One of a Kind Celebration
Here it is -- the most attended baseball game ever played in North America. The Dodgers honoring their 50th anniversary in LA, returning to their first West Coast home, the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Not surprisingly, Vin Scully, whose voice has been the melody of baseball ever since the major leagues arrived in L.A., was among those honored in a pre-game ceremony.
So was Roz Wyman, the Los Angeles city council member who spearheaded the effort that brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles.
The national anthem was sung by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Junior. They were a perfect choice for an event whose proceeds benefit the Dodgers newly established Think Cure cancer charity -- Davis is a prostate cancer survivor, as is Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
The sense of community, of so many people sharing an event and celebrating this anniversary in one place at one time, is incredibly powerful.
Built for the 1932 Summer Olympics and designed for track events and football, wedging our diamond onto that rectangle was never an easy process. Thus, for one night only, the left field home run distance was 201 feet.
Part of the day's charm was a reunion of many past Dodger greats. From the left: Wally Moon, a batting star on the Dodgers 1959 World Champs, and Carl Erskine, one of The Boys of Summer who started the first regular season game played at the Coliseum in April 1958. Behind them is 1959 pinch hitter extraordinaire Chuck Essegian. All were interviewed by KABC radio's Ken Levine on a pre-game special.
The radio special took place at the Fan Fest, just outside the Coliseum. It featured autograph signings by past Dodgers and concert by '60s rocker Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon.
Not surprisingly, Vin Scully, whose voice has been the melody of baseball ever since the major leagues arrived in L.A., was among those honored in a pre-game ceremony.
So was Roz Wyman, the Los Angeles city council member who spearheaded the effort that brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles.
The national anthem was sung by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Junior. They were a perfect choice for an event whose proceeds benefit the Dodgers newly established Think Cure cancer charity -- Davis is a prostate cancer survivor, as is Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
The sense of community, of so many people sharing an event and celebrating this anniversary in one place at one time, is incredibly powerful.
Built for the 1932 Summer Olympics and designed for track events and football, wedging our diamond onto that rectangle was never an easy process. Thus, for one night only, the left field home run distance was 201 feet.
Part of the day's charm was a reunion of many past Dodger greats. From the left: Wally Moon, a batting star on the Dodgers 1959 World Champs, and Carl Erskine, one of The Boys of Summer who started the first regular season game played at the Coliseum in April 1958. Behind them is 1959 pinch hitter extraordinaire Chuck Essegian. All were interviewed by KABC radio's Ken Levine on a pre-game special.
The radio special took place at the Fan Fest, just outside the Coliseum. It featured autograph signings by past Dodgers and concert by '60s rocker Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon.
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