The Los Angeles Dodgers are adding longtime owner Walter F. O’Malley, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to their Ring of Honor next month.
Ceremonies will take place Aug. 10 before the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium, the construction of which O’Malley spearheaded when the team moved west from Brookyln in the 1950s. His son, former Dodgers president Peter O’Malley, will accept on behalf of his father, who died in 1979.
The elder O’Malley was named the vice president and general counsel of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, became co-owner the next year, majority owner in 1950 and full owner in 1975. The O’Malley family sold the franchise in 1998.
“Walter O’Malley was a pioneer, whom we can thank for expanding baseball into a truly national game — and also, through his goodwill exchanges with Japan, an international one,” said Stan Kasten, president and CEO of the Dodgers. “He loved baseball, and he loved the Dodgers, illustrated by the longtime brilliance of Dodger Stadium, a ballpark for the ages. We are thrilled to celebrate Walter’s legacy, and we are grateful that Peter, who built upon that foundation so impactfully, will join us for this celebration.”
O’Malley becomes the 15th member of the Dodgers’ Ring of Honor. Already installed are managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda, broadcasters Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrin, and legendary players Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Don Sutton and Fernando Valenzuela.