Dodger Stadium: Blue Heaven on Earth
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks
Associate editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-960819-20-8, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-960819-21-5, $29.95
8.5″ x 11″, 259 pages
This book features dozens of game stories that highlight the rich history of Dodger Stadium. You’ll read about Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, Don Drysdale’s scoreless-inning streak, Dusty Baker’s historic 30th home run in 1977, Clayton Kershaw’s great no-hitter, and much more. Of course, the book includes the story of Kirk Gibson’s improbable home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series. You’ll also read several quotes from the team’s beloved former broadcaster Vin Scully.
Dodger Stadium rests on a hill near downtown Los Angeles and offers picturesque views of both the city and nearby mountains. The ballpark opened in 1962, just a few years after the Dodgers moved from their longtime Brooklyn home. The origin story of the stadium is not without controversy. You can read about both the building of the ballpark and the Battle of Chavez Ravine, a bitter episode that lingered until 1981 and the onset of Fernandomania. In recent years, the architect Janet Marie Smith has led renovation work at Dodger Stadium. Statues of Jackie Robinson and Koufax stand in the new center-field plaza area.
Besides innumerable baseball games, Dodger Stadium has hosted rock concerts, religious events, boxing and soccer matches, and even an ice-hockey game in front of more than 54,000 not-so-chilly fans. Located so close to Hollywood, the park has been a filming location for many movies and TV shows.
Forty-nine members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) contributed to this book about one of the game’s iconic venues, one that longtime manager Tom Lasorda called “blue heaven on earth.”
Contributors include: Marc Z. Aaron, Thomas Baird, John Bauer, Jeff Barto, Mike Bell, Kurt Blumenau, Thomas J. Brown Jr., Warren Campbell, Alan Cohen, Rory Costello, Carter Cromwell, Richard Cuicchi, Bryan Dietzler, Joseph Elledge, Jeff Findley, Zak Ford, John Fredland, Darren Gibson, Michael Green, Andrew Harner, Paul Hofmann, Mike Huber, Frank Ittner, Greg King, Norm King, David Krell, Dave Lande, Len Levin, Andy McCue, Chad Moody, Bill Nowlin, Tony S. Oliver, Tim Otto, Zac Petrillo, Bill Pruden, Carl Riechers, Joal Ryan, Jason Scheller, Tom Schott, Curt Smith, Kevin Snyder, Glen Sparks, Russ Speiller, Mark S. Sternman, Alan Stowell, Bob Timmermann, Theo Tobel, Joseph Wancho, Bob Webster, and John Zinn.
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