For the Love of Baseball: The Battle For Chavez Ravine

Written By Max Gibson

In a city marred by injustice throughout its history, the Battle of Chavez Ravine serves as a dark reminder of the inequality that has permeated Los Angeles. Lasting over a decade, the dispute pitted a small Mexican-American community against Los Angeles city officials, judges and government in a struggle to control the land known as Chavez Ravine. As one of the more unfortunate consequences of discrimination in Los Angeles, the Battle for Chavez Ravine is a story of money and power that ultimately resulted in the birth of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Made up of three smaller neighborhoods known as Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop, the Chavez Ravine was situated a couple miles northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. Named after Julian Chavez, one of the first councilmen of Los Angeles during the 1800’s, the area housed a community of nearly 3,800 who inhabited the land. Virtually neglected by the state government, the insufficient public services forced the occupants of the ravine to become self reliant, growing their own food while building their own stores and schools. The result of this neglect created the foundation for the Chavez community. As one resident recalls, the ravine offered a unique environment that facilitated a familial community. “There were dances in the churchyard. Pageants held in the streets. Weddings in which the whole community joyously participated.” Yet even these encouraging characteristics did not quell the undesirable perception of the Ravine to the surrounding city of Los Angeles.

Facilitating the construction of 10,000 housing units throughout Los Angeles, the Federal Housing Act of 1949 through the Urban Redevelopment Agency subsidized 75% of the cost to clear the local slums. Although the initiative directly threatened the Chavez Ravine community, the agency decided to build 3,500 houses within the area. The Los Angeles City Housing Authority sent eviction notices to the inhabitants of the ravine, addressing civilians as “The Families of Palo Verde and Chavez Ravine.” The vaguely worded notices would be the only paperwork the civilians of Chavez would ever receive. Consequently, over 160 acres of the ravine was taken over and labeled “eminent domain” which permitted the government to purchase property from private individuals in order to construct projects for public good. As a result, the Los Angeles City Housing Authority bought up the land and leveled many of the existing buildings.

Initially told that they would have first pick of the new housing developments, in actuality the community was given close to little compensation for their departure. While some of those that left early were provided with some money, many that chose to leave later received nothing.  Additionally, some community members uprooted their homes, as many fiercely opposed the new development content with their current living situation.

Standing in opposition to the development, a group calling themselves the Citizens Against Sociable Housing (CASH) worked to disrupt the new housing initiative. Consisting of Los Angeles’s business elite, the committee was eager to utilize the land for commercial gain, shunning the housing project in exchange for potential profits.

Aiding in the election of Congressman Norris Paulson for mayor in 1953, CASH helped build Paulson’s platform which was founded upon the opposition to the housing development. Championing an alternative agreement instead of the 10,000 home construction, Paulson and his committee were eager to find an alternative way to utilize the ravine.

Committed to his initial campaign promise to stop the Chavez Ravine Housing Project, mayor Paulson spearheaded negotiations to purchase the Chavez Ravine back from the federal government. Acquiring the land at an extremely discounted price, the city of Los Angeles purchased the 170 acre sprawl for $1.25 million with the condition that the land be used for “appropriate public purpose.” The purchase was a clear 75% discount off its initial price. Nearly deserted by its original inhabitants, the vacant land of the ravine was still considered eminent domain, and as such was to be used for “public good.”

After several failed attempts to utilize the land on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, the Chazez Ravine was considered a “white elephant” in the eyes of local officials. With little to no potential for profit from the land, the local fire department was permitted to set fire to houses for training, while other homes were stripped, their parts sold at auctions.

Proposing various initiatives to no avail, Mayor Paulson was left with few options to utilize the land. Unable to use it for an appropriate public purpose, it would have been easy to give the land back to the original inhabitants. However, considered squatters in their own community, the desires of the Chavez inhabitants were again ignored by city officials.

