Fans Come First: A History of Dodger Stadium Promotions

Some of the recent additions to Dodger Stadium include these larger-than-life bobbleheads. (Copyright Vitaly Lozovoy / Dreamstime)

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most popular and influential brands in sports. Walter O’Malley moved his team from Brooklyn to LA despite it clearly not being popular with Brooklyn fans. On April 13, 1958, five days before the Dodgers’ first game in Los Angeles, Mayor Norris Poulson declared that week to be “Welcome Dodgers Week.”1 Fans gathered in the streets of LA to greet their future team. The excitement for the team was just beginning. O’Malley and the Dodgers knew their top priority would be to build a solid and loyal new fan base.

The fans were a large part of O’Malley’s daily concern.2 Baseball, of course, had to be the primary focus. The Dodgers also wanted to ensure a family-friendly environment at a comfortable, safe, and clean Dodger Stadium. If a fan reached out by telephone or mail, Dodgers staff were expected to reply. It is said that with the help of his secretary, O’Malley read and answered every letter he received during his ownership.3 O’Malley was a constant presence with fans and even developed a newsletter as another way to communicate with fans. Not only did fans know that O’Malley was available, but O’Malley made sure baseball games at Dodger Stadium were affordable.

Prices remained unchanged at 75 cents to $3.50 for 18 years. Dodger Stadium was thus viewed by many as a family-affordable and entertaining experience. The Dodgers set records for attendance, breaking the major-league record in 1962 with 2,755,184. In 1978 the Dodgers became the first team to surpass 3 million fans in a season. Fans have been treated to memorable promotions since the opening of Dodger Stadium.

Danny Goodman’s Influence on Dodger Stadium Promotions

Danny Goodman, a leader in the Dodgers organization for 25 years, is considered one of the best business minds in baseball history. Goodman was an innovative businessman for his time and brought in many of the promotion’s baseball teams continue to use. In 1958, before the Dodgers were in Dodger Stadium, Goodman’s efforts contributed more than $200,000 to the club’s profits with his souvenir ideas and innovation. Goodman is credited with bringing one of the most sought-after souvenir items to major-league baseball – the bobblehead doll.4

The Dodgers were one of the first teams to adopt bobbleheads for promotional giveaways. In 1974 Goodman created his brand of bobbleheads, called Bobbing Heads. These bobbleheads did not just feature the Dodgers logo. Fans could shop for Bobbing Heads from all 24 major-league teams at Dodger Stadium.

Additionally, Goodman is credited with bringing Hollywood to Dodger Stadium. His visionary initiatives led to a natural relationship between the Dodgers and movie and television celebrities. Goodman created “Hollywood Stars Night.”5

Celebrities and baseball players competed in the Hollywood Stars softball game. The first games were held when Goodman worked for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League at Gilmore Field, where he suggested celebrities join the game. When the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, O’Malley and Goodman wanted to have a baseball game for celebrities at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers held the first Hollywood Stars Game in 1958. A prelude to a Dodgers game, it ran annually through 2009.

While this was largely an event for publicity, it was fun for Dodgers players, fans, and celebrities, sometimes drawing a crowd of 48,000. Actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner exhibited warning-track power by nearly hitting a home run twice in these games. Celebrities and Dodgers shared the locker room and created memories for all. From 1958 to 2009 and in sporadic years since 2009, a wide range of celebrities have participated in this game.6 Due to the spacious foul territory at Dodger Stadium, some celebrities entered the field in automobiles, among them Dean Martin arriving in a limo for his at-bat.

One of the biggest celebrities involved in Hollywood Stars night was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The 7-foot-2-inch Los Angeles Lakers center was a dominating presence on and off the court. Poking fun at his height, two stars would carry an oversized bat for Abdul-Jabbar to swing.

Latino Promotions and “The Battle of Chavez Ravine”

The Dodgers have had a strong Latino fan base since the early 1980s. Originally, though, there was considerable opposition from Latinos to the Dodgers because construction of the ballpark uprooted many Latino families. In the 1950s, eminent domain was used to evict three largely Mexican American neighborhoods for a housing project that ultimately failed.7 With the abandoned land and the Dodgers’ need for a new home, Chavez Ravine seemed a perfect fit. Dodger Stadium was built despite the initial pushback from the metro area’s Latino population, which grew to 4 million.8

The Dodgers’ efforts to engage Latinos have been ongoing since the 1980s with programs like Hispanic Heritage Month. When asked in 2012 how important the Latino fan base is to the Dodgers, club President and CEO Stan Kasten said, “Our Latino fans and every single one of our fans are top of mind year-round. We do want to take this opportunity, however, to express our pride in the Dodgers’ history and future in Latin America and the countless Latino Dodgers past and present that have made an impact on the game and on this city.”9 This led to the creation of “Viva Los Dodgers!”

