeting with a baseball motif."  27

April 11, 1962

Columnist Melvin Durslag of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner finishes a column on outfielder Willie Davis by noting that unlike a high majority of Florida baseball parks in Spring Training, Holman Stadium in Dodgertown is integrated for all fans. Durslag ended his column with the wry comment, "In town, O'Malley's popularity hasn't thickened."  28

April 11, 1962

National League Secretary Fred Fleig noted that Los Angeles Dodger players had a strong understanding of the Official Playing Rules of Baseball. "Maybe it's because Fresco Thompson (Dodger Vice President) is on the Rules Committee and isolated at Dodgertown, they've more time on their hands, but Dodger players seem to know the rules."  29

April 11, 1962

Tom Lasorda was serving as manager of the Greenville Spinners, a Dodger minor league club in Spring Training. Due to roster changes, Lasorda told Spokane Manager Preston Gomez a pitcher was needed from the Spokane team in order to play the game. Spokane loaned Lasorda pitcher Jim Hubbard for the Greenville team and Hubbard then proceeded to pitch an eight inning no-hitter against his own club. It was the second game of a morning-afternoon doubleheader and Greenville, a class Single-A team, defeated Spokane, a Triple-A team in the morning game.  30

May 23, 1962

Sandy Koufax is considered one of the top pitchers in the National League and talked how he became one of the wilder pitchers in the game to one of the most dominant. Koufax said, "We were flying from Vero Beach to Orlando for a "B" game with the Minnesota Twins in spring of '61. Norm (Sherry, a Dodger catcher), suggested I throw more change-ups and concentrate on getting the ball over. I followed his advice and soon found that my control improved. The strikeouts were taking care of themselves."  31

October 6, 1962

Sportswriter Bob Hunter writes of the Dodgers' Spring Training complex in Vero Beach, Florida. "O'Malley utilizes the biggest and fastest assembly line in all baseball at Vero Beach, Florida where all nine Dodger farm clubs work right along with the varsity. They all are bedded under one roof, have their own movie house, swimming pool, basketball court, tennis courts, putting green, pool tables, recreation rooms, cafeteria and dining room, meeting rooms, seven diamonds and a 5,000 seat lighted stadium, not to mention a trout fishing pond."  32

1 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, The Sporting News, January 31, 1962

2 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, November 29, 1961

3 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1962

4 ^ Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1962

5 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Express, March 2, 1962

6 ^ The Sporting News, March 14, 1962

7 ^ The Sporting News, March 21, 1962

8 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1962

9 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1962

10 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald- Examiner, March 13, 1962

11 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1962

12 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1962

13 ^ The Sporting News, March 28, 1962

14 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 28, 1962

15 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1962

16 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 24, 1962

17 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1962  

18 ^ Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 27, 1962

19 ^ Walteromalley.com, This Month In History, March 26, 1962

20 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 28, 1962   

21 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 28, 1962 

22 ^ Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1962

23 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1962

24 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1962

25 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 4, 1962

26 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 4, 1962  

27 ^ Harold Rosenthal, The Sporting News, April 4, 1962

28 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, The Sporting News, April 11, 1962

29 ^ Bob Broeg, The Sporting News, April 11, 1962

30 ^ The Sporting News, April 11, 1962

31 ^ Frank Finch, The Sporting News, May 23, 1962

32 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, October 6, 1962

1963

January 12, 1963

The Vero Beach Press Journal looks forward to the Los Angeles Dodgers' Spring Training season and speaks to Dodgertown Camp Director Peter O'Malley. The feature discusses the number of issues to be resolved so the players can be ready for training on their arrival. O'Malley concluded by saying, "But I still think we've got the best Spring Training camp in baseball…there may be some with modern facilities….but Dodgertown still comes out on top. We're very happy here…we're proud of our camp."  1

January 24, 1963

Vero Beach is mentioned in the Hollywood column by Louella Parsons, renowned for her press coverage of Hollywood. Miss Parsons wrote of Dodger players performing with "Mr. Television" Milton Berle at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami. Ms. Parsons' note concludes, "Miami is close to VERO BEACH, where the Dodgers start Spring Training soon."  2

February 24, 1963

The Dodgers' Spring Training camp opened, but the show must go on for Maury Wills. The 1962 National League Most Valuable Player was performing in a show with comedian Milton Berle at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach. The act also featured other Dodger players such as Willie Davis, Don Drysdale, Frank Howard, Sandy Koufax and Duke Snider. 3 Wills did not want to miss the first day of workouts in Dodgertown. In order to be there with the team, Wills played the banjo and accompanied himself on the guitar in the Saturday night show in Miami Beach, then drove 130 miles to Vero Beach to be ready for the Sunday workout. After the Sunday workout, he returned to Miami Beach for his final show and on Monday morning, he was back in Dodgertown for the workout. 4

February 28, 1963

Peter O'Malley sends a message of thanks to John Schumann, Jr., publisher of the Vero Beach Press Journalregarding the special section on the Dodgers' Spring Training season. "There is no doubt in my mind that this year's Vero Beach Press Journal Dodger edition was the finest ever. Not only was it bigger than in years previous, it seems to me to have been the result of much planning and preparation."  5

March 1, 1963

Dodgertown is the subject of a feature hosted by NBC Today's host Jack Lescoulie. The program was scheduled to be aired on March 11th.  6

March 1, 1963

Sandy Koufax said he would now bat from the right hand side after suffering his unfortunate 1962 finger injury. To protect his left arm, Koufax, originally a right hand hitter, switched to the left side to hit to expose his non-pitching arm and elbow to the pitcher in a game in May, 1962. He swung the bat left-handed on an inside pitch and the contact of bat to ball caused a blood clot in the palm of the left hand. "At first it didn't bother me, but then a couple of fingers began to grow numb," said Koufax. "The circulation in my index finger stopped and it became infected…..I'm batting right-handed from now on."  7

March 3, 1963

Vero Beach City Councilman J. Noble Richards, speaks of the relationship of the City of Vero Beach and the Los Angeles Dodgers. "The City of Vero Beach has the best deal of all - with its ball club," said Richards. Richards showed one city built a $250,000 Spring Training stadium and another city pays the team $18,000 a year to train in the city. "It's very obvious that it's next to impossible to determine the value of the Dodgers. If you attempted to buy space in newspapers, in radio, national publications and TV whereby Vero Beach is mentioned in conjunction with Dodgertown activities it would cost over a million dollars, if that space would be available."  8

March 4, 1963

Walter O'Malley broke up the usual routine of Spring Training as he hosted a trip for Dodgertown guests to Nassau, The Bahamas. The one-day visit was a special celebration on the announcement of the birth of the fourth O'Malley grandchild, a girl named Mary Kay born that morning to Terry O'Malley Seidler, daughter of Kay and Walter.  9

March 8, 1963

Columnist Maxwell Stiles writes a column of Dodgertown Camp Director Peter O'Malley and the direction of the camp under his leadership. Peter spoke of the value of Dodgertown, "The greatest advantage of our setup here at Vero Beach is that everyone is under one roof from my dad right down through the minor leagues-players, managers, scouts, umpires, press."  10

