1958-1961: The Coliseum Years
In 1957, Brooklyn Dodgers owner, Walter O’Malley, finally gave up on his dream of building a state-of-the-art ballpark in Brooklyn. He had been fighting with Robert Moses, who was in charge of all new construction for the City of New York for several years. Walter had purchased…
In 1957, Brooklyn Dodgers owner, Walter O’Malley, finally gave up on his dream of building a state-of-the-art ballpark in Brooklyn. He had been fighting with Robert Moses, who was in charge of all new construction for the City of New York for several years. Walter had purchased the rights to the Los Angeles territory when he bought old Wrigley Field in LA from the Cubs owners. The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League played there. Moses wanted the team to build a city owned city run park in Flushing Meadows, the eventual home of Shea Stadium. The real estate savvy O’Malley wasn’t having any of it. When he finally came to the conclusion that Moses would never give in, the move was inevitable.
A couple of advancements in travel increased the chances the team could move. With air travel now more viable than the slower trains, teams would be more able to play on each coast. LA officials attended the 56 World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees hoping to attract a team into moving to LA. The Dodgers were not their target, they were thinking about the Washington Senators. The Senators would eventually relocate to Minneapolis. O’Malley sent word that he was interested in talking.
LA offered him what New York would not, a chance to buy land somewhat suitable for building a ballpark and the chance to own that ballpark and control all of its revenue streams. At the same time, the National League was not willing to let O’Malley move unless he found a second team to move out west with him, mostly over concerns of travel costs.
At the same time, Giants owner, Horace Stoneham, was having difficulty in finding a replacement for the antiquated Polo Grounds. Unlike O’Malley, he did not really look into a parcel of land to buy, he was thinking about moving to Minneapolis. O’Malley persuaded him to move to San Francisco. So, the two arch-rivals moved west after the 1957 season. The Giants would play their games in Seals Stadium, home of the San Francisco Seals of the PCL. Meanwhile O’Malley had two choices, play at Wrigley, which seated just 22,000, or convert the massive LA coliseum into a baseball park. The coliseum, built for the 1932 Olympics, seated 100,000. O’Malley opted for the coliseum.
Moving to LA caused mixed emotions for some of the players. Duke Snider, a native Californian was happy to be playing closer to home. But many who had called Brooklyn their summer home for most of their careers were a little sadder. Unfortunately, one Brooklyn star would never get to take a shot at the screen they put up in left field, just 251 feet from home plate, Roy Campanella, who in January of 1958 was paralyzed in a car accident heading home from his liquor store in New Jersey.
Let’s face it, the team that headed to LA in the 1958 season had many aging veterans. Snider, Hodges, Furillo, Reese, Valo, Erskine, Labine, and Newcombe, were all in their 30’s. Reese the oldest at 39. 25-year-old, John Roseboro was Campy’s replacement. Hodges was at first. Charlie Neal at 27 was the starting 2nd baseman. Don Zimmer got most of the starts at SS with Reese only playing in 59 games. 26-year-old, Dick Gray was at 3rd. The outfield was Gilliam in left, Snider in CF, and Furillo, in his last full productive season in right.
The 58 team was a mix of grizzled vets and fresh-faced kids, and some career journeymen players. Gino Cimoli who had an excellent first year in Brooklyn, struggled in LA. He would play in 109 games. His biggest contribution to the LA Dodgers was being the return the Cardinals got for Wally Moon that winter. Guys most of you may have neither heard of, nor even knew played for the Dodgers included Elmer Valo, PCL slugger, Steve Bilko, Randy Jackson, Jim Gentile, who LA would trade to Baltimore where he had a couple of great years, Don Miles, Earl Robinson and Bob Wilson.
Pitchers included Fred Kipp, Johnny Klippstein, who came with Bilko as part of the trade for Don Newcombe. Bob Birrier, Don Bessent, Bob Giallombardo, Ron Negray, Ralph Mauriello, and Jackie Collum. The team ERA was 4.47. They gave up 173 homers. 67 of them came off of Koufax, Drysdale and Podres.
The hitting was okay, they batted .251, hit 172 homers, led by Neal and Hodges with 22 apiece. Snider who was coming off of five consecutive seasons of 40 or more, hit only 15. He only played in 106 games and hit .312. Duke hurt his elbow trying to throw a ball out of the coliseum. The other factor was because RF was a short cab ride away. Straight down the line in 58 was about 340 feet, but it dropped off to 440 in right center and 425 to dead center. Duke’s heart must have sank when he saw that. Explains why he hit just 6 homers at home. He hit 9 on the road and was a .331 hitter away from LA. The team scored 668 runs and finished a dismal 7th. O’Malley was happy though, 1,845,556 came through the coliseum turnstiles.