Since 1997 Viva Los Dodgers! is hosted on the last Sunday of each month during the season, culminating in “La Gran Fiesta” at the end of the season. Latino artists such as Louie Cruz Beltran, a master percussionist, in 2019, and Banda La Maravillosa, a Mexican regional-style band in 2018, have performed at the event.

The Dodgers drew on their Latino fans to add to the Viva Los Dodgers! promotion. To Mexican Americans, the team was the “Doyers” because the Spanish language has no “J” sound.10 In the September 2023 event, the club featured Viva Los Doyers™ on its website.

In 2023 the promotion also featured players of Latino heritage – Luis Avilán, Pedro Báez, Carlos Frías, Yimi García, Adrián González, Yasmani Grandal, Álex Guerrero, Kiké Hernández, Juan Nicasio, Joel Peralta, and Ronald Torreyes, as well as other Latino employees.

What began with initial pushback from the Latino residents of Los Angeles, has been transformed into diehard fandom in support of their home team.

 

Think Blue

In 1997 the club added a “Think Blue” sign outside Dodger Stadium designed to mimic the city’s famous Hollywood sign. The sign was initially put up for the promotion “Think Blue Week.”11 In view of overwhelming fan support, the Dodgers made it a staple. In December of 2011 the wind blew down some of the letters and the sign read “Ink Bl je.” The Dodgers had the sign taken down, but judging from numerous petitions and websites, fans wanted it returned.

2006 – Golden Fleece: Fans Flock to Dodger Stadium for Free Blankets

On May 9, 2006, Dodger Stadium hosted what was at the time the second-largest crowd in Dodger Stadium history – 55,992 fans on a Tuesday night for a baseball game. The reason was not a playoff game, not a World Series game, but for a free Dodger-blue fleece blanket commemorating the 25th anniversary of the team’s 1981 World Series title.12 It was estimated that an extra 20,000 tickets were sold thanks to the blankets, which were provided by Dodgers sponsor Toyota. These types of promotions are considered beneficial both for the team and the sponsor.

Re-Opening Day

In March 2020, the sports landscape came to a crashing halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The baseball season was curtailed, and fans were not allowed to attend games as a public health precaution. On June 15, 2021, Dodger Stadium hosted what was called “Re-Opening Day” with 52,078 in attendance.13 The first 25,000 fans received a Justin Turner bobblehead, and country singer Brad Paisley sang the National Anthem. The 2020 World Series champion Dodgers were honored for the first time by the 2021 team wearing special gold-trimmed jerseys and hats.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

June 16, 2023, at Dodger Stadium, was supposed to be the Pride Night celebration. Among the invitees were the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a nonprofit organization that raises funds and volunteers in the LGBTQ+ community. The group wears apparel similar to Catholic nuns’ robes, leading many to view them as anti-Catholic.

Some players spoke out against the Sisters being invited to Dodger Stadium, saying it went against the Dodgers’ code of conduct for their players, which prohibited support for anything that would disparage one’s religion. Pitcher Clayton Kershaw spoke out against the group and urged the team to reinstate Faith and Family Night, which before the pandemic had been a longstanding annual promotion.14 (It was last held in 2019.) Kershaw said he was not bothered by the Sisters’ support of the LGTBQ+ community, but rather their perceived mocking of Christian beliefs. Some politicians spoke out against the group, saying the invite was anti-Catholic. Former Vice President Mike Pence said on social media, “Having been raised in a Catholic family, the Dodgers decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a hateful group that blatantly mocks Catholicism, to their event next month is deeply offensive.”15 Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, in a letter to Commissioner Rob Manfred, voiced his opposition to the group. Because of the backlash, the Dodgers disinvited the Sisters from Pride Night. However, the backlash for disinviting the group proved to be severe as well.

Because the Sisters were disinvited, other groups, including the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the ACLU of Southern California, and LA Pride, withdrew from the event. The LGBT center issued an ultimatum to the Dodgers: cancel Pride Night or reinvite the Sisters. A few days later, the Dodgers reversed themselves. LA Pride, a longtime collaborator on the Pride Night event, said: “The Dodgers have taken a good first step toward their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community by renewing their invite to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at next month’s Pride Night. We fully support the Sisters receiving their much-deserved Community Hero Award and will stand in solidarity with them at Pride Night. They continue to inspire us with their grace.”16

On June 17, the Sisters were honored with the Dodgers’ Community Hero Award on Pride Night. The Catholic League urged Dodgers fans who were Catholic to not attend the event and not be in the ballpark when the Sisters received their award. Archbishop José Gomez hosted a Mass before the game “for healing due to the harm caused by the Dodgers decision to honor a group that intentionally denigrates and profanes the Christian faith.”17

If one asks fans who are Catholic, fewer people attended the game. If one asks fans who supported the Sisters, there was only love and support for the group inside the ballpark.18 There was a protest outside Dodger Stadium that led to the Dodgers closing the main entrance.