March 9, 1963

The best news possible for the Dodgers came early in Spring Training as Sandy Koufax pronounced himself healthy and ready for the season. Koufax missed nearly half of the 1962 season with a blood clot in the index finger in his left hand. "My finger feels as good as ever," said Koufax, "and my arm feels much better than it did at the same time last spring." Koufax would go on to win the 1963 Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award during the 1963 World Championship season. 11 After he allowed one run in three innings in a game on March 10th, Koufax said, "I can't remember a spring when I've felt so good." 12

March 13, 1963

It was revealed that former Dodgers Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Dale Mitchell, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson were still on the Los Angeles Dodger major league roster as members of the voluntary retired list. The only reason the issue received attention was the Dodgers gave Erskine his unconditional release from their roster in order he might pursue a baseball job with another team.  13

March 16, 1963

Nineteen-year old Bowdewijn Maat arrived from the Netherlands to undergo Spring Training with Dodger minor league players in Dodgertown. Maat had been invited by the Dodgers on a request from the Royal Dutch Baseball Association.  14

March 18, 1963

Sandy Koufax struck out 13 hitters in seven innings which is not a surprise, but where he did it, is. He performed the feat in a 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox in a Spring Training exhibition game.

March 23, 1963

Walter O'Malley teased his son Peter in a column in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and re-printed in The Sporting News. The Dodger owner spoke of the operation of Dodgertown under the leadership of his son, Peter. "They teach differently these days at college," said O'Malley. "They learn, for instance, napkin control in the dining room. You use so many napkins for so many people. When I went to Penn, they never taught us things like that. For years, I passed out napkins willy-nilly."  15

March 23, 1963

Members of the Stadium Club restaurant at Dodger Stadium came as a group to Dodgertown to view Spring Training. The Dodgers arranged for regular activities for the touring group as hosting dinners each night with Walter Alston, Vice Presidents Fresco Thompson and Buzzie Bavasi and Dodger coaches Greg Mulleavy and Joe Becker. During the day, the visitors attended a tour of Dodgertown, base-stealing techniques by Maury Wills, a review of a training workout with team instructors and a question and answer period with selected Dodger players.  16

April 1, 1963

In his last at bat in a Dodger uniform, Duke Snider tripled off future Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach. Later that day, the New York Mets acquired Snider's contract from the Dodgers. Snider signed his first professional contract with the Dodgers in 1944 and joined the major league club in 1948. Snider would be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.  17

April 2, 1963

Sports columnist Jim Murray aimed his humor at the city of Vero Beach in a column at the end of Spring Training in Florida. "The Dodgers train at Vero Beach, a case of arrested municipal development Stephen Foster somehow overlooked. It gives you fair warning because you come into it via an airport that is a wind-sock stop about as up-to-date as the Spad (An old version of an airplane). It hasn't been painted in so long you have to think the Union Army interrupted the first coat….You don't have any phone in your room or radio or TV but you can sign up for fly-paper if you want." Murray wrote of the night Walter Alston caught two Dodger players out after curfew. "I have a very famous room in Barracks B. There is a hole in the door-the Sandy Koufax-Walt Alston-Larry Sherry memorial hole in the door which may someday be given a historical marker with suitable ceremonies….."  18

April 27, 1963

Even former Dodgers with other clubs praised the value of Dodgertown. Right-hand pitcher Ed Rakow of the Kansas City Athletics had pitched in the Dodger organization before a trade to Kansas City gave him his opportunity. "I think the camp the Dodgers have at Vero Beach is the greatest thing I've seen anywhere," said Rakow. "All the organization officials are there and, if a young player shows something, he can advance in a hurry."  19

October 3, 1963

The Vero Beach Press Journal and Vero Beach radio station WTTB sponsored a telegram that was signed by 608 Dodger fans to the team as they prepared for the 1963 World Series. The telegram was recorded as being 20 feet long as it contained the names of Vero Beach citizens. The Dodgers received the telegram before they defeated the New York Yankees in the first game, 5-2, behind Sandy Koufax' 15 strikeouts.  20

1 ^ Irv Deibert, Vero Beach Bureau Chief, January 12, 1963

2 ^ Louella Parson, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, January 18, 1963

3 ^ Dave Brady, The Sporting News, March 2, 1963

4 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, February 23, 1963

5 ^ Peter O'Malley, Letters to the Editor, Vero Beach Press Journal, February 28, 1963

6 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 1, 1963

7 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1963

8 ^ Roberta Pollock, Vero Beach Press Journal, March 3, 1963

9 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 16, 1963

10 ^ Maxwell Stiles, Hollywood Citizen-News, March 8, 1963

11 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 9, 1963

12 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 23, 1963

13 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 13, 1963

14 ^ The Sporting News, March 16, 1963

15 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, The Sporting News, March 23, 1963

16 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 23, 1963 

17 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1963

18 ^ Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1963

19 ^ Joe McGuff, The Sporting News, April 27, 1963

20 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, October 3, 1963

1964

February 23, 1964

Travel writer Stephen J. Flynn writes of the special relationship held by the City of Vero Beach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It is doubtful if any Los Angeles fans are more rabid about the Dodgers than the local residents and perennial winter visitors to Vero Beach….The team's training camp is probably the biggest in all baseball. Called Dodgertown, it was established in 1948 on the site of an old naval air station by Dodger boss Walter O'Malley. Dodgertown is conceded by many experts to be the largest and most advanced baseball school in the world, with facilities for well over 700 players and a staff of up to 100."  1

March 2, 1964

Bob Hunter writes Jim Gilliam was missing on the Dodger flight to Vero Beach for Spring Training. Gilliam told his family when they didn't see anyone of the Dodger party at the airport that "I'm always early for these things." Gilliam arrived at the airport at 11 a.m., but the flight left at 10 a.m.  2

March 2, 1964

Sid Ziff of the Los Angeles Times writes of the time Dodger coach Leo Durocher asked for a refrigerator in his room to keep bottled water at a cool temperature. Durocher had expected a small room refrigerator for his room at Dodgertown. Imagine his surprise when the largest refrigerator model that could fit into his room was brought to him!  3

March 3, 1964

It's not all baseball that is played in Dodgertown. Columnist Sid Ziff writes of poker games that are played in Dodgertown following dinner. "We learn, too," wrote Ziff, "the Dodgers are hooked on a screwball game of poker which they play for penny-ante stakes. (Al) Ferrara tried to explain it to me but it sounds daffier than the games Peter O'Malley invents for the press room after dinner."  4

March 3, 1964

Dodger outfielder Al Ferrara tells columnist Sid Ziff of the advantages of Dodgertown for young players. "The way the camp is set up a rookie gets to know everybody," explained Ferrara. "When you come up to the majors it's not like you're in a new, strange world. You're among friends. You don't say, 'Oh boy, here I am in the majors and start getting scared. That's one of the big advantages of this club. It's why everyone pulls together."  5