Although baseball had been present in Los Angeles since the late 1800’s, L.A. still lacked a Major League franchise by the beginning of the 1950′s. As baseball grew in popularity, Los Angeles was left to toil with the likes of the Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars.  Under the Pacific Coast League, the Angels and Stars were part of a triple A category recognized by the fictitious League of Professional Baseball. Eager to establish themselves as a “great city” with a marquee baseball franchise, local businessmen and politicians grew keen on attracting a Major League Baseball team to Los Angeles. Petitioning the national baseball commissioner to raise their status to majors based off increasing attendance and popularity, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sent County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn to the World Series in 1956. Although initially sent to convince the Washington Senators to move to Los Angeles, a conversation with Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley yielded more promising possibilities. Fresh off a World Series victory a year prior, O’Malley was eager to upgrade the Dodger stadium, although the city of New York was in no rush to build a new facility. In turn, O’Malley looked west, eager to bring major league baseball to the other coast.

Stopping in Los Angeles on his way to Japan, O’Malley met secretly with the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. Discussing the possibility of moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles, O’Malley again confirmed his interest in making the move. Allegedly offering him 500 acres of the Chavez Ravine region, the initial offer was in fact 300 acres more than they actually owned.

When O’Malley traded minor league franchises with Los Angeles Angels owner Phillip Wrigley, he not only secured the Los Angeles team, but also Wrigley Field located in South Central Los Angeles. The deal drew O’Malley one step closer to bringing the Dodgers to Los Angeles.

Playing off the needs of both coasts, O’Malley spent much of 1957 considering the idea of staying on the east coast or heading west. Facing mounting pressure from city businesses and politicians to bring the Dodgers to Los Angeles, Mayor Paulson gathered city officials together to begin planning a way to bring the Dodgers to L.A. Considering the legal and financial solutions of the move, Mayor Paulson found that his biggest obstacle lay in the rhetoric of the legalities, as the construction of a stadium did not serve as an “appropriate public purpose” to the citizens of Los Angeles.

After rejecting O’Malley’s proposition to build a new stadium in New York, the Dodger’s owner’s attention turned to Los Angeles. Receiving approval from the National Baseball League to pursue a move to the west coast, Walter O’Malley was given until September 30^th, 1957 to make his decision. Amongst mounting pressure from the Los Angeles Times urging city officials to bring baseball to Los Angeles at any cost, The Los Angeles City Council sat down to propose a deal to attract the Dodgers. Crafting what would later be considered a “sweetheart deal” with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the city of Los Angeles offered to trade 300 acres of the Chavez Ravine land, while taking on over $4 million towards the construction and grading of the ravine. In return the Dodgers would trade the 9-acre Wrigley Field property owned by O’Malley, while paying $350,000 in annual property tax. Additionally, the deal called for the Dodgers to maintain a 40-acre public park for 20 years that would become the property of the Dodgers after the duration was over: the small stipulation regarding the 40-acre park serving as a sly political maneuver aimed to make the deal appear as though the agreement served an “appropriate public purpose.”

Needing a two-thirds vote to confirm the deal by midnight of September 30^th, a 14 member city council met to decide the fate of Chavez Ravine. Debating throughout the day and into the night, a deal had not been confirmed as the council grew closer to midnight. Eager to conclude the dispute and bring the Dodgers to Los Angeles, Mayor Paulson lied in front of press and media, telegramming the National Baseball League that the council had reached an agreement when in fact they hadn’t. The lie spurred an unexpected series of events. Although facing immense backlash from city council, the National Baseball League extended their deadline two more weeks, allowing O’Malley more time to declare his decision. Taking another week to reach a verdict, the Los Angeles City Council voted in favor of the Chavez Ravine deal in a ten to four vote, officially allowing for the move of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles.

However, the move was disrupted in December of 1957 when a public referendum was filed to challenge the Chavez Ravine deal. With the power to state if the Chavez deal was in fact legal, the future of major league baseball  in Los Angeles lay in the hands of the public. The referendum effectively halted any construction of the new stadium, leaving the public to decide if the deal was in fact towards an “appropriate public purpose.” While a “yes” vote would confirm that the deal was in fact legal, a “no” vote would deem the deal illegal. Known as Proposition B, the referendum was to be placed on the voting ballot in 1958.

The following months would prove volatile for the city of Los Angeles as various city officials and groups openly debated the dispute. With the help of the Los Angeles Times, those that opposed the deal were quickly labeled as opponents of baseball. Needing a way to sway voters to approve the deal, Mayor Paulson along with National Baseball League Commissioner Warren Giles created a crafty tactic aimed to blur the meaning of the deal to voters. Supporters of the deal began to promote the dispute differently, claiming that a “yes” vote was in favor of baseball in general, while a no vote was for