1976

March 25, 1976

In the celebration of Major League Baseball's Bicentennial season, the Dodgers wore uniforms that resembled that era in their exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies. 1

March 31, 1976

Tommy John makes his second start in Spring Training, his first this spring at Dodgertown, and pitches six innings against the Baltimore Orioles. John had missed most of the 1974 season and all of the 1975 season after the Dodgers team orthopedist, Dr. Frank Jobe, successfully completed a radical surgery for pitchers by transplanting a ligament of (Tommy) John into the pitcher's elbow. The surgery, today known throughout baseball as a "Tommy John", has revolutionized medical procedures for treating elbow ligament injuries. John would win 180 more major league wins after the surgery and he retires following the 1989 season. 2

March 31, 1976

The Dodgers defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1, in their final exhibition game in Florida in 1976. Due to labor negotiations between the Players' Association and the teams, Spring Training did not open until the middle of March and the Dodgers played just eight exhibition games in Florida with a 6-2 record. 3

April 3, 1976

The 18-hole golf course as part of the Dodgertown Spring Training base property has been re-named as "Dodger Pines" from the former name "Safari Pines". 4

June, 1976

Walter and Peter O'Malley are photographed with Dodger Manager Walter Alston on the cover of "Indian River"magazine. 5

1 ^ Gordon Verrell, The Sporting News, April 10, 1976

2 ^ Bob Hunter, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, March 31, 1976

3 ^ Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1976

4 ^ The Sporting News, April 3, 1976

5 ^ Indian River Magazine, June, 1976

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