The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions for the first time since 1988, and ending the franchise drought has been celebrated far and wide.
Fans naturally packed the streets in and around L.A., and retired broadcaster Vin Scully congratulated the team on their win. Scully expected that would be the case — predicting prior to the Fall Classic that the Dodgers would defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.
Former team owner Peter O’Malley has also recognized the Dodgers’ accomplishment, doing so by placing a message in Sunday’s commemorative issue of the L.A. Times.
What a class act …
… this ad in today’s Dodgers commemorative special section. pic.twitter.com/dfzG83KIqW
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) November 1, 2020
The Dodgers were first owned by the O’Malley in 1994, with Walter at the helm along with other stockholders. The following year, he and John Smith purchased 50% of the team from the heirs of Charles H. Ebbets to amass 75% control of the Dodgers.
In 1950, Walter took majority control from Branch Rickey to have 66.2% of the team, and 25 years later he had full ownership. Peter became team owner in the wake of his father’s death in 1979 and guided the team to World Series titles in 1981 and ’88.
Peter sold the team to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. in 1998 for $311 million.
O’Malley saves Dodgertown
Although the O’Malley family sold the team more than two decades ago, Peter helped save historic Dodgertown in March 2016. It was on the verge of being shuttered a second time, which prompted Peter and the O’Malley family to step in.
The 1970s villas, dining hall, tennis courts, and pool all remain intact, offering a remembrance of the Dodgers’ storied history in Florida. In addition, the field still boasts the infamous palm trees that were lined beyond the outfield fence.
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