jackie robinson retired from the brooklyn dodgers in 1956.
jackie robinson retired from the brooklyn dodgers in 1956.
when did jackie robinson retire from the brooklyn dodgers?
1956
despite having won the national league pennants in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953, they lost to the new york yankees in the world series each time, which frustrated o'malley and all dodgers fans. in 1955, the team won the world series for the first time in their history. however, attendance declined from a peak of 1.7 million in 1946 and 1947 to just over one million per year in the mid-1950s. with the advent of the affordable automobile and post-war prosperity, brooklyn's formerly heterogeneous, middle-class fan base for the dodgers began to splinter. a large white flight took place, and ebbets field's shabby condition and lack of parking spaces led to the loss of fans who relocated to long island. o'malley tried to raise money and get the political backing to build a new ballpark elsewhere in brooklyn. the one person whose backing he needed was robert moses, a powerful figure who influenced development in new york through the triborough bridge and tunnel authority. o'malley envisioned a domed stadium near the long island rail road station on brooklyn's west end, and even invited r. buckminster fuller to design the structure; fuller, in conjunction with graduate students from princeton university, constructed a model of the "dodgers' dome". moses did not like o'malley and derided o'malley's pro-brooklyn and pro-irish sentiments in the press. o'malley wanted to build a new brooklyn dodgers stadium at flatbush and atlantic avenue, but moses wanted the dodgers to move to queens and play in flushing meadows park (the location where the new york mets play today). although o'malley lined up bipartisan political support including new york governor w. averell harriman, moses blocked the sale of the land necessary for the planned new brooklyn stadium. o'malley bought the chicago cubs minor league baseball team, the los angeles angels, as well as their stadium, wrigley field, from philip wrigley in 1956 at the winter baseball meetings, and during spring training, los angeles mayor norris poulson traveled to the dodgers' training camp at vero beach, florida in an attempt to lure the franchise. o'malley met with moses at moses' home after purchasing the angels to discuss final offers from new york to no avail. o'malley noticed the great success of the milwaukee braves after their move from boston in 1953. they had a 43,000-seat stadium, parking for 10,000 cars and an arrangement for no city or real estate taxes. he also felt the limitations of the small landlocked ebbets field, which held less than 32,111 fans and accommodated only 700 parking spaces. attendance between 1950 and 1957 was between 1,020,000 in 1954 and 1,280,000 in 1951. ultimately, o'malley decided to leave brooklyn for los angeles in 1957. robert moses authority robert caro and other contemporaneous sports historians felt that moses was more to blame for the dodgers' leaving. the 1956 season had marked the end of the jackie robinson era in which the dodgers won six pennants, lost two pennant series and finished as low as third only once in ten years, and the new era would begin in a new home. during the 1957 season, he negotiated a deal for the dodgers to be viewed on an early pay tv network by the skiatron corporation subject to the approval of other teams and owners. the rest of baseball was not ready for the risks of such a venture and it did not pan out at the time.
walter o'malley
jackie robinson day is a traditional event which occurs annually in major league baseball, commemorating and honoring the day jackie robinson made his major league debut. april 15 was opening day in 1947, robinson's first season in the major leagues. initiated for the first time on april 15, 2004, jackie robinson day is celebrated each year on that day. the festivity is a result of robinson's memorable career, best known for becoming the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. his debut with the brooklyn dodgers (today known as the los angeles dodgers) ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation, also known as the baseball color line, or color barrier. he also was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1962, remembered for his services with the number 42 jersey.
jackie robinson day