L.A. Coliseum
Los Angeles, CA

Home of the Los Angeles Dodgers for four years, the L.A. Coliseum became the most inadequate place for a baseball team to play at. When Walter O’Malley decided to move the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, three playing sites were waiting for him. The sites included L.A. Wrigley Field, the Rose Bowl, or the L.A.

Coliseum. Until a new stadium could be constructed, O’Malley choose the L.A. Coliseum. Originally constructed for the 1932 Olympics, the stadium served mainly as a football stadium since then, and continues too today. However, in order for the stadium to be suitable for baseball, three banks of lights were added, dugouts were built, a press box was constructed, and two screens were put into place. One screen was placed behind home plate, and the other was located from the left field foul pole to centerfield, because it was only 251 feet from the foul pole to home plate.

Opening day for the Dodgers at the coliseum was on April 18, 1958. A massive one tier grandstand circled the entire playing field. The main entrance was at the opposite end of home plate. With a capacity over 90,000, the coliseum became the largest stadium in baseball. The Dodgers attracted more than 1.8 million fans in 1958. In 1959, a football game between USC and Ohio state was played at the coliseum, and an hour after completion, the first World Series game in California was played. While the Dodgers played at the coliseum, a new ballpark was being built at Chavez Ravine. The last Dodgers game at the coliseum was on September 21, 1961. The Dodgers moved into Dodger Stadium the next year. The L.A. Coliseum still stands today, and is used by football and soccer teams.