March 5, 1964

Hall of Fame left hand pitcher Vernon (Lefty) Gomez is a visitor to Dodgertown. Gomez told the story of Babe Ruth asking Gomez whether he was the starting pitcher for games. If Gomez told the Sultan of Swat he was the Yankee starting pitcher that day, Ruth would reply, "Hold 'em to five runs and we'll beat 'em."  6

March 7, 1964

In a switch from their regular duties, Dodger beat writers managed the game and Dodger manager Walter Alston wrote the game story for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. Bob Hunter managed one team for a Dodger intrasquad game and Los Angeles Times Frank Finch managed the other Dodger team. Alston then wrote a game story for the Herald-Examiner criticizing Hunter for his managerial moves.  7

March 7, 1964

The Los Angeles Dodger players and coaches held a clinic for Florida area baseball coaches at Dodgertown. Approximately 80 coaches accepted the invitation.  8

March 9, 1964

Dodger Vice President Fresco Thompson recalls that nearly 500 players were in the 1949 Spring Training program at Dodgertown. This season, slightly more than 220 minor league players were in camp.  9

March 13, 1964

The Dodgers defeated the Mexico City Tigers, 8-3 in a game played in Mexico City. Sandy Koufax pitched four innings and Don Drysdale worked two innings. 10 The game in Mexico City was televised locally in Los Angeles on KMEX Channel 34. The game was viewed on a tape delayed basis from the night before. 11

March 14, 1964

The President of Mexico, Adolfo Lopez Mateos, is a surprise guest at the game between the Dodgers and the Mexico City Rojo Diablos. The Dodgers would defeat Mexico City in the game, 10-3. The Dodger players honored the President of Mexico by leaving their dugout and before the President's box, offered a salute to him by removing their caps. The fans rewarded the team with a huge ovation. Dodger owner Walter O'Malley spoke highly of the fans in Mexico City. "The Dodgers have been in Japan, Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, and the Dominican Republic," said O'Malley, "but the enthusiasm of the President of Mexico and that of the fans, was unprecedented in our travels." O'Malley also expressed praise for the youth baseball program in Mexico.  12

March 17, 1964

The Dodgers hold their annual St. Patrick's Day Party at Dodgertown. Recording and Broadway star Dorothy Collins provided the main entertainment, but Dodger players had their opportunity in the spotlight. Maury Wills played his banjo, Tommy Davis was there with a claviata and infielder Nate Oliver sang. 13 Frank Finch wrote in his notes that singer Collins thought Oliver sang well enough to be recorded.   14

March 17, 1964

Dodger Vice President Buzzie Bavasi grabbed a bat and jumped into the batter's box to face Dodger left hand pitcher Johnny Podres. Bavasi's first swing was a clean single. The next pitch by Podres had Bavasi hitting the dirt.  15

March 18, 1964

Florida Governor Farris Bryant is present at Dodgertown to throw the first ball as the Dodgers open their 1964 exhibition season. The Dodgers defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1.  16

March 21, 1964

Jim Gilliam was on the coaching lines for the Dodgers in a Spring Training game. After the 1964 season, the Dodgers would name Gilliam to the major league coaching staff to be one of the first African-American coaches. Gilliam would be a player-coach for the Dodgers in 1965 and 1966 and made the game saving play in the seventh game of the 1965 World Series to help the Dodgers win, 2-0.  17

March 29, 1964

Sandy Koufax pitches eight innings for a complete game in Spring Training, but loses, 3-1 to Minnesota. Koufax had made his Spring Training debut on March 17 and pitched five innings.  18

March 30, 1964

The opening day of the 1964 Indian River County Little League season in Vero Beach was attended by Dodger players and the team owner. Players Don Drysdale and Ron Fairly are present along with Dodger owner Walter O'Malley and Dodgertown Camp Director Peter O'Malley.  19

March 30, 1964

Future Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda showed his personal skills in a camp game of Dodger minor leaguers. He was a coach for the Salem club who was playing the St. Petersburg club. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied, an error by a young shortstop on the Salem club allowed the winning run to score. As the winning run crossed the plate, a storm came in and it was a drencher. All the players ran off the field for cover except the young shortstop who stood there in the pouring rain. Lasorda knew the shortstop was taking the loss and the error hard and even though he was being soaked, ran out to the player. "What's wrong?" asked Lasorda and the player said he lost the game with his error. As the rain came down in a torrent, Lasorda said, "Son, that's not the first error you ever made, nor the last. You tried your best and that's all anyone can ask. Go get dressed. Tomorrow will be another day."  20

March 31, 1964

The Los Angeles Dodger team visited Cape Kennedy in Cocoa Beach, Florida before their scheduled exhibition game with the Houston Astros.  21

April 4, 1964

The regard the Dodger team and players had for Jim Gilliam is reflected in a feature in The Sporting News. Manager Walter Alston said of Gilliam, "He doesn't make any mistakes….If I had eight like him, I wouldn't have to have a single sign." Gilliam was asked why he was spending so much time with young infielder Nate Oliver on learning to play second base if Oliver was slated to take the position. Gilliam answered, "I'm just helping him. I'm not teaching anyone to take my job. I'll play my 145 games (this season) some place. Don Drysdale said of Gilliam, "Jim's a pro. He knows the game inside out and how to handle any situation that comes up."  22

September 24, 1964

The Los Angeles Dodgers agree to purchase the property that consists of Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida from the city of Vero Beach. 23   The Vero Beach Press Journal reported "The (Vero Beach) City Council has repeatedly recognized that the Brooklyn Dodgers and now the Los Angeles Dodgers have been highly desirable tenants. They have put Vero Beach and Indian River county on the map as have few other organizations. They have kept in excellent repair and improved airport barracks building built to last but for the duration of World War II. They built Holman Stadium and beautified it and kept it in excellent shape, and they permit its use for public functions of countywide interest. All of the Dodgertown properties have been well maintained."   24

1 ^ Stephen J. Flynn, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1964

2 ^ Bob Hunter, March 2, 1964, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

3 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1964

4 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1964

5 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1964 

6 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 5,1964

7 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 7, 1964

8 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 5, 1964

9 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1964

10 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 14, 1964

11 ^ Don Page, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1964

12 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 28, 1964

13 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 4, 1964

14 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 18, 1964

15 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1964

16 ^ Indian River News, March 19, 1964

17 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 22, 1964

18 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1964

19 ^ Indian River News, April 9, 1964

20 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1964

21 ^ Frank Finch, March 29, 1964

22 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 4, 1964     

23 ^ Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1964

24 ^ William Jackson, Vero Beach Press Journal, September 24, 1964

1965

February 28, 1965

The Los Angeles Dodgers hold their first workout of the 1965 training season with four new coaches under Walter Alston. Jim Gilliam, Preston Gomez, Danny Ozark, and Lefty Phillips will be the new lieutenants. Gilliam becomes the second African-American named to a major league coaching staff. Gomez, a native Cuban, makes the Dodgers the first major league staff to have two diverse members. Gomez had previously managed the Dodgers' Triple-A team in Spokane in 1960-1962.  1

