DODGERS
VeroBeach100.org City of Vero Beach 1919-2019 63
erty, Rickey liked what he saw: barracks
where his 600 players, black and white,
could live together and space to build
fields and a training center.
FIRST GAME A HIT
On March 31, 1948, the Brooklyn Dodgers
played their first game in Vero Beach
against their farm team, the Montreal Royals.
They played on a field with wooden
bleachers and no outfield fences. The
town turned out in mass. Robinson hit a
home run. Dodgertown, which was first
named Dodger Town, was featured in
newspapers and magazines nationwide
with the cover of Life showing Dodger players in training.
Out of Dodgertown came a team with players like Robinson,
Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider
and Gil Hodges that dominated the National League.
In 1950, Walter O’Malley replaced Rickey as team president and
brought a family atmosphere to Dodgertown. In 1953, he built
Holman Stadium at team, rather than community, expense, a
thing unheard of today.
The Dodgers won their first World Series beating the Yankees
in 1955. The town’s two drug stores installed TV sets so fans could
watch the games.
With lack of support in New York for a new stadium, Walter
O’Malley took the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958. The fear in
Vero Beach was that spring training would go west where the
team would be closer to its fans. But no, O’Malley was committed
to Vero Beach. >>
MARK DOLAN
Dugouts at Holman Stadium were roofless, giving fans unique access to the players and coaches.
MARK DOLAN
From 1948 to 2008, thousands of fans were welcomed to Dodgertown. Today,
the complex is known as Historic Dodgertown.
Walter O’Malley joined
the Dodgers as vice
president and owner in
1943, became an owner
in 1944 and was named
president in 1950.
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