Ghosts of Flatbush Still With Us

"Ghosts of Flatbush" aired on HBO but shed little new information about the traumatic switch from the right coast to the left coast by the Los Angeles, nee Brooklyn, Dodgers in 1957 after their final season in New York. But a new addition to the already remarkable Walter O'Malley website gives the complete story, along with the actual historic documents from that period.

Those who watched the television show found that Walter O'Malley was not actually "The Grinch Who Stole the Bums," but an owner who wanted a better venue for his team. God Bless the sainted memory of Ebbets Field but the old lady was crumbling and had parking space for -- get this -- 700 cars.

The site at the Long Island Railroad terminal was the place Walter wanted the city to clear for him and he was prepared to spend his own money on building the facility himself.

Contrast that sort of thinking to the owners who threaten to leave their city unless the tax payers pop for $600 million for a new park. Who is pressuring who in this picture?

Moses offered the Flushing Meadows site (Flushing Dodgers? He had to be kidding) and between that offer and Los Angeles, no thinking person would make a different choice.

For those who really care about finding out the real conflicts behind the Robert Moses snub of O'Malley and the Dodgers, the O'Malley website has just added new information to the tons of information that was already provided.

The special site was coordinated by a pair of excellent former Dodger front office employees -- Brent Shyer and Robert Schweppe -- who were dumped in the "I'm the GM now and I'll hire my friends" feeding frenzy that went on every other year during an all-time low point in Los Angeles Dodger history.

The new O'Malley addition, "Timeline of Baseball's Historic Expansion to the West Coast," has more than 100 entries and historic documents listed in three sections, Background, Timeline and Aftermath."

Those who are intent in only calling Walter O'Malley names will continued to bluster their way around the subject. Those who are genuinely interested in the real story behind a businessman-owner who wanted to keep his team at the top of the National League each season and couldn't do it after most of his fans moved to Long Island, drop by walteromally.com and see for yourself.