O'MALLEY, WALTER (FRANCIS)

born Oct. 9, 1903, Bronx, New York, N.Y., U.S. died Aug. 9, 1979, Rochester, Minn. American lawyer who was the principal owner of the National League Brooklyn Dodgers professional baseball team (from 1958 the Los Angeles Dodgers). O'Malley was educated at Jamaica High School (Queens), the Culver Military Academy (Indiana), and the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), graduating in 1926. He received his law degree from Fordham University (New York City) in 1930 and became a director of the Dodgers in 1932 and legal adviser in 1943. He became an owner with two other partners in 1945 and by 1950 controlled 67 percent of the stock and was made president. He achieved sole control after the move to Los Angeles, becoming chairman of the board in 1970 when he passed the presidency on to his son Peter. The team won the National League pennant four times in Brooklyn and seven times in Los Angeles. O'Malley was a powerful influence in baseball ownership and management; he became the National League representative to baseball's executive committee in 1951 and was reputed to have had a major role in selecting William D. Eckert and Bowie Kuhn as commissioners (1965, 1969). The Dodgers bought the Los Angeles franchise in 1956 and moved the team there in 1958. Protests in New York were bitter, but O'Malley's business acumen was proved in 1978, when the Dodgers became the first major league team to draw more than 3 million fans. O'Malley's other financial interests were in railroads, building materials, and real estate. He was also a civic leader.