This has come up before here somewhere but I was listening today to an interview with Jeff Greenfield who wrote one of those what if books about JFK being killed in the interval after his election and before assuming office and all that would have been different. Well there are two what ifs that might be interesting discussion for us concerning the re-location of the Brooklyn franchise.
1. I have read in several different places the American League had scheduled a meeting to vote on a proposal to re-locate the St. Louis Browns franchise in Los Angeles and a meeting was to be held in Chicago to vote on this proposal on...........08 December 1941. The meeting was not held because of other events that occurred the day before. Now I've never been able despite scouring the internet to confirm whether this indeed was true. But if so, then one could clearly add Admiral Yamamoto to the list of dispicable people, Walter O'Malley of course leads the list but also Warren Giles as well as Ford Frick as people responsible for the demise of the only real Dodger franchise.
2. There is also the story of the Brooklyn Trust Company, a bank long since consigned to history, which held a lot of markers on the Dodgers and Ebbets Field in the late 30's or was it the early 40's and to protect their investment, wanted to send one of the young lawyers in their foreclosure department to sit in on meetings of the directors of the Brooklyn National League baseball club. There were 2 lawyers working in the office at that time. One was a guy named Bill Shea. The other was Walter O'Malley. Too bad for the Brooklyn fans the bank chose O'Malley for this. Had they chosen Bill Shea I am sure the Dodgers would be playing in Flushing Meadow today!
The difference between right and wrong in history can hinge on decisions such as these!
1. I have read in several different places the American League had scheduled a meeting to vote on a proposal to re-locate the St. Louis Browns franchise in Los Angeles and a meeting was to be held in Chicago to vote on this proposal on...........08 December 1941. The meeting was not held because of other events that occurred the day before. Now I've never been able despite scouring the internet to confirm whether this indeed was true. But if so, then one could clearly add Admiral Yamamoto to the list of dispicable people, Walter O'Malley of course leads the list but also Warren Giles as well as Ford Frick as people responsible for the demise of the only real Dodger franchise.
2. There is also the story of the Brooklyn Trust Company, a bank long since consigned to history, which held a lot of markers on the Dodgers and Ebbets Field in the late 30's or was it the early 40's and to protect their investment, wanted to send one of the young lawyers in their foreclosure department to sit in on meetings of the directors of the Brooklyn National League baseball club. There were 2 lawyers working in the office at that time. One was a guy named Bill Shea. The other was Walter O'Malley. Too bad for the Brooklyn fans the bank chose O'Malley for this. Had they chosen Bill Shea I am sure the Dodgers would be playing in Flushing Meadow today!
The difference between right and wrong in history can hinge on decisions such as these!
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