Don’t Blame Water O’Malley. Blame Robert Moses.

It was a cold spring day on April 9, 1913 when 10,000 fans came out to see the Brooklyn Dodgers take on the Philadelphia Phillies. While the home team lost that day (they were after all affectionately called “Dem Bums” for their notoriously losing ways), the stadium was a sight to see. Reporters at the time hailed it as a catherdral to our national pastime and predicted it would be in use for 200 years. It didn’t even last 50.

The team would go on to achieve imfamny by winning the 1955 World Series against the rival New York Yankees. But that infamny would only last another two seasons as the Dodgers left town for Los Angeles and Ebbets Field would soon after meet its fate with the wrecking ball.

History did not look kindly on Water O’Malley, the Dodgers owner who agreed to relocate the team. It’s been said that, “If you asked a Brooklyn Dodger fan, if you had a gun with only two bullets in it and were in a room with Hitler, Stalin and O’Malley, who would you shoot? The answer: O’Malley, twice!”

In reality, it was Robert Moses, not O’Malley, who was the true villain in this story. It was clear by the 1950’s that Ebbets Field was very dated and it had little parking. When it opened in 1913, cars were novelty. Things had changed considerably since then. Moses insisted O’Malley move the team to Flushing, Queens…