MacPhail, Rickey, and Robinson
Jackie Robinson
In 1937, the struggling Dodger's franchise hired Larry McPhail as club president. MacPhail immediately announced that a renovation of Ebbets Field was needed. He asked for and received $200,000 from the team owners to complete the renovation. During the renovation, the stadium was repainted and new seats were added. The dugouts and fieldhouses were renovated, the field was groomed to eliminate rocks, and a new press box was built. One of the most significant changes was the construction of lights to bring night baseball to Ebbets Field. Ebbets Field hosted its first night game on June 15, 1938, against Cincinnati, a game in which the Red's Johnny Vander Meer pitched the second of his historic consecutive no-hitters. Although MacPhail's tenure as president did not last long (he resigned in 1941), he turned around the dying franchise and set them up for success over their next twenty years.(1)
Larry MacPhail and Branch Rickey
After MacPhail's resignation, the Dodgers hired Branch Rickey as president. Rickey had formerly been president of the St. Louis Cardinals, and had helped them to become a very successful franchise. However, it was with the Dodgers that he truly made his mark. The most significant move that he made in his time with the Dodgers, and perhaps the most significant move in baseball history, was bringing Jackie Robinson to the majors and breaking the color barrier.
Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey
Ebbets Field and Brooklyn O'Malley vs. Moses
Back
Home Inventing Gotham Bibliography E-mail Me
1 Shapiro, p. 27.