March 4, 1965

The Dodgers announced that former left-hand pitcher Tom Lasorda would be a first-year manager for the Pocatello club in the Pioneer League. Lasorda would be named the Dodger manager for the 1977 season, replacing Walter Alston.  2

March 4, 1965

Don Drysdale tells columnist Melvin Durslag of his first Spring Training in Dodgertown in 1955. "I just kept my mouth shut," said Drysdale, "and volunteered for everything. They asked someone to pitch batting practice, my hand was raised. They needed a pitcher for an intrasquad game, my hand went up again. I was the camp volunteer." When the Dodgers ran short of pitching early in the exhibition season, Drysdale earned a chance to pitch in a major league against the New York Yankees. Drysdale said, "I fanned (Hank) Bauer on a 3-2 curve." The future Hall of Fame pitcher said Bauer came up to him after the inning was over and the Yankee outfielder told Drysdale, "It's a little early to be throwing 3 and 2 curves, isn't it?"  3

March 13, 1965

In the Dodgers' first exhibition game in Vero Beach this spring, Vero Beach Mayor Jack Sturgis presents Dodger President Walter O'Malley with a deed to the land at Dodgertown. The Dodgers had purchased their Spring Training site from the city during the off season.  4

March 19, 1965

Walter O'Malley tells Los Angeles Times sports editor Paul Zimmerman how close the Dodgers had come to holding Spring Training at the Irvine Ranch in Orange County. The location for a Spring Training base was to be close to Peter Lake on the ranch. O'Malley said, "It would have been just about a short niblick (golf club from the 7 iron to the 9 iron) shot from where the Anaheim stadium is being built." However, the Dodgers would remain in Vero Beach, Florida because of the land purchase there.  5

March 28, 1965

The Dodgers had a long day playing exhibition games in Florida. The Dodger Lockheed Electra plane carried two Dodger teams, one team to play the major league game in St. Petersburg against the New York Mets, and the "B" team of minor league players to play a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Daytona Beach. After dropping off the "B" team in Daytona Beach, the Electra flew on to St. Petersburg for the major league game but had to arrive there before 11 a.m. as a local air show was to occur at the St. Petersburg airport. The team beat the deadline at the airport, but the bus to take them to the ballpark was a half hour late. Next, matters were not helped when their normal route to the St. Petersburg stadium had to be changed because of a parade on a main stretch of road. Things didn't improve for the Dodgers when they arrived at the stadium to play the game. An overnight rain made the field too wet for batting and infield practice, so the players had to sit around and wait an hour and a half before playing. Of course, the game went long, over three hours for a nine inning game. Then, the Electra plane with one team aboard in St. Petersburg, had to fly to Daytona Beach to pick up the second Dodger team before they flew home to Vero Beach. The best part of the day was the Dodgers defeated the Mets, 11-8 in the regular exhibition game.  6

March 28, 1965

Former Dodger Duke Snider was photographed with outfielder Bill Parlier at Dodgertown as Snider began his duties as a minor league hitting instructor for the team. However, it was Parlier who was wearing the number "4" that was worn by Duke Snider during his playing days. Snider's number would be retired by the Dodgers upon his election to the Hall of Fame in 1980.  7

March 29, 1965

New Dodger third base coach Preston Gomez found out about the base running skills of Dodger outfielder Willie Davis. Davis hit a drive in Holman Stadium for extra bases. Gomez gave Davis the "stop" sign as the centerfielder approached third base, but Willie ran through the stop signal and scored on an inside-the-park home run. Walter Alston told Gomez, "Next time Willie (Davis) goes through (a stop sign from the coach), just keep your arms raised, and if he makes it home safe, start clapping."  8

March 31, 1965

Jackie Robinson is at Holman Stadium as a television commentator for ABC-TV as the Dodgers play the St Louis Cardinals at Holman Stadium. The game was a "warm-up" for the ABC-TV broadcasting system as the network was to launch a "Monday Night Baseball" series that season. Robinson was teamed with veteran sportscaster Chris Schenkel for the 1965 season and seven television cameras were used at Dodgertown in a final test before the season began. 9   Cardinal shortstop Dick Groat in one at bat during the game was speaking out loud to home plate umpire Tom Gorman. Groat had trouble seeing pitches from the Vero Beach background behind center field and asked the umpire if he was having trouble seeing pitches. Gorman was wearing a microphone from ABC-TV as part of the telecast and began waving his hands at Groat without saying a word. Groat realized later, "He (Gorman) was trying to shut me up. I didn't realize it, because nobody had told us he had been wired for sound."  10

March 31, 1965

Columnist Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times aims his satirical barbs at the city of Vero Beach, all in good humor. "Vero Beach is a circle of land in the middle of the state admirably suited for sweating. Dodgertown, smack in the middle, is the world's biggest collection of inhabited orange crates….It (Dodgertown) is a part of a Naval barracks thrown up when the war didn't look too good…The screens have more patches on them than a hod-carrier's overalls. A can of roach powder holds the windows open-which means it does double duty."  11

April 4, 1965

Dodger shortstop Maury Wills was named the Dodger team captain by Manager Walter Alston. Previous Dodger captains had been Pee Wee Reese in Brooklyn and one season in Los Angeles and Duke Snider for the 1962 season. Teammate Wally Moon said, "Maury's deserved this honor a long time. He'll make a good captain." The appointment by the Dodgers made Wills the second African-African in the major leagues to be the captain of his team, the other being Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants.  12

April 10, 1965

Al (Rube) Walker, former Dodger catcher and current coach with the Washington Senators, talks of his experience in Dodgertown as a minor league instructor and manager. "I've been in a lot of Spring Training camps. Everybody knows about the efficiency of the Dodgers. There isn't any wasted effort in that camp. It's remarkable how many players are processed at Vero Beach, yet when a ball player goes that wringer (a competitive situation), the Dodgers have a pretty fair idea of his ability."  13

April 24, 1965

Dr. Pascal J. Imperato, a former physician for the Dodgers in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida, is the author of a book "Doctor in the Land of the Lion." Imperato earned his doctorate from the State University of New York and had done malaria research. All royalties from the new book were assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters' Hospital in Tanganyika, East Africa.  14

July 8, 1965

The Los Angeles Dodgers are now in the golf course business. Construction has begun on a nine-hole golf course in Vero Beach with land recently purchased by the Dodgers. Consideration was being given to acquire additional acreage in order to add nine further holes for the golf course.  15

1 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1965

2 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1965

3 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 4, 1965

4 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 13, 1965

5 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1965

6 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1965

7 ^ Herb Scharfman, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1965

8 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1965

9 ^ Oscar Kahan, The Sporting News, April 17, 1965

10 ^ Dick Young, The Sporting News, April 17, 1965

11 ^ Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1965

12 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1965

13 ^ Bob Addie, The Sporting News, April 10, 1965

14 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 24, 1965

15 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, July 8, 1965

1966

January 8, 1966

Dick Bird is appointed the new managing director at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. Bird has a degree in hotel management from the University of Florida and was the head golf pro at Riomar Country Club.  1

