Dodgers Blue Heaven: eBay: Bring the Dodgers to LA- a KFI Public Service Announcement

Thursday, August 16, 2012

eBay: Bring the Dodgers to LA- a KFI Public Service Announcement

This is one of the more unusual items I've seen on eBay. Featured here is a KFI News script that encourages Angelenos to contact their city council members so as to push them to bring the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles.

According to the seller, it was drafted by a Mr. Earle C. Anthony, a noted Packard motor cars dealer who helped create the car culture in the Southland. The seller states that Anthony was a west coast distributor of Packard Motor Cars, invented the first gasoline service station, built the first car in LA, brought the first neon sign to America, and started FKI radio. Oh... I forgot to add that he was also one of the biggest proponents of bringing the Dodgers out west.

As such, he had the script that is featured here written and read over the air to KFI listeners. I'll let the sellers auction description tell you more about it:

After announcing that this was a KFI public service to the people of Southern California, the script went on to enumerate the financial and prestige values of having a big league baseball team in Los Angeles (there was none at the time). The script urges listeners to get their pens and papers ready because the radio station was going to announce the names and private phone numbers (yes–that's right!) of four Los Angeles city councilmen (Holland, McGee, Baker, and Royball). The announcement of numbers was repeated twice and then listeners were told if they missed it to call the KFI switchboard where they could also get these numbers. Yes, this actually happened... and the L.A. City Council members' private phones rang off the hook for days. It was one of the key factors that actually brought the Dodgers baseball team from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles.

You may not know this, but a member of the O'Malley family that owned the Brooklyn Dodgers also became a member of the board of directors of Earle C. Anthony, Inc. after the move to Los Angeles! (It was Walter O'Malley)

The script is thought to be from 1957. Go here to see the auction. It had a really high opening bid, so it did not sell. Unfortunately, the seller doesn't provide the entire script for our edification.