Lakers Night – 2023

Kobe Bryant is a beloved figure in the Los Angeles sports world. Bryant led the Lakers to five NBA championships and frequently attended Dodgers games. When Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020, the sports world was determined to continue his legacy. Bryant was honored at “Lakers Night” in September 2023 when fans who bought a special ticket package received a crossover jersey for the Dodgers, featuring both Lakers and Dodgers branding with Bryant’s jersey numbers 8 and 24.19

In addition to the jersey, Dodgers fans were treated to Bryant’s daughter Natalia throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, the team making a $100,000 donation to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, and to a special drone show that honored Bryant’s career and life. In addition, the Dodgers players stood along the foul line while wearing Bryant jerseys.

Over the years, Dodger Stadium has had a variety of promotions, some larger and more successful than others. As times change, and new ideas come forth, it will be interesting to see what forms future promotions may take.

JOSEPH “JOEY” ELLEDGE is a professor of sport management at Erskine College. As an avid baseball fan, Joey is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and a big supporter of minor league baseball. Joey became a baseball fan by attending games of the Capital City Bombers (former Single-A affiliate for the New York Mets) with his family, and holds partial season tickets to mi- nor-league games in Columbia, South Carolina, with his mother, sisters, and his wife. He works with the Lexington County Blowfish (Coastal Plain League) in sales. He is a new contributor to SABR projects and studies the business side of baseball in his free time. Joey resides in Lexington, South Carolina, with his wife, Katie, and three dogs, Cookie, Sammy (named after Sammy Sosa), and Boone.

 

Notes

1 Shelly Kale, “This Day in Los Angeles History: April 10, 1962 — First Game at Dodger Stadium,” California Historical Society, https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/blog/this-day-in-los-angeles-history-april-10-1962-first-game-at-dodger-stadium/.

2 Brent Shyer, “Walter O’Malley’s Legacy,” https://www.walteromalley.com/en/biography/short/Walter-OMalleys-Legacy.

3 Shyer

4 Andy McCue, “Danny Goodman,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/danny-goodman/

5 Mark Langill, “The (Movie) Hollywood Stars Game,” The National Pastime, SABR, 2011. https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-movie-hollywood-stars-game/.

6 City News Service, “Dodgers to Hold First Hollywood Stars Game Since 2009,” Los Angeles Daily News, June 6, 2015. https://www.dailynews.com/2015/06/06/dodgers-to-hold-first-hollywood-stars-game-since-2009/.

7 Eric Nusbaum, Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between (New York: Public Affairs, 2020).

8 United States Census Bureau, https://data.census.gov/profile/Los_Angeles_County,_California?g=050XX00US06037

9 CBS Los Angeles, “Dodgers Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month,” 2012. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/dodgers-celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month/.

10 Gustavo Arellano, “How LA’s “Los Doyers” Fans Turned a Racist Insult into a Point of Pride,” REMEZCLA, October 26, 2017. https://remezcla.com/features/sports/los-angeles-doyers-chavez-ravine/.

11 Ron Cervenka, “‘Sign-Stealing’ Nothing New for Dodger Fans,” ThinkBlue.com, January 21, 2020. https://thinkbluela.com/2020/01/sign-stealing-nothing-new-for-dodger-fans/.

12 David Nusbaum, “Golden Fleece: Fans Flock to Dodger Stadium for Free Blankets,” Los Angeles Business Journal, May 22, 2006

13 “Dodgers to Celebrate Reopening Day Tomorrow,” MLB.com, June 14, 2021. https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-dodgers-reopening-day-6-15-21.

14 Isabel Gonzalez, “Dodgers Pride Night Controversy Explained: Clayton Kershaw Speaks Out Against Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” CBS Sports, June 15, 2023. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/dodgers-pride-night-timeline-club-re-invites-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-to-lgbtq-celebration/.

15 Gonzalez.

16 Sonja Sharp & Jeong Park, “The Dodgers Booted the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Then Came a Big-League Backlash,” Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-19/sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-dodgers-pride-night.

17 City News Service, “LA Archbishop Expresses ‘Dismay and Pain’ as Dodgers Set to Honor Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” 2023. https://abc7.com/dodgers-pride-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-catholic/13381504/.

18 Jordan Mendoza, “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Cheered at Dodgers Pride Night: ‘I Did Not Hear a Single Boo,’” USA Today, June 16, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2023/06/16/sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-dodgers-pride-night-honor/70331982007/.

19 Noel Sanchez, “Multiple Dodgers Stars Rock Kobe Bryant Merch on Lakers Night,” SI.com, September 1, 2023. https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/multiple-dodgers-stars-rock-kobe-bryant-merch-on-lakers-night-ns2002.