February 28, 1966

Sportswriter Frank Finch gives his opinion of the new golf course at Dodgertown. "Dodgertown's new 9-hole links is a toughie. It measures 3, 200 yards, with narrow fairways and plenty of traps. The first hole, for example, is a par-5, 494-yard terror that forces the golfers to drive over a lake."  2

March 1, 1966

Dodgertown Country Club, a new nine-hole golf course built by Walter O'Malley on Vero Beach property he owned, is dedicated. It is reported O'Malley hit the first golf ball into the lake on the course.  3

March 3, 1966

The Dodgers purchased 160 acres of land adjacent to Dodgertown and it is reported a larger 18-hole golf course is planned.  4

March 4, 1966

Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully reminisces of the time he roomed with third baseman Billy Cox in Spring Training. However, Cox was a contract holdout and the Dodgers had a rule that unsigned players were not permitted on base. Cox ran into Scully on a Vero Beach street and asked Scully if there was an extra bed in the broadcaster's room. Scully said OK and Cox moved in the room on the Dodgertown base. Cox would then get up early, go fishing, and not return till later in the evening. Unbeknownst to Scully was Cox's holdout status. Scully said, "This went on for a couple of days and all the while the Dodgers are announcing, 'Billy Cox has disappeared.'"  5

March 6, 1966

Sportswriter Bud Furillo does a feature on Peter O'Malley, the son of Walter O'Malley, and his ambition to work for the Dodgers. O'Malley said, "I'm not after Buzzie's job (Buzzie Bavasi in player personnel), Fresco's job (minor leagues), or Walsh's job (Dick Walsh, stadium operations). The job I want is my dad's." 6

March 9, 1966

The Dodgers enjoyed a day off and scheduled a team golf tournament at the new nine-hole golf course at Dodgertown. Duke Snider and Ron Fairly took the honors as they both shot 80 as 44 Dodger players and personnel participated. 7

March 14, 1966

Sports Illustrated magazine provides a photo essay by photographer James Drake in an article titled "Vero: Baseball By The Numbers." The photos showed a typical day at Dodgertown with a lecture at Holman Stadium and players working out in various roles of pitching, hitting, and rundown drills. Writer Jack Mann writes an essay on instruction in Dodgertown and reports, "The fundamentalist method of Vero is dull, even to watch. But it may be a clue to understanding the implausible success of the patchwork Dodgers of 1959 and the short-ball specialists of 1963 and 1965, teams that 'made errors but not mistakes.' To say those great battles of the National League were won on the playing fields of Vero would be oversimplifying, but by how much? If baseball is truly a game of inches, they first put the calipers on it at Vero Beach in the spring of 1948…." 8

March 15, 1966

Dodger President Walter O'Malley had many issues in the 1966 Spring Training season. First, the opening game at Dodgertown was rained out. Next, two top pitchers, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, were contract holdouts. According to columnist Sid Ziff of the Los Angeles Times, O'Malley was also unlucky at poker, failing to win several hands in the press room. At that point, O'Malley retired from the game, saying, "I think it is time for me to beat a hasty retreat." 9

March 19, 1966

The Dodgers and the Houston Astros make history as the first game ever played on artificial turf is played in Houston, Texas part of the exhibition season. The Dodgers defeat the Astros, 8-3 as Johnny Podres starts and the Dodgers get 13 hits in the game. 10

March 20, 1966

A Los Angeles Times article speculates of the possibility of the Miami Dolphins' football team to use Dodgertown as a summer training camp. 11

March 23, 1966

The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers, 6-1 in an exhibition game at Holman Stadium at Dodgertown. Of note in the game was the performance of Cardinal left-hand pitcher Larry Jaster. Jaster pitched four scoreless innings against the Dodgers in the game and it served as a pretext to the 1966 season. The southpaw Jaster would shutout the Dodgers five consecutive times in 1966, a season where the Dodgers narrowly won the 1966 National League pennant.  12

March 26, 1966

Left-hand hitting outfielder Willie Davis drew praise from Dick Bird, the Dodgertown camp director and the local golf professional. Bird said of Davis, "He's one of the longest hitters I've ever played with….With a little work, I wouldn't be surprised if he could shoot consistently in the mid or even low 70s." Davis batted from the left side in baseball, but in golf, his golf swing was from the right. Davis was originally a right hand hitter in baseball, but was converted to swinging from the left side when he signed his first pro contract.  13

March 30, 1966

Claude Osteen pitches a complete game, two-hit shutout over the Cincinnati Reds at Holman Stadium in Dodgertown, but the bigger story is that Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax are announced to have agreed to their 1966 contracts, ending the month-long holdout. Walter O'Malley had planned to invite Drysdale and Koufax to throw the first ball at the Dodgers' Opening Day on April 12, but those plans are changed on the signing of the players. "Now we'll have to get someone else," said O'Malley. 14

March 30, 1966

As Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax were agreeing to their 1966 contract and Claude Osteen was throwing a 4-0 win over the Reds at Holman Stadium, an announcement over the stadium loudspeaker during the game was made. "After today's game there will be a bridge match: Manager Walt Alston, Coach Jim Gilliam, Manager Walter Alston and first baseman Wes Parker and the celebrated bridge expert, Charles Goren. Nice to have Mr. Goren with us. He's seated behind the Dodger dugout. If you'll forgive the pun, let's give him a big hand." At the time Charles Goren is one of the preeminent contract bridge players and instructor in the world. Goren is a noted author of many bridge books and hosted the first television show in contract bridge that ran from 1959-1964. On this day, he partnered with Manager Walter Alston, but as Goren tells it, "Walt (Alston) proved to be just as deplorable a cardholder that day as I was. The result was that we would up on the short end of a blitz at the hands of (Jim) Gilliam and young (Wes) Parker, who incidentally, is a member of the American Contract Bridge League and the proud owner of a small bundle of master points." Goren went on to write in his weekly column in Sports Illustrated that others who followed the game that day at Dodgertown were future Hall of Famers Duke Snider and National League President Warren Giles. Goren discussed the bids of the players and described how the suits were played. He concluded, "So they clobbered us. But nothing bothered Walt (Alston). He had just been handed a couple of pitching aces (the contract agreements of Drysdale and Koufax) and he wasn't about to mourn the absence of the other kind."  15

April 14, 1966

Dodgertown Camp Director Dick Bird provides details on the planting of grapefruit on the Dodgertown property. Bird reports 683 trees were planted in nearby groves with 329 red grapefruit trees and 354 white grapefruit trees.16

April 18, 1966

Sports Illustrated writer Jack Mann does a feature on Walter O'Malley and Vin Scully tells him a story of Kay O'Malley, the wife of Walter. "Scene at Dodgertown:" says Scully. "20-year-old rookie in dirty baseball uniform knocks on door in barracks and lady answers. 'No towels,' the player says. Lady scurries around until she finds him towels. Is this lady the maid? No, she's the wife of the owner of the ball club." 17

