I was doing research on the LA Times blog when I came across this little doozy, referencing a May 24, 1958 article about the Dodgers already threatening to skip town:
The Toronto Dodgers?
Apparently, it wasn't looking good for Proposition B (which would have formalized the agreement the city made with the Dodgers to build a ballpark at Chavez Ravine. So shaky that the National League was making veiled (and not-so-veiled) threats to move the team again if it wasn't passed. Less than a week after the Dodgers played their first game in the city, and the specter of Minneapolis, Houston and Toronto were already being held over LA's head. Ouch.
I can't help but wonder what old Horace Stoneham was thinking at the time in San Francisco, with the prospect of being left all alone on the West Coast being dangled in front of him.
Needless to say, Proposition B passed, the Dodgers got their shiny new stadium, and Minneapolis, Houston and Toronto had to wait for big league ball. But I think it is interesting, in light of O'Malley's fractured relationships with New York politicians, to note that he went to LA full of the same bombast. Maybe Robert Moses looks a little better in comparison now.
The blog also has some great scans of sports pages, chronicling this issue. Not going to include them here, since they're huge, but you can find them at these links:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...523_sports.jpg
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...524_sports.jpg
And here's the actual ballot put before the voters:
The Toronto Dodgers?
Apparently, it wasn't looking good for Proposition B (which would have formalized the agreement the city made with the Dodgers to build a ballpark at Chavez Ravine. So shaky that the National League was making veiled (and not-so-veiled) threats to move the team again if it wasn't passed. Less than a week after the Dodgers played their first game in the city, and the specter of Minneapolis, Houston and Toronto were already being held over LA's head. Ouch.
I can't help but wonder what old Horace Stoneham was thinking at the time in San Francisco, with the prospect of being left all alone on the West Coast being dangled in front of him.
Needless to say, Proposition B passed, the Dodgers got their shiny new stadium, and Minneapolis, Houston and Toronto had to wait for big league ball. But I think it is interesting, in light of O'Malley's fractured relationships with New York politicians, to note that he went to LA full of the same bombast. Maybe Robert Moses looks a little better in comparison now.
The blog also has some great scans of sports pages, chronicling this issue. Not going to include them here, since they're huge, but you can find them at these links:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...523_sports.jpg
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...524_sports.jpg
And here's the actual ballot put before the voters:
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