1974

January 24, 1974

The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League announced they would conduct their summer training camp at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. 1

February 26, 1974

Dodger President Peter O'Malley speaks of the 1974 Los Angeles Dodger team. "This is the best young team in baseball. There is no team with a brighter future." O'Malley's prediction was correct. The Dodgers would win the 1974 National League Western Division championship, defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series, 3 games to 1 to advance to the 1974 World Series where the Oakland A's would win in five games. 2

February 28, 1974

Florida can be cold in February. Early in Spring Training, the heater failed in the suite of Walter O'Malley at Dodgertown. What did he do? "I froze," said O'Malley. 3

March 2, 1974

Sportswriter Jack Lang writes in The Sporting News of his memories spent covering the Dodgers in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. "I hardly ever can remember Vero Beach and Dodgertown without hundreds of players with different colored numbers on their backs to identify them and the team or group they belonged to." Lang continued, "My fondest memories of Spring Training are of Dodgertown from 1948 to 1957 (Lang was a writer covering the Brooklyn Dodgers.)" The writer discussed operation of the camp under Walter O'Malley. "Dodgertown livened up considerably when Walter O'Malley took over the club. The dining room was the equivalent of anything you will find in a first-class hotel." Lang summed up his experience in Dodgertown. "Perhaps it was because most of us were of the same age group and lived together so closely in Dodgertown that Spring Training never again was as good as it was in those days of Vero." 4

March 2, 1974

Early in Spring Training with pitchers not quite ready to pitch in intrasquad games, the Dodgers used a pitching machine to throw to hitters. This game with Dodgers on both sides was halted when the "Iron Mike" (mechanical pitcher) broke down. The game continued because Coach Tommy Lasorda volunteered to pitch for both sides and as the newspaper reported, "The Dodger coach wound up with a three-hit shutout as well as a 10-hit defeat" as Lasorda's team defeated Coach Jim Gilliam's team, 8-0. 5

March 8, 1974

Walter O'Malley expressed his philosophy in the operation of the Dodgers' minor league camp in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. "First, we want to be first class in every respect…..And second, we want to do it ourselves….We've rebuilt and done our own maintenance here (Dodgertown) when a number of Florida and Arizona cities have underwritten buildings and maintenance programs for their clubs." 6

March 23, 1974

In a ceremony in the Dodgertown administration building, a plaque is dedicated to Mrs. Anastasia Plucker, a Dodgertown nurse for 20 years. Mrs. Plucker had passed away in January, 1974 and the Dodgers dedicated the 1974 season to her memory. 7

April 4, 1974

Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy wrote a column on the vibrancy of baseball in smaller towns in America. McCarthy says of the Dodger organization, that "The Dodgers are among the most fascinating teams in the majors. Oddly, it's less because of the actual playmaking of the athletes than because of the corporate structure supporting them." McCarthy tells of the value of Dodgertown for the organization. "The Dodgertown training camp in Vero Beach is a well-managed and sparkling operation." 8

September 14, 1974

Charlie Blaney was named the director of Dodgertown by team President Peter O'Malley. Blaney had been the general manager of the Dodgers' Triple-A team in Albuquerque.   He would serve as Dodgertown Camp Director through the 1987 season and later become Vice President, Minor League Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Under his management, the Dodgers would win the Topps Organization Award in 1990 and 1997, an honor that recognizes the major league club for achievements in player development. 9

1 ^ The Sporting News, February 16, 1974

2 ^ Ross Newhan, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1974

3 ^ Ross Newhan, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1974

4 ^ Jack Lang, The Sporting News, March 2, 1974

5 ^ Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1974

6 ^ Ross Newhan, Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1974

7 ^ Vero Beach Press Journal, April 4, 1974

8 ^ Colman McCarthy, Washington Post, April 4, 1974

9 ^ The Sporting News, September 14, 1974

For more on the history of the Dodgers Spring Training visit walteromalley.com