Conundrum for Former Brooklyn Dodgers Fans

MrKen highly recommends the HBO documentary--"The Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush".

A conundrum posed by a former Dodger player was this--

'A Dodger fan is locked in a room with Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, & Walter O'Malley (Dodger owner who moved the team to its new digs in Los Angeles in 1958). The fan has a revolver containing only two bullets; who does he shoot?'

Answer: 'He shoots Walter O'Malley twice!'

Some fans of "dose bums" have never forgiven O'malley--even though the real villain was Robert Moses; despite repeated entreaties, he refused to approve a parcel of land available in Brooklyn which was ideal (it was at the terminus of a LIRR line). Instead, Moses wanted O'Malley to build the stadium in Queens--the later site of Shea Stadium. So O'Malley accepted a much superior offer from LA.

MrKen hails from Philly, so was psychologically unaffected by the dispute. I hated the Dodgers, Giants (and Yankees) no matter what city they called home. Incidentally, Phillies' centerfielder Richie Ashburn's famous throw-which nailed a Dodger pinchrunner at home plate in the last game of the 1950 season- is shown on the HBO special as yet another example of Dodger futility. Had the run scored, the Dodgers would have forced a playoff with the rapidly fading "Whiz Kids". But the Phils went on to win the game in the 10th inning, securing the NL pennant. And then lost the World Series to the Yankees in 4 straight...

Brooklyn's high-flying Dodgers are the focus of this documentary that examines the heyday and impact of one of baseball's most recognizable teams from 1947 to 1957. From the watershed moment in which Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the major leagues, the team set a new standard for integration and became a symbol for a cohesive American culture. But just ten years later, the Dodgers left Ebbets Field behind and relocated to the West Coast, shocking a borough and forever changing the professional sports landscape. This film explores that history-making period--including the team's epic battles against their archrival Yankees--and features interviews with Rachel Robinson, Duke Snider, Carl Erskine, Clem Labine, Johnny Podres, Peter O'Malley, Larry King, Pat Cooper, Louis Gossett Jr. and many others. Produced in association with Major League Baseball Productions. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Productions, Inc. Widescreen. (TVPG) (AL)

Description Curtesy of HBO's Sports Website:
http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=631912