June 16, 1966

One hundred twenty acres of Dodgertown land has been classified as a wildlife sanctuary. The Dodgers reached agreement with the Florida Audubon Society and the Pelican Island chapter of the Society after the sanctuary idea was proposed by Dodger owner Walter O'Malley. "It is surprising how many species of birds may be found in the Dodgertown Sanctuary area, winter and summer," said Mrs. Mabel Michael, president of the Pelican Island Audubon Society. 18

1 ^ The Sporting News, January 8, 1966

2 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1966

3 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 1, 1966

4 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 3, 1966

5 ^ Harley Tinkham, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 4, 1966

6 ^ Bud Furillo, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 6, 1966

7 ^ Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 9, 1966

8 ^ Jack Mann, Sports Illustrated, March 14, 1966

9 ^ Sid Ziff, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1966

10 ^ The Sporting News, April 2, 1966

11 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 20, 1966

12 ^ The Sporting News, April 9, 1966

13 ^ The Sporting News, March 26, 1966

14 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 9, 1966

15 ^ Charles Goren, Sports Illustrated, April 18, 1966

16 ^ Dick Bird to Walter O'Malley Correspondence, April 14, 1966

17 ^ Jack Mann, Sports Illustrated, April 18, 1966

18 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, June 16, 1966

1967

February 18, 1967

The Dodgers have increased the size of Dodgertown by purchasing 220 acres of land in Vero Beach.  1

February 25, 1967

Dodger Vice President Fresco Thompson had high praise for the dedication of Yomiuri Giant players from Tokyo, Japan, during their visit to Dodgertown for Spring Training. "Japanese players are perfectionists and tremendous students," said Thompson. "Show them a certain pickoff play or a defense against the sacrifice and they will work on it for half a day. Then the next day, they'll use it against you." Thompson also predicted that with continued development, there could be a World Series between the United States and Japan. "If this improvement continues," said Thompson, "it will not be long before Japan could justify sending a team over here to play for the real world title." 2

March 1, 1967

Columnist Melvin Durslag writes of the preparations being made at Dodgertown for the arrival of the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan for Spring Training. The Dodgers arranged for a rice machine, 300 pounds of rice, and had signs and menus printed in Japanese for the Giant players. In the column, Durslag also noted the previous fall, it was the first time the Emperor Hirohito had attended a professional baseball game when he saw the Dodgers play the Giants in Tokyo. Finally, Durslag wrote of the award from the Japanese Emperor to Walter O'Malley, the 3rd Order of the Sacred Treasure. According to Durslag, the honor had been made to an American only for the second time. The award the first time was presented to an American doctor who provided medical services to Japan following World War II.  3

March 2, 1967

The Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan have arrived in Vero Beach, Florida to do their Spring Training at Dodgertown. Los Angeles Times sportswriter Frank Finch reports the Giants "mean business." The Giants arrived in Vero Beach on February 28th and the next morning, March 1st, they were on the field a half hour before the Dodgers started their daily workout.  4

March 3, 1967

Yoshio Miyamoto of the Sports Nippon newspapers group presented Walter O'Malley a replica kabuto, a traditional ceremonial helmet worn by ancient Samurai warriors.  5

March 4, 1967

Ohio University professor Dr. James Mason develops a sports administration graduate program and credits the inspiration for it to Walter O'Malley. Sportswriter Frank D. Morgan wrote, "No fewer than six major league baseball clubs, led fittingly enough by the man who fostered thought of such a program, Walter O'Malley of the Dodgers….." Morgan also wrote in The Sporting News, "The idea for the sport program came from O'Malley. It was through his (O'Malley) friendship with Dr. Clifford Brownell, retired chairman of the Physical Education Department at Teachers College, Columbia University that the idea reached Dr. Mason, a former student of Dr. Brownell. Dr. Mason related the first discussions of the idea were at Dodgertown. "When I was at the University of Miami in Florida," said Dr. Mason, "we spent a day at the Vero Beach training camp of the Dodgers talking to Mr. O'Malley about his ideas for such a program…..I recontacted Mr. O'Malley in 1966 and found him still interested in such a course of study. Many of his ideas were put to use in planning the curriculum for this new program….."  6

March 10, 1967

The Dodgers and the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan, played in a "goodwill" game at Holman Stadium. Baseball Commissioner William Eckert threw out the first ball and the Dodgers defeated the Giants, 5-3. The American and Japanese flags were posted in center field. Both teams were introduced to the crowd and as each Giant player was presented, he would take a few steps forward, and bow in respect, and the fans responded with applause.  7

March 16, 1967

In a feature on international circus clown Emmett Kelly, he told of the time he met City of Los Angeles Mayor Norris Poulson in Dodgertown in the 1957 Spring Training camp. Kelly reported Poulson told him, "See you in Los Angeles next year, Emmett." Mayor Poulson and other Los Angeles officials met with Walter O'Malley to convince him to move the Dodgers to Los Angeles and the Dodgers played the 1958 season on the West Coast.  8

March 20, 1967

Columnist Joe Hendrickson of the Pasadena Independent Star News writes of the departure of the Yomiuri Giants from Dodgertown as they spent three weeks at Dodgertown to prepare for their season. "The happy faces of the Japanese ball players singing 'Auld Lang Syne' on the stage at midnight (the Dodgers' farewell party for the Giants) form a lasting picture for the album of friendship and goodwill." 9

March 25, 1967

Dodgertown dining room menus were written in English and Japanese in respect to the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, Japan as the Giants had pre-season workouts in Dodgertown. Also, Walter O'Malley deferred the annual St. Patrick's Day Party to March 19th to become a farewell party as the Giants would leave Dodgertown on March 20th.  10

April 4, 1967

Matsutaro Shoriki, publisher of the Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper and considered the "father of Japanese professional baseball" 11 writes in thanks to Walter O'Malley for the invitation of the Yomiuri Giants to conduct pre-season training in Dodgertown. "I wish to express to you my profound appreciation and thanks for the warm welcome and generous hospitality from you and your staff extended to (son) Toru (Shoriki) and our players during their spring training in Vero Beach. It is no exaggeration to say that without what you and your people did for them it would not have been possible for them to see and learn so much of the American baseball in such a short period. Their entire program no doubt indicated your personal interest for making their visit a great success.12

May 7, 1967

Columnist Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times writes that Walter O'Malley is "the foremost golf architect I ever met." As Murray describes it in his own satirical way, "O'Malley has this course down in Vero Beach and he couldn't care if (Arnold) Palmer birdies it. O'Malley design features are a lot more practical. What Walter (O'Malley) does is study the form of the guys HE (O'Malley) has to win money off of. Like, he carefully kept a log on where his partner (Dodger Vice President) Jim Mulvey's average tee shots landed. When he had the spot triangulated to the nearest half a foot-he put a trap in there!....The result, of course, is one of the most unusual golf courses in the hemisphere - heavily trapped (sand traps) around the tees instead of greens…..But what makes this a great course is, it's not built to the specification of Bobby Jones or Henry Cotton or Harry Vardon (golf champions), but more to the limitations of Jim Mulvey."  13

