Rent Forever Blue: The True Story of Walter O'Malley, Baseball's Most Controversial Owner and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles

Synopsis

Reviled in New York and beloved in Los Angeles, Walter O'Malley is the most controversial owner in the history of American sports. He changed baseball and Brooklyn forever when he moved the Dodgers to California. But while famous writers have ranked him with Hitler and Stalin when listing 20th century villains, O'Malley refused to apologize or defend himself. As a result, fans across the nation have been unable to stop arguing about him—until now.

Using never-before-seen documents and candid interviews with O'Malley's associates and relatives, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael D'Antonio finally reveals this complex sportsman and industry pioneer. Born into Tammany Hall connections, O'Malley used political contacts to grow wealthy during the Great Depression, and then schemed to take control of the downtrodden Dodgers. But while he pursued wealth and power, O'Malley didn't decide to uproot the borough's team until he had been defeated in a war of wills with famed power broker Robert Moses. Once transplanted to Los Angeles, O'Malley defied opponents of his stadium and helped define the city. Other owners came to regard him as their guide—almost an unofficial commissioner—and he worked behind the scenes to usher in the age of the players union and free agency.

Filled with new revelations on O'Malley's battle with Moses, his pioneering business strategies, and his relationship with Jackie Robinson, Forever Blue is a uniquely intimate portrait of a man who changed America's pastime forever. His fascinating story is fundamental to the history of sport, business and the American West.

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