Peter O'Malley (born December 12, 1937) is an American former owner (1979–98) and president (1970–98) of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently is a part-owner of the San Diego Padres since 2012.
Early life O'Malley was born at Carson C. Peck Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, to long-time Dodger owner and National Baseball Hall of Fame executive Walter Francis O'Malley (1903–79) and Katherine Elizabeth "Kay" Hanson (1907–79). He has a sister, Therese "Terry" O'Malley (born 1933), who was co-owner of the team.
O'Malley graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was president of his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta, and from the Wharton School of Business in 1960.Klitzman, Zach, "Ruth, Koufax, Aaron ... O'Malley: Long-time Dodgers owner becomes first Penn alum to get Cooperstown invite", The Daily Pennsylvanian, January 17, 2008"A Pioneer Owner (and Spoon Man) in the Hall of Fame", University of Pennsylvania Alumni Profiles, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Sept/Oct 2008
Career Los Angeles Dodgers In 1962, O'Malley was named the director of Dodgertown, the team's spring training headquarters located in Vero Beach, Florida. In 1965, he became president and general manager of the minor league Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League, where many future Dodger stars and coaches were on the roster.
In 1967, O'Malley moved to the major league club as vice president of stadium operations and in 1969, as executive vice president.https://www.walteromalley.com/dodger-history/dodger-organization-thrived-on-stability/ He took over the presidency of the Dodgers from his father on March 17, 1970. His father, Walter, who had been Dodger Chairman of the Board since that date, died on August 9, 1979.
O'Malley has been widely credited with running the Dodgers as a professional, highly respected and emulated organization, operated with consistent methods and values, encompassing a style known as "The Dodger Way." Among his unique business practices were treating his staff to ice cream at 2 p.m. every day the Dodgers were in first place, freshly baked cookies on sell-out games and overseas trips in the offseason after particularly successful years. In 1997, Fortune magazine named the Dodgers as the only sports franchise selected as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America." It was the third time the team had received the recognition after being named in books of that title in 1984 and 1993.
On March 19, 1998, Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation (then the parent company of the Fox Television Network) acquired the team for what was alternately reported as $311 million or $350 million (equivalent to $ to $ million in ). This was the highest price ever paid for a US sports franchise at the time.
O'Malley relinquished the club presidency to become Dodger chairman of the board; he resigned that post at the end of the 1998 baseball season. Murdoch appointed NewsCorp subsidiary's Fox Television executives to oversee the Dodgers, with mixed results. The sale was reported as an estate and tax planning move for the O'Malley family, as Terry had ten children and Peter three. None had immediately emerged as a candidate to succeed Peter, and he acknowledged that the new economics of the game had dictated that the days of family baseball ownership, without support of a separate corporation, were largely over. NewsCorp sold the Dodgers in 2004 for $430 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to Frank McCourt, a Boston developer.
International baseball At the age of eight, Peter O’Malley had the opportunity to witness international baseball as he joined his parents Kay and Walter O’Malley and sister Terry to watch the International League’s Montreal Royals with their star Jackie Robinson play a game in Montreal on September 5, 1946.Montreal Gazette, September 6, 1946. Robinson had signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers on October 23, 1945 and was preparing for his major league debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers the next April. In 1947, the Dodgers held spring training in Havana, Cuba and Peter again experienced baseball outside of the United States.https://www.walteromalley.com/dodgertown/the-dodgers-and-cuba/ In March 1948, the O’Malley family watched the Dodgers train in Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic before the team’s first-ever visit to newly-created Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/state-of-the-art-campo-las-palmas-baseball-academy-led-dominican-development/
In fall 1956, when the Dodgers made a month-long Goodwill Tour to Japan, 18-year-old Peter enjoyed experiencing the culture of Japan, its people, its professional baseball and seeing firsthand the opportunity that the sport has to bring countries together. He dedicated himself to taking advantage of that.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/peter-omalley-and-japan-friends-friends-friends/ The Wall Street Journal took notice of the impact of the 1956 Dodgers Goodwill Tour in its powerful headline on May 9, 2016, “Sixty Years Ago, the Dodgers Toured Japan and Changed Baseball Forever”.https://www.wsj.com/articles/sixty-years-ago-the-dodgers-toured-japan-and-changed-baseball-forever-1462828774?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqcjTT5sSezQ-KaPiIHHLleWn_w__WYf7PUc_5hbFVtBWWNU51J-RBM-7I4BP0c%3D&gaa_ts=690a532d&gaa_sig=vh9tjlxcNVnmPREUQ8o_wSixR0EeMmTFAlZRmWkyTHK644-AMYrF6BCxErZUrc1krPSE4ZEMiqSU5JYgOYlBsw%3D%3D The article by Brad Lefton explains the friendship that started between the O’Malley family and the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, as the National League champion Dodgers made the 19-game trip to Japan. But, more importantly, the building of bridges and expansion of those bonds led to more and more exchanges through the decades and the ultimate: the 1995 Dodger signing of Japan-born pitcher Hideo Nomo, who became a pioneer in baseball.
