In 1957 Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley secured an 11th-hour deal with the City of Brooklyn to build a new Ebbets Field, one that still stands today after two major renovations. O'Malley had demanded $6 million in public money; the compromise amounted to a loan and some help building training facilities for the Dodgers and their minor league clubs.
After O'Malley's death, it came out that O'Malley's backup plan was to move the Dodgers, a Brooklyn icon, to Los Angeles. It seems unfathomable to have such a mainstay in the Big Apple out in LA, but it almost happened.
What would baseball, and indeed sports in general, look like if the Dodgers had made the leap to the West Coast?
After O'Malley's death, it came out that O'Malley's backup plan was to move the Dodgers, a Brooklyn icon, to Los Angeles. It seems unfathomable to have such a mainstay in the Big Apple out in LA, but it almost happened.
What would baseball, and indeed sports in general, look like if the Dodgers had made the leap to the West Coast?