May 31, 1967

Toru Shoriki, president of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team in Tokyo, Japan, writes Walter O'Malley, "The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants are right now on top of the league, having won 13 consecutive victories and leaving the second team seven games behind. The credit for this all goes to you for your kindness extended to us while we were training at Vero Beach." 14

1 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, February 18, 1967

2 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, The Sporting News, February 25, 1967

3 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 1, 1967

4 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1967

5 ^ Frank Finch, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1967

6 ^ Frank D. Morgan, The Sporting News, March 4, 1967

7 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 25, 1967

8 ^ Jon Washington, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 16, 1967

9 ^ Joe Hendrickson, Pasadena Independent Star News

10 ^ The Sporting News, March 25, 1967

11 ^ Wikipedia biography of Matsutaro Shoriki

12 ^ Correspondence, Matsutaro Shoriki to Walter O'Malley, April 4, 1967

13 ^ Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1967

14 ^ Correspondence, Toru Shoriki to Walter O'Malley, May 31, 1967

1968

February 22, 1968

The Vero Beach Press Journal printed a special section regarding the Dodgers' 1968 Spring Training season. One historical anecdote was the visit of the Brooklyn National Guard to Vero Beach in 1948, Dodgertown's first season. The Vero Beach Jaycees (a local support group), in appreciation to the visit by the Guardsmen, provided them with a large number of Indian River's finest oranges for their return to Brooklyn. 1 The special section also has a photo of Dodgertown Director Dick Bird and Golf Course Superintendent Marion Luke reviewing a sand trap on the Dodgertown nine-hole golf course. The trap was unusual as it was designed by Walter O'Malley for his regular golfing partner, Dodger Vice President James Mulvey. The sand bunker, known as "Mulvey's Trap" was designed to be an obstacle for Mulvey's golf swing, renowned for its slice. The bunker was large enough to start out on the fourth hole and then caught golfers coming back on the seventh hole. 2 Also, it was reported the first night game at Holman Stadium at Dodgertown would be played March 28 when the Dodgers faced the Chicago White Sox. 

March 8, 1968

Sandy Koufax returns to Dodgertown in Vero Beach for the first time since his final playing season in 1966. Sportswriter Bob Hunter stated, "Everyone tried to get him into uniform immediately."  3

March 9, 1968

Walter O'Malley put an end to rumors the Dodgers would invest in a future Spring Training site in Palm Springs, California. "I don't know who starts these rumors," said O'Malley. "There isn't a word of truth to them. We hope to put $350,000 in the replacement of one of our main buildings at Vero Beach and if we expand our golf course from nine to 18 holes, that would be $200,000 more this year." Columnist Paul Zimmerman stated, "It is obvious the Dodger president envisions a long-range program for important developments in this, one of Florida's great areas."  4

March 16, 1968

Spring Training in Dodgertown is about getting ready for the baseball season by running, throwing, hitting, fielding, and ……hula hoops? Dodger trainer Bill Buhler had the players using hula hoops for conditioning and stretching purposes to provide a break from the usual calisthenics.  5

March 19, 1968

The Dodgers normally played in Dodgertown on St. Patrick's Day, but this season finds them on the road in Ft. Lauderdale to play the New York Yankees. So, Walter O'Malley improvised. In place of the annual St. Patrick's Day Party for Dodgertown, O'Malley scheduled a party to be held this year on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. The star of the St. Joseph's party was Dodger right hand pitcher Jim (Mudcat) Grant, known for his singing ability. Grant was a showman on this night as he had three complete changes of suits during his show going all red, all white, and all green. 6   Dodger players Alan Foster and Tommy Hutton also played guitar and sang. As Hutton said, "Alan (Foster) and I haven't been successful enough for three (wardrobe) changes; we have only one outfit." 7 NBC broadcaster Joe Garagiola called Walter O'Malley on Sunday, March 17th to see if O'Malley wanted to discuss the St. Patrick's Day Party at Dodgertown on the Monitor radio show. "How is the St. Patrick's Day Party going?" asked Garagiola. "There isn't any this year," said O'Malley. We will have a St. Joseph party instead. "Then," asked Garagiola, "you are going to honor the Italians instead of the Irish?" "Oh no," said O'Malley. "St. Joseph was Jewish. We are hoping this switch in our allegiance will encourage NBC to give us our Jewish pitcher, Sandy Koufax, back." 8

March 23, 1968

The Dodgers defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, in a Spring Training game that was broadcast from Vero Beach, but played in Nassau, The Bahamas. Transmitting facilities were not available in Nassau, so Dodger Vice President Red Patterson was on a phone line to two Dodger assistants who typed the description given and in turn, Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett provided the play-by-play. Dodger broadcast engineer Monty Bancroft said for crowd noise, "We'll use a 10,000 crowd type.   I have different (crowd noise) tapes for doubles, singles, great catches, and even an 'ugh' when a batter is hit by a pitcher."  9

March 25, 1968

Columnist Melvin Durslag writes of Monsignor William G. Killelea, of his role at the Dodgertown party thrown by Walter O'Malley on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. As this was a night to honor an Italian saint, the Monsignor, known locally for an excellent singing voice, was heard to say, "Thirty-four generations of Irish in my family, and here I am singing 'O Sole Mio."  10

March 26, 1968

Sportswriter Bob Hunter wrote a souvenir promoter at the Dodger exhibition games played in Nassau, The Bahamas, sold out his supply of 800 Dodger caps, but the promoter sold only 50 of the 200 Pirate caps available."  11

March 28, 1968

The Los Angeles Dodgers will meet the Chicago White Sox in the first night game to be played at Holman Stadium on March 28th. 12   The Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 11-4 as the Dodgers had 14 hits. 13   The starting and losing pitcher for the White Sox was Tommy John, who would later in his career win 20 games for the Dodgers in 1977.