Reese retired after the season and became a coach. But changes to the roster were needed, so Buzzie Bavasi went to work. In October, he sent SS Maury Wills to the Tigers on a conditional deal. Maury would be sent back to LA after spring training. Big miscalculation by the Tigers, great luck for LA. In Dec he traded Cimoli to the Cardinals for Wally Moon and P Phil Paine. Later in the month he sent Sparky Anderson to the Phillies for Jim Golden, Rip Repulski and Gene Snyder.
Reese was released in December; he was retiring anyway. They got Wills back in April. In May he traded a minor league pitcher to the Reds for P Chuck Churn, who would join the team down the stretch. His next trade came on deadline day, June 15th, he traded Dick Gray to the Cardinals for P Lloyd Mettitt and OF Chuck Essegian. Essegian would become Alston’s go to pinch hitter.
The starting rotation was Drysdale, Koufax, Podres, Roger Craig, who was called up early in the year, and LH, Danny McDevitt. Brooklyn ace, Carl Erskine, could not overcome his aching elbow and basically was done at age 32. He appeared in just 10 games. Labine led the pen with 8 saves and a 5-10 record.
Demeter got most of the time in CF, and Snider led the team with a .308 average, 23 homers, and 88 RBIs and was playing RF more with Furillo injured most of the year. Hodges led the team in homers with 25 and drove in 80. Moon hit .302 with 19 bombs. He made an art out of hitting homers over the so-called Chinese Wall in left. Scully made them famous by naming them “Moon Shots.” Wills would take over at SS when the incumbent, Don Zimmer, struggled to a .165 average. Wills would play in 89 games, hit .260 and steal 7 bases. Norm Larker and Essegian were the primary bats off of the bench in the second half. They hit .257 as a team and scored 705 runs. Their homer total dropped to 147. But they tied the Braves for the lead and then won 2-straight “playoff games”, to advance to the World Series against the White Sox. They got hammered in game 1, 11-0. But they won 3 straight. They lost game 5, 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel between Koufax and Bob Shaw. They would win game 6 going away in a 9-3 win at old Comiskey Park. Duke Snider would slug his 11th and final series homer. Larry Sherry won the Series MVP award with 2 wins and 2 saves.
LA was euphoric. What had taken 65 years to accomplish in Brooklyn, the Dodgers did in their second year in Los Angeles; And they became the first team ever to win after finishing 7th the year before. LA got its first professional sports team championship and parade. The Rams had won a championship, but they were the Cleveland Rams when they did it. Lakers would not win until the late 60’s.
Meanwhile, the new park in Chavez Ravine was under construction. They had broken ground on September 17th, 1958. The eventual cost of construction was 23 million dollars. It was the first privately funded stadium since Yankee Stadium. As of today, it is the third oldest stadium in the league behind only Fenway (1912) and Wrigley (1914). It also has the largest seating capacity of any baseball only field, 56,009.
The next two years, 60-61, would see more changes to the roster. Furillo was injured and then released early in 1960. He sued the Dodgers for releasing him while he was injured. He eventually settled and was essentially blackballed by baseball. He never worked in the sport again. He went to work for Otis Elevator company.
The starting lineup in 1960 looked like this, Larker 1B, Neal 2B, Wills SS, Gilliam 3B, Moon LF, T. Davis CF, Howard RF. Snider and Hodges played in 101 games each. Snider hit 14 homers, Gil hit just 8 and batted .198. Demeter became Davis’s caddy and played in 64 games. Howard led the team with 23 homers, Larker hit .323 and lost the batting title to Dick Groat, the Pirates SS who hit .325.
Drysdale won 15 to lead the team. Sherry, Stan Williams, and Podres won 14 each. Koufax was 8-13. Not quite the pitcher he would start to be in 1961. Ed Roebuck led the team with 8 saves, Sherry had 7. They finished 82-72 in 4th place behind the eventual World Champion Pirates.
There were some roster changes over the winter. They sold Pignatano to the Athletics. Essegian was sold to the Orioles. Ed Rakow was traded to the A’s for Howie Reed. In the biggest winter deal, LA sent Don Demeter, and Charlie Smith to the Phillies for Turk Farrell and Joe Koppe. In May, they traded Bob Lillis and Carl Warwick to the Cardinals for 3rd baseman, Darryl Spencer.
None of the trades impacted the team finish. They were 89-65 and in 2nd place, 5 games back of the Reds when the season ended. Koufax finally showed some of that immense talent with an 18-13 mark. Padres went 18-5 and led the league in winning pct, .783. Drysdale was 13-10 and Williams 15-12. Sherry had 15 saves and Farrell had 10.
