Over the course of almost 30 years writing Stadia Collector features for SCD, I’ve had the opportunity to mention Dodgertown, the most famous Spring Training site, a few times. One reason could be that it’s literally in my backyard in Vero Beach, Fla., where I reside part time. The other reason is because it’s so dang beautiful. But when I decided to write a novel with Dodgertown as the setting, it raised it to a whole new level for me.
Dodgertown was built for the 1948 Spring Training season on the site of a decommissioned World War II naval air base in the then-nondescript Florida town of Vero Beach. Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey saw its potential as a college-type campus where he could house players of all colors and ethnicity (Florida was strictly segregated into the 1960s). The campus was self-contained, with multiple training diamonds, batting cages, etc. There was also tennis courts, a swimming pool, a golf course, a movie theater and other amenities to serve those players who otherwise could not move about comfortably in the surrounding area. Holman Stadium, a gem of a ballpark named for Bud Holman, the local businessman who brought Rickey to Vero Beach, opened in 1953.
Over time, Dodgertown would be regarded as the gold standard for Spring Training venues, receiving upgrades during the long O’Malley family regime and serving as the Dodgers’ training base for years after the big club’s move to Los Angeles. Its fame as a winter time site drew thousands of fans and tourists every year and led to the tremendous growth of Vero Beach itself.
But by the early 2000s Dodger ownership decided that having a Spring Training base on the opposite side of the country wasn’t financially feasible, especially because the original Brooklyn fan base was dying off and their
