Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 - August 9, 1979) was owner of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1979.
Walter's father was Edwin Joseph O'Malley (1883-1955) who was working as a dry goods salesman in the Bronx in 1903, but would later become the Commissioner of Public Markets for New York City. Walter's mother was Alma Feltner (1882-1940).
Walter attended the Culver Academy in Indiana then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1926. He then attended Columbia University in New York City, but completed his law degree at Fordham University in 1930. He then started a company: the Walter F. O'Malley Engineering Company and he published the Subcontractors Register with his uncle.
On September 5, 1931 Walter married Katherine (Kay) Elizabeth Hanson (1907-1979) at Saint Malachy's Church in Manhattan. He had dated Kay since high school. Together they had the following children: Theresa O'Malley (1933- ); and Peter O'Malley (1937- ).
In 1942 Walter was appointed the attorney for the Brooklyn Dodgers and he became the president and chief stockholder on October 26, 1950. In 1957 he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles after he met resistance in replacing the aging Ebbets Field stadium. He bought a property in Chavez Ravine and built a 56,000 capacity stadium for $12 million. His Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1959, 1963, and 1965.
On March 17, 1970, Walter turned over the presidency of the team to his son, Peter O'Malley.
Walter was diagnosed with cancer and sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic and on July 12, 1979, less than a month before his own death, his wife, Kay died. He died of congestive heart failure on August 9, 1979 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His obituary appeared in the New York Times on August 10, 1979.