Moon hit .328. The outfield was now Moon, Willie Davis in center and Howard in right. Tommy Davis split his time between the outfield and 3rd. Roseboro led the team with 18 homers. Eight players hit double figures in homers. Snider hit 15 in a reserve role. The last time he would reach double digits. He did that in just 85 games. Hodges played in 109 games in his last season as a Dodger.
As the Dodgers prepared to move into their new home for the 62 season, they saw several players leave via the expansion draft as the National League expanded to 10 teams, a year after the AL had done the same. The Houston Colt-45s and New York Metropolitans joined the NL. LA lost Farrell and Bob Aspromonte to Houston along with Jim Golden and Norm Larker. Roger Craig and Gil Hodges were selected by New York. Before the 62 season they traded Charlie Neal and a player to be named later to the Mets for OF Lee Walls. Then just before the season began, they traded for Andy Carey from the White Sox.
They were finally in the Stadium O’Malley had envisioned. They left behind some memorable moments like the tribute to Campanella against the Yankees. Koufax’s first 18 K game against the Giants, the playoff win in extra innings in 59. And the huge crowds that attended the World Series. Over 90,000 in all three games. Still a World Series record.
Go Figure (by Mark Timmons)
So, with Paul Skenes on the mound, many Dodger fans had conceded last night’s game. Let me remind you that conventional wisdom is frequently wrong. Paul Skenes was OK, but not a great deal better than Eric Lauer; in fact, they both allowed two runs. Lauer went 5.2 innings, allowed 3 hits, and struck out 5 on 89 pitches, while Skenes went 6 innings, allowed 6 hits, and struck out 7 on 103 pitches. After Skenes left, the Dodgers were merciless! Freddie Freeman got hit 2,500. Congrats!
Ryan Ward has exceeded expectations… but it’s a small sample. He has some runway!
We’ll take it!
Dodgers Minor League Report (By Mark Timmons)
OKC Comets beat the Charlotte Knights 6-3
- Zach Ehrhard was 2-for-5 with 4 RBI, including his 6th HR (a 2-run shot)
- Jack Susinski was 5 for 5 with his 14th HR
- Jackson Ferris continues to struggle (3.2 IP/4 H/3 R/5 K – 7.11 ERA
- Ryder Ryan went 4 innings and allowed 2 hits with 5 K and 0 R
Tulsa Drillers beat Wichita Wind Surge 5-0
- DePaula took the collar
- Sirota was 1-4
- Lockwood-Powell was 3-4 (.293/1.009) Remember that he is 28
- Newell was 2-4 with a 3-Run HR
- Serwinski went 5 Innings, allowing 1 hit and 4 strikeouts and 4 BB
The Wisconsin Timer Rattlers beat the Great Lakes Loons 10 to 9.
- Quintero is red hot, going 3-5 as he raised his BA to .296 (.791 OPS). He has not yet gotten his “man strength.” The power will come.
- Root went 5 Innings, allowed 3 Hits and 1 R with 3 BB and 7 Ks. His ERA sits at 1.55!
- Perez stole 2 bases (35 this year).
The Ontario Tower Buzzers beat the Lake Elsinore Storm 5-4
- Shelton added 2 more strikeouts as he went 0-3. His propensity to strike out is worrisome.
- 3B Chase Harlan went 2-3, both Doubles (.341 BA/1.032 OPS) – To to move him to GL.
The ACL Dodgers lost 13-1 to the Reds. No Words!
The DSK LAD Mega lost to the LAD Bautista 9-7
Jeff does this much better – Happy Birthday, Jeff – Get back soon! 😉
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Discussion (74)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I had a fun memory. I had a Marlboro on the Detroit pitching mound about 30 minutes after the game. I thought that myself and Sparky Anderson may have been the only two that has done it. Both Sparky and I have quit smoking.
Phil, can I ask you your opinion on the dead red approach to hitting?
I really like Freeland. Junkyard dog indeed
My Dad had interaction with Laker, said he wasn’t a nice person. For my Dad to say that about anyone would mean he had to be a real prick, my Dad wouldn’t call anyone a bad name unless they were nasty.
Pitch #99 outside Pitch #100 low & outside Pitch #101 a strike Shohei wanted to challenge Pitch #102 ends the night
No reason to leave him in like that.
Ryan Ward telling the Dodgers that he’s not going back to OKC
End of the line for Hurt Win probability with Shohei pitching into the 7th up 6-1? Worst loss of 2026 if we can’t comeback
Looks like dog crap. Bad case of the yips and two really bad appearances in his last two outings. Probably read about an IL stint or a demotion tomorrow. Queue the call-up for Gervase.
Barf
🙂
Be careful the company you keep, Fred.
