Harvey Frommer - New York City Baseball: The Golden Age, 1947-1957

HARVEY FROMMER is an associate professor of writing and speech at New York City Technical College in the City University of New York. A well-known sports author and lecturer, he has written fourteen books, five of them dealing with baseball.

For listening, editing, shaping, criticizing, inspiring, rooting, toleratingmy wife, Myrna, with this, as with all my efforts, ranks first.

Old Dodger fans Trudy Mason and Ron Gabriel provided insights, time, and resources, and a large debt is owed to them.

Additionally, many thanks to those who kindly shared time and memories: Cal Abrams, Richie Ashburn, Red Barber, Buzzy Bavasi, Joel Berger, Roz Boyle, Willie Brandt, Don Carney, Jack Carney, Jerry Coleman, Marvin Doblin, Jimmy Esposito, Joe Flynn, Sid Frigand, Carl Furillo, Jim Gilliam, Howard Golden, Tommy Holmes, Monte Irvin, Jack Lang, Tom LaSorda, Eddie Logan, Stan Lomax, Eddie Lopat, Sal Maglie, Jerry Martin, Johnny Mize, Mickey Morabito, Lou Napoli, Peter OMalley, Walter OMalley, Joe Pignatano, Pee Wee Reese, Arthur Richman, Rachel Robinson, Irving Rudd, Garry Schumacher, Jack Schwarz, Lee Scott, Dick Sisler, Duke Snider, Lou Soriano, Horace Stoneham, Valeda Stoneham, Jim Thomson, Bob Turley, Robert F. Wagner, Wes Westrum.

Office of the Borough President of Brooklyn, WPIX-TV, WORTV, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Association of Professional Ball Players of America, Office of the Baseball Commissioner.

The team on the benchwho heard the words and listened lovinglyJennifer, Freddy, and Ian.

And Bill Griffin of Macmillan, who adroitly managed the entire project from start to finish.

And a shout out to Rick Rinehart for giving one of my favorite baseball books a brand-new life.

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In those days we thought the three teams would go on forever.

Former New York
City mayor,
ROBERT F. WAGNER

On the fifth day of August, 1955, with the Brooklyn Dodgers in first place, fourteen games in the lead and driving to their third pennant in five years, their first world championship, a New York Times front-page story noted that the National League had granted permission for the scheduling of eight Dodger games for 1956 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Ticket prices at Roosevelt Stadium would be the same as at Ebbets Field: box seats, $3.00 and $2.50; reserved seats, $2.00; general admission, $1.25, The Dodgers charged 75 for an Ebbets Field bleacher seat, but there were no bleachers at Roosevelt Stadium.

Brooklyn Dodger president Walter OMalley indicated that he had wanted a new playing site for the team since 1948. With six million dollars of his own available for the building of a stadium, he said he wanted New York Citys aid to facilitate the acquisition of a site.

Abe Stark, president of the New York City Council, said, I am quite perturbed about the OMalley announcement. I would prefer to see all the Dodger games in Brooklyn where they have their natural roots and where they have done so well over the years. Dodger fans were less formal in their reaction. Some brought signs to Ebbets Field protesting the plan. Leave us not go to Joisey, said one.

The Jersey City plan was to be followed by many months of bureaucratic committee meetings, grandiose blueprints, mistaken intentions, political pronouncements, rumors, threats, schemes, insults ... and the move of the Dodgers of Brooklyn and the Giants of New York to California. The move was painful to many, but it was not without precedents.

In the years before World War II, Bill Veecks St. Louis Browns planned to relocate in Los Angeles. The war intervened. When it ended, Veeck had moved on to Cleveland. The Browns remained temporarily in St. Louis. On March 18, 1953, in the first major league baseball franchise shift since 1900, the Braves of Boston became the Braves of Milwaukee. Boston was left without National League baseball for the first time since 1876breaking the pattern of sixteen major league teams that had existed for fifty years. After thirteen home dates, the Milwaukee Braves drew more fans than the Boston Braves had attracted during the entire 1952 season. In 1954, the Browns finally moved from St. Louis, becoming the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Athletics transferred from Philadelphia to Kansas City.