history

From 1925 until the 1960's, the main ballpark in Los Angeles was Wrigley Field. Yup, just like the one in Chicago. It was even built to resemble it, but with a California flair. It was mainly the home of the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels (along with the Hollywood Stars for a short time). In 1957, Wrigley sold the Angels and the stadium to Walter O'Malley, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite promises to keep the Angels and the field, O'Malley moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and the Angels moved to Spokane. Originally, the Dodgers were to play weekends in LA Coliseum and weekdays at nearby Wrigley Field and plans were drawn up to expand Wrigley Field, as seen in the drawing above. It never came to be, and for unknown reasons (probably the money to be gained from filling a 90,000 seat coliseum), LA Coliseum became the permanent home of the Dodgers for four years until they moved into the newly-built Dodger Stadium. Saturday, the Dodgers play the Red Sox in an exhibition game before the official Opening Day game on Monday. More than 100,000 tickets sold out as soon as they went on sale. I managed to get a couple crappy seats (out by the arches) last week when they released a few remaining seats that had been held. The Coliseum is said to be a terrible place for baseball - it was never meant to played there. One of the outfield walls is something like 180 feet from home - thats bordering on dangerous for the players. Regardless, although I've lived here for 10 years now, I've never been to the Coliseum - even the outside. So not only do I get baseball, but I get history. I can't wait.

Sports Hollywood: Wrigley Field, Los Angeles