GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Craig Callan announced his retirement from Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, the 40th anniversary of his hiring at the facility that served as the Dodgers' Spring Training home.
"Craig Callan has devoted his adult life to leading, managing and enhancing Historic Dodgertown, and he deserves tremendous credit for how this renowned training and conference center looks today," said former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, who is now a part-owner of the facility. "Craig is a community treasure, and I'm happy that he and his family will continue to enjoy living in Vero Beach."
Callan helped run Dodgertown until the Dodgers left for Arizona in 2008, and he helped plan, design and build Camelback Ranch Glendale for the Dodgers and White Sox, who share the complex. Callan returned to Vero Beach, where Dodgertown had been shuttered, and helped reopen and run it for MiLB, then remained in charge when O'Malley, Terry Seidler and partners Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park took over in 2012.
In 2014, Historic Dodgertown was named as a Florida Heritage Landmark for its significance beyond baseball, the first fully-integrated MLB Spring Training site in the South. Professional teams from Asia have trained 25 times at Historic Dodgertown.
"I have loved representing the Dodgers in Vero Beach and Indian River County," said Callan. "Working for the O'Malley family gave me the opportunity to interact with other community leaders and serve on numerous boards while overseeing my various responsibilities at Dodgertown. Retiring gives me the opportunity to spend quality time with my family and friends, but I will miss my Dodgertown family and support given to me from Peter O'Malley and his sister, Terry O'Malley Seidler, numerous Dodger executives and Pat O'Conner, president and CEO of Minor League Baseball. Any success that I have achieved is a direct result of them."