In spring, 1961, the entire Tokyo Yomiuri Giants team trained for the first time at Dodgertown, as fresh out of college Peter was responsible for all the Giants’ arrangements and schedule from arrival to departure. That is when he became friends with two of Japan’s greatest Hall of Fame players – Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/peter-omalley-and-japan-friends-friends-friends/
The Dodgers returned to Japan for their 1966 Goodwill Tour and again Peter made the trip with his parents. They were happy to see the growth of professional baseball in Japan since their last visit a decade earlier. Toru Shoriki, owner of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, traveled with Dodger Vice President Peter O’Malley in August, 1967 to select Pacific Coast League sites, including Spokane, WA, to observe their minor league operations.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/peter-omalley-and-japan-friends-friends-friends/ On March 17, 1970, Peter was named Dodger President and that fall, he attended the Japan Series as a guest of Shoriki, becoming the first official of an American major league team to watch a Japan Series (the Giants beat Lotte), as initially reported in the Los Angeles Times.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/milestones/the-1970s/
In 1974, Peter traveled to Taiwan and the Philippines to meet with baseball leaders and learn more about youth and amateur baseball in those countries. To aid youth baseball, he sent a new pitching machine to the Philippines.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/milestones/the-1970s/ In 1977, he arranged for the Dodgers to play the New York Mets in the Dominican Republic, the first exhibition of two major league teams in that baseball-loving and talent rich country.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/state-of-the-art-campo-las-palmas-baseball-academy-led-dominican-development/
Two of baseball’s most significant events took place in 1979. First, the signing of pitcher Fernando Valenzuela from Mexico. That led to the 1981 phenomenon of “Fernandomania” throughout the world as the National League Rookie of the Year had eight shutouts and 11 complete games. Peter was quoted, “I have often said that Fernandomania was the most exciting time for me.”Ken Daley, Los Angeles Daily News, March 28, 1991. Thousands of Latino fans became enamored by Valenzuela and followed his every game pitched. With Valenzuela’s success, Mexico was actively mined for more talent by scouts.
The other event was when Peter hosted September 10–12 meetings of 100 baseball leaders from 38 countries at the Association International Baseball Amateur (AINBA) Extraordinary Congress in Los Angeles to devise a plan for baseball to be included in the 1984 Games of the XXIII Olympiad in L.A., with a long-term strategy to earn gold medal status in future Olympics.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/international-baseball-meeting-for-the-ages/
To a man, the international leaders have called it the most important meeting for the future of the game, laying the groundwork that led to baseball being included in the Olympic Games. First, as a demonstration sport in 1984 at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, and in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and then with gold medal status in 1992 at Barcelona (see 1984 Olympic Baseball, Los Angeles section for further information).
1980 China trip
From February 14–16, 1980, O’Malley traveled to the People’s Republic of China for the first time and met with leaders of the All-China Sports Federation.https://www.walteromalley.com/international/milestones/the-1980s/ As friendships were established, O’Malley invited China’s baseball leaders to Dodger Stadium in July, 1980 and again during the 1984 Olympic Baseball tournament. He returned to China from October 10–15, 1984, before sending two instructors, Kevin Kennedy and Tim Johnson, to hold baseball clinics in Kunming for two weeks beginning December 1, 1984. Kennedy and Johnson later became major league managers.
1984 Olympic baseball, Dodger Stadium
“I have often said that being involved with international baseball was my hobby and it has been rewarding in many ways,” said Peter O’Malley. “I was honored to be invited by (International Baseball Association President) Dr. Robert Smith to help him in his efforts to have baseball recognized as an official Olympic sport. He put together a kitchen cabinet including Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, legendary baseball coach Rod Dedeaux at University of Southern California and myself. We were organized, effective and successful, celebrating on April 9, 1981 when the IOC first included baseball as a demonstration sport in Los Angeles.”https://www.walteromalley.com/international/olympic-baseball-the-road-to-gold/
Baseball’s largest involvement in the Olympic Games included eight nations competing – Canada, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, South Korea, and the United States. In prior Olympics, baseball consisted mostly of single exhibition games.Baseball at the Summer Olympics From July 31–August 7, 1984, 16 international exhibition games were played in the tournament at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles before enthusiastic, sold-out crowds. Japan won the finals, 6-3 against the USA, providing the impetus for baseball in future Olympics as a medal sport. Baseball finished third in overall attendance for those Games, outdrawn by only track & field and soccer.Baseball at the Summer Olympics
Dr. Smith, O’Malley, Dedeaux and Kuhn continued their travels to many countries (Japan, Russia, China, South Korea, Nicaragua, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Taiwan) to meet with IOC members and seek their support. They received support from U.S. President Ronald Reagan for the 1988 Seoul Olympics as baseball was once again a demonstration sport and assistance in development to many nations followed.