On January 15, 1957.....

[DODGER DEB]

On this day in 1957, the Big "O" decided to extend his lease on OUR Ebbets Field, which he sold to developer Marvin Kratter in 1953. The original lease was for five (5) years; the new lease extended that lease by three (3) additional years....just in case.

Of course, the "just in case" never came to be for US!

c.

[VIBaseball]

Deb, maybe I've missed something, but my understanding was that Kratter bought the property on October 30, 1956 and that 1957 was the first year of the lease arrangement (which did have an option for an additional two years that the Dodgers declined to pick up).

I see references to the 1953 date on ebbets-field.com and baseballlibrary.com, but I believe they are incorrect. The Big O's site makes no mention of it, and both Bob McGee's and Joe McCauley's books support the 1956 date too.

[DODGER DEB]

Deb, maybe I've missed something, but my understanding was that Kratter bought the property on October 30, 1956 and that 1957 was the first year of the lease arrangement (which did have an option for an additional two years that the Dodgers declined to pick up).

I see references to the 1953 date on ebbets-field.com and baseballlibrary.com, but I believe they are incorrect. The Big O's site makes no mention of it, and both Bob McGee's and Joe McCauley's books support the 1956 date too.

You know, VIB, after I posted that I started to think about it really being the correct date. BTW, I got the info from Baseball-Almanac today.

My recollection is that it had to be sometime between 1953/1955. The reason I say that is because I do remember that there was much discussion at OUR Ebbets Field about the Big "O" contracting to play several of OUR games at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City in 1956. I believe that this was another way of his trying to push the power (Moses) to move on a new ballpark, the first being actually selling Ebbets Field. A further point, the lease he signed, which I believe was for five years, was to have ended in 1960, which would then make the date sometime between 1954/1955.

I will solve this mystery and get the correct date/s. Just give me a few days.

Thanks for questioning it.

c.

[DODGER DEB]

I stand corrected, VIB.

The correct date that OUR Ebbets Field was sold by the Big "O" to Marvin Kratter was October 30, 1956. At that same time, he arranged to lease it back for three (3) years (1957, 1958 and 1959), with an additional two-year option for 1960 and 1960.

c.