March 31, 1968

The Los Angeles Times has a long feature on Dodger Manager Walter Alston and he remembers the time he caught now retired Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax out after curfew in the 1961 Spring Training season. Koufax ran to his room and locked the door. Alston knocked on the door so hard, he broke his 1959 World Series ring. Koufax asked Alston, "Why are you beating on my door with your fists?" Alston replied, "Because I wasn't wearing shoes!" Thinking of the retired Koufax, Alston said, "You know, it sure would be nice to knock on some door one of these days and have Koufax come out."  14

April 27, 1968

Columnist Dick Young spoke of a present given by Dodger clubhouse man Jim Muhe to former Dodger first baseman and current New York Met manager Gil Hodges. Muhe came across a white towel in Dodgertown during Spring Training that in the blue stripe in the middle of the towel had the words, "Brooklyn Dodgers." When the Mets made their first trip to Los Angeles in the 1968 season, Muhe gave it to Hodges. Young wrote, "As long as things like that happen, baseball will survive."  15

1 ^ John Klucina, Vero Beach Press Journal, February 22, 1968

2 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, February 22, 1968

3 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 9, 1968

4 ^ Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, The Sporting News, March 9, 1968

5 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 16, 1968

6 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 6, 1968

7 ^ Joe Hendrickson, Pasadena Star News, March 22, 1968

8 ^ Joe Hendrickson, Pasadena Star News, March 21, 1968

9 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 24, 1968

10 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 25, 1968

11 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 26, 1968

12 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, February 22, 1968 

13 ^ The Sporting News, April 13, 1968 

14 ^ Patrick McNulty, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1968

15 ^ Dick Young, The Sporting News, April 27, 1968

1969

February 19, 1969

Walter O'Malley speaks candidly to the Los Angeles Times on the verge of the Dodgers leaving for the 1969 Spring Training in Dodgertown. Writer Bob Oates asked O'Malley of his thoughts of Spring Training. O'Malley replied, "I am looking forward to it eagerly. To me, it's one of the best times of the year, especially now we have the golf course. We put it in to make sure that our Negro players would always have a place to play. There are two other golf clubs in town, but the funny thing is that since I built one, everybody in Vero is playing on mine. I was there last Saturday and it was so crowded that I couldn't get on until after 3 in the afternoon. I went out there in the morning full of vinegar and with my clubs all polished up, and sat around all day."  1

March 3, 1969

Current Spokane Indian Manager Tom Lasorda, the Dodgers' Triple-A entry in the Pacific Coast League, is pitching batting practice to Dodger players at Dodgertown. A fan yelled at Lasorda that he didn't throw very hard. Lasorda responded to the fan, "I throw just as hard as Koufax. It just doesn't get up there as quick."  2

March 12, 1969

Columnist Melvin Durslag notices a sign at the Dodgertown newsstand and canteen that reads, "Collier's: America's Most Exciting Magazine. Get Your Copy Today." Durslag writes, "Collier's folded in 1956."  3

March 12, 1969

One of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Ted Williams, is now the manager of the Washington Senators and his team visited Dodgertown for an exhibition game. Williams said of the Dodgers' Spring Training base, "This is the nicest camp I've seen (in Spring Training). This place has character."  4

March 17, 1969

The annual St. Patrick's Day party at Dodgertown was billed as "a twi-night doubleheader" referring to the baseball term where one game starts before the sun goes down and the second game is played at night. Kay and Walter O'Malley as hosts of the party began the festivities with a clambake at the Dodgertown swimming pool for dinner. The invitation read, "The O'Malley, the O'Mulvey and the O'Alston of County Downs (and ups), we hope and the Dodgers do on this feast of St. Patrick invite you all to break training (but not curfew) on the emerald laws and sandy shores of Lake Killarney at 5 p.m., Monday, the 17th of March, O'Poolside, Dodgers. 'Tis the first half of an historic twi-night double-header in honor of the memory of our Patron Saint." When dinner was over, everyone went to the Dodgertown dining room where there was additional food and drink served, Dodger players Alan Foster and Tommy Hutton played the guitar and sang and Vice President Red Patterson won the dance contest.  5

March 18, 1969

The New York Mets shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0 at Holman Stadium in an exhibition game. The shutout should not have been a surprise as the Mets threw two of baseball's greatest pitchers against the Dodgers on this day. Tom Seaver starts for the Mets and pitches five scoreless innings and Nolan Ryan walks four, but he allows no runs in 1 2/3 innings in relief.

March 22, 1969

Columnist Melvin Durslag writes this spring how Walter O'Malley purchased a restaurant called "The Shed" and it was used as the dining room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Dodger players in Spring Training. The restaurant was located just a short walk from the training base.  6

March 29, 1969

The Sporting News' March 29th edition has a photo of Dodger hitting instructor Fred (Dixie) Walker with his brother, Harry Walker, Manager of the Houston Astros sitting in Holman Stadium at Dodgertown. Walker, known as the People's Cherce" (Brooklynese for choice) last had worn a Dodger uniform in 1947. Dixie and his brother Harry are the only brothers to win a major league batting crown. Dixie Walker won the 1944 National League batting crown and in 1947 brother Harry was the leading hitter in the NL. 7  Also, it was reported by Merrill Whittlesey, a sportswriter who covered the Washington Senators, that "Ted Williams took a great liking to the setup at Dodgertown and both he (Williams) and owner Bob Short have plans for something similar somewhere in Florida."   8

March 30, 1969

Ted Sizemore is named the winner of the first Dearie Mulvey Award as the outstanding rookie of the Dodgers' Spring Training. Sizemore would later add to his rookie honors when he is named the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year. Marie (Dearie) Mulvey was a stockholder of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers and was a daughter of Stephen McKeever, a co-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers with Charles Ebbets. She had ownership in the Dodgers with her husband, Dodger Vice President, James Mulvey. To honor her passing in November, 1968, the Dodgers remembered Mrs. Mulvey by appointing the award during Spring Training. Subsequent winners of the Mulvey tribute include Steve Yeager (1972), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Orel Hershiser (1983), Raul Mondesi (1994), and James Loney (2004).  9

April 5, 1969

Outfielder Bill Russell was getting attention in his first major league camp at Dodgertown. It was reported Russell ran to first base in a timed at bat at 3.8 seconds, a mark known to be done by Willie Davis, one of the fastest base runners in the game. Working hard in Spring Training, Russell wanted to get another cap to wear to work out. Don Drysdale told clubhouse man Nobe Kawano, "You better give him one, Nobe. This guy might be around a while." Bill Russell played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969 through 1986 and later became a coach and then Manager of the Dodgers in 1996.  10

April 12, 1969

The Dodgers celebrated the birthday of Mrs. Anastasia Plucker, their resident nurse at Dodgertown. The players bought Mrs. Plucker a dozen roses and a birthday cake as gifts. She was driven to the surprise ceremony in Don Drysdale's convertible, and as she walked to the celebration site, Dodger players created an archway of bats to honor her. 11

April 19, 1969

Sportswriter Bob Hunter tells the story of a protest in Dodgertown. Plans were released for the building of new living quarters for the players at Dodgertown, and suddenly signs all over camp, supposedly from players, complained of the loss of the barracks that had been first constructed in World War II. It was discovered later that Walter O'Malley had the signs made and posted as his tribute to the barracks.  12

1 ^ Bob Oates, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 1969

2 ^ John Wiebusch, Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1969

3 ^ Melvin Durslag, Norfolk Sun, March 12, 1969

4 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 13, 1969

5 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 5, 1969

6 ^ Melvin Durslag, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, The Sporting News, March 22, 1969

7 ^ The Sporting News, March 29, 1969

8 ^ Merrill Whittlesey, The Sporting News, March 29, 1969

9 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 19, 1969

10 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 5, 1969

11 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 12, 1969

12 ^ Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, April 19, 1969 

For more on the history of the Dodgers Spring Training visit walteromalley.com