Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush
Encyclopedia
Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush is a heart wrenching 2007 documentary film produced by HBO sports chronicling the last ten years of the Brooklyn Dodgers
tenure in the borough of churches. The film documents how in 1947 Jackie Robinson
broke the baseball racial barrier in previously segregated major league, the struggles to win what seemed an unreachable World Series title in 1955, and the issues and community feelings involved in the team's sudden departure to Los Angeles after the 1957 campaign.
The documentary focuses on the Brooklyn community's identification with the ball club, and with the perennial "wait until next year" attitude of both players and fans associated with the Dodgers' repeated inability to defeat the "upper class" New York Yankees
for the World Series
title, despite winning several pennants. The Brooklyn players, many of whom lived within and held off season jobs in the community, were identified with the working class people. The film portrays the countless agonies, defeats, prayers and tension leading finally to the World Series title in 1955.
President and general manager Branch Rickey
is attributed with the development of the club through his baseball acumen and experience, and several of his innovations, such as the farm system
, pitching machines, batting cages, and his decision to integrate the team. Rickey manages some Brooklyn players' resistance to integration and prepares Jackie Robinson for the portrayed shocking reactions from other teams and fans. Jackie's wife Rachel Robinson
also discusses these trying times from the Robinsons' point of view. Robinson must pass through a period of isolation prior to being accepted.
Walter O'Malley
gains majority ownership of the team and then, following Rickey's departure, total control. With the mass movement of paying fans to the suburbs, inadequate parking and the outdated and dilapidated Ebbets Field
leads to O'Malley's failed attempts to convince the power broker
Robert Moses, New York City Construction Coordinator, to condemn a O'Malley's chosen Brooklyn property, nearer to transportation infrastructure, for the purpose of building a new geodesic dome
d stadium. Moses planed to build a stadium at an alternative location in Queens, that eventually came to fruition in the form of Shea Stadium. The failure to reach an agreement, and offers from the municipality of Los Angeles, leads to New York's loss not only of the Dodgers. O'Malley convinces majority owner, Horace Stoneham
of their perennial rival New York Giants
, to also move to the west coast. The film records several of Brooklyn's old fans demonizing O'Malley, whose decision to move the team gains him a free grant of 350 acres within the city of Los Angeles, where he finally builds his dream stadium & prospers.
Former players, front office personnel and Brooklyn residents (including Larry King
and Louis Gossett Jr.) provide commentary on the times and what it was like to be alive in the borough during New York's "Golden Age" of baseball. The film was dedicated to former Dodgers pitcher Clem Labine
, who died shortly after production of the film was completed.
List of individuals who appeared during the documentary:
Former Dodgers: Carl Erskine
, Duke Snider
, Johnny Podres
, Clem Labine, Ralph Branca
, Buzzie Bavasi
(General Manager), Peter O'Malley
(former president and son of Walter O'Malley
), Joan Hodges (widow of Gil Hodges
), Rachel Robinson
(widow of Jackie Robinson
).
History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
-Early Brooklyn baseball:Brooklyn was home to numerous baseball clubs in the mid-1850s. Eight of 16 participants in the first convention were from Brooklyn, including the Atlantic, Eckford, and Excelsior clubs that combined to dominate play for most of the 1860s...
tenure in the borough of churches. The film documents how in 1947 Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
broke the baseball racial barrier in previously segregated major league, the struggles to win what seemed an unreachable World Series title in 1955, and the issues and community feelings involved in the team's sudden departure to Los Angeles after the 1957 campaign.
The documentary focuses on the Brooklyn community's identification with the ball club, and with the perennial "wait until next year" attitude of both players and fans associated with the Dodgers' repeated inability to defeat the "upper class" New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
for the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
title, despite winning several pennants. The Brooklyn players, many of whom lived within and held off season jobs in the community, were identified with the working class people. The film portrays the countless agonies, defeats, prayers and tension leading finally to the World Series title in 1955.
President and general manager Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
is attributed with the development of the club through his baseball acumen and experience, and several of his innovations, such as the farm system
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
, pitching machines, batting cages, and his decision to integrate the team. Rickey manages some Brooklyn players' resistance to integration and prepares Jackie Robinson for the portrayed shocking reactions from other teams and fans. Jackie's wife Rachel Robinson
Rachel Robinson
Rachel Robinson is a former nurse and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson. She was born in Los Angeles, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. There, she met Jackie in 1941, and they married in 1946. A baby, Jackie Robinson, Jr., was born to her in November 1946...
also discusses these trying times from the Robinsons' point of view. Robinson must pass through a period of isolation prior to being accepted.
Walter O'Malley
Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from to . He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in...
gains majority ownership of the team and then, following Rickey's departure, total control. With the mass movement of paying fans to the suburbs, inadequate parking and the outdated and dilapidated Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
leads to O'Malley's failed attempts to convince the power broker
The Power Broker
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1974 biography of Robert Moses, "New York City's Master Builder", by Robert Caro...
Robert Moses, New York City Construction Coordinator, to condemn a O'Malley's chosen Brooklyn property, nearer to transportation infrastructure, for the purpose of building a new geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
d stadium. Moses planed to build a stadium at an alternative location in Queens, that eventually came to fruition in the form of Shea Stadium. The failure to reach an agreement, and offers from the municipality of Los Angeles, leads to New York's loss not only of the Dodgers. O'Malley convinces majority owner, Horace Stoneham
Horace Stoneham
Horace C. Stoneham was the principal owner of Major League Baseball's New York/San Francisco Giants from the death of his father, Charles Stoneham, in 1936 until 1976. During his ownership, the team won National League pennants in 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 and 1962, a division title in 1971, and a...
of their perennial rival New York Giants
History of the New York Giants (NL)
The history of the New York Giants, before the franchise moved to San Francisco, lasted from 1883 to 1957. It featured five of the franchise's six World Series wins and 17 of its 21 National League pennants...
, to also move to the west coast. The film records several of Brooklyn's old fans demonizing O'Malley, whose decision to move the team gains him a free grant of 350 acres within the city of Los Angeles, where he finally builds his dream stadium & prospers.
Former players, front office personnel and Brooklyn residents (including Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
and Louis Gossett Jr.) provide commentary on the times and what it was like to be alive in the borough during New York's "Golden Age" of baseball. The film was dedicated to former Dodgers pitcher Clem Labine
Clem Labine
Clement Walter Labine was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960...
, who died shortly after production of the film was completed.
List of individuals who appeared during the documentary:
Former Dodgers: Carl Erskine
Carl Erskine
Carl Daniel Erskine is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959...
, Duke Snider
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider , nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush", was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets , and San Francisco Giants .Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of...
, Johnny Podres
Johnny Podres
John Joseph Podres was an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
, Clem Labine, Ralph Branca
Ralph Branca
Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.From 1944 through 1956, Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Detroit Tigers , and New York Yankees...
, Buzzie Bavasi
Buzzie Bavasi
Emil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi was an American executive in Major League Baseball who played a major role in the operation of three franchises from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s....
(General Manager), Peter O'Malley
Peter O'Malley
Peter O'Malley is the former president and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
(former president and son of Walter O'Malley
Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from to . He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in...
), Joan Hodges (widow of Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
), Rachel Robinson
Rachel Robinson
Rachel Robinson is a former nurse and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson. She was born in Los Angeles, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. There, she met Jackie in 1941, and they married in 1946. A baby, Jackie Robinson, Jr., was born to her in November 1946...
(widow of Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
).