Chili, Willie and Merle sounds pretty cool…. For a second I thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers were on the bill. Merle’s life story is pretty amazing–how he watched Johnny Cash at Folsom and it inspired that inmate to become Merle Freaking Haggard. I will always claim that The Greatest Concert Ever, by anyone, was Springsteen at Madison Square Garden in the summer of ’78, the “Darkness” tour. Somebody hung a banner that said “Prove It All Night, Bruce” and he damn near did–4+ hours. It happened after the end of a fairly magical Manhattan summer for me at age 21, doing a college internship and living in an NYU dorm in Greenwich Village. It was a summer of Bright Lights, Big City (before the novel) and a passel of pretty college girls for a lad who was little familiar with the world beyond a middle-class OC suburbia…. I walked to MSG with my new pals and fellow interns Bernie from Maine and Brett from Virginia. I have a distinct memory the feminine shrieks during “Sandy” following the lyric about “all them silly New York virgins.” A few years ago, Bernie found a video of that concert online and it revealed how memory is a trickster. For years I was claiming that Bruce’s encore included “Because the Night,” the song he wrote with Patti Smith–but it really happened before the encore. Bernie reminded me that Bruce’s mom and teenage sister had front row seats. It was his sister’s birthday, and he played “Sweet Little Sixteen” in her honor…
I suspect that Roberts had a talk with Rushing about that. I sure hope he did. There is hard-nosed play that is smart. And hard-nosed play that is stupid. It can invite retaliation. Certainly the rules have changed to minimize the risk of injury. Back in the day, I loved how Scioscia used to blocked the plate and practically welcomes collisions. But baseball, fundamentally, is not a sport based on physical contact. Heck, even football has outlawed the kind of hits Jack Tatum used to make.
West is the guy Jeff Passan put into the Skubal “offer” with Sheehan and Hope. I read somewhere that West is unlikely to stick at SS but the bat plays everywhere. So many good players start at SS and move on elsewhere. Mookie is the only one I can think of who circled back to SS so late in a career.
West is the guy Jeff Passan put into the Skubal “offer” with Sheehan and Hope. I read somewhere that West is unlikely to stick at SS but the bat plays everywhere. So many good players start at SS and move on elsewhere. Mookie is the only one I can think of who circled back to SS so late in a career.
Well, I’m sort of happy for the long-suffering Pirates fans. Just when it looked like they’d suffer another drubbing, their team came to life. Just a bad day for the Dodgers bullpen. Oh well. Bummer that Ryan Ward’s slam got overshadowed, and that Shohei’s ERA soared way up to 1.07. After the $60 Million Man struck out with the bases loaded, I was thinking about how it was a great chance for Ward, another one of those long-suffering baseball souls who I assume is earning the minimum. I’d have been happy with a single–and then, bam. Shohei put on a nice two-way show, making it close with his HR in the 9th. And that came after Reynolds robbed him of one earlier in the game. As losses go, this wasn’t a bad one.
I didn’t see that coming. The Dodgers bullpen made the Pirates look like the … well, like the Dodgers. This didn’t feel right. Is the bullpen leaking?
Well Teo, can you spell platoon?
@Bobby I’d rather see Brock Stewart.
This loss HURTS!
Dodgers To Place Will Smith On Injured List “The Dodgers will place Will Smith on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). They’ll select Chuckie Robinson onto the active roster to back up Dalton Rushing. L.A. opened the necessary 40-man roster spot by releasing Tyler Fitzgerald this afternoon. Smith has been nursing a stiff neck for the past few days. He hasn’t played since Friday. The Dodgers can backdate his IL placement for up to three days, so he’ll be down until at least next Wednesday. Roberts downplayed the level of concern”.
Time to make some changes to the bullpen.
Rudy LaRusso had a cool, musical name. One reason I liked him. But of course I loooved West and Baylor. (Just imagine what West would have done with a 3-point line!) Chick Hearn was a great announcer. A frenetic style to match a frenetic game. He put other game callers in the popcorn machine. Vin’s mellow, conversational style fit baseball perfectly. And then young, likeable Dick Enberg called the UCLA games…. Oh my!… I’d stay up to watch the tape-delay replays on Channel 5. I vaguely recall images of Goodrich and Hazzard, but I was pretty young pretty. But fairly glued to screen during Wooden’s Alcindor-Wicks-Walton dynasty. The other essential LA sports announcer was Dick Lane, calling Roller Derby and pro wrestling from the Olympic Auditorium. Whoa, Nellie! As a kid I thought it was all real–and I remember crying when the T-birds were cheated out of a win…. As an adult I would meet the evil Big John Hall, the T-Bird’s great nemesis. Turned out he wasn’t that big. But big compared to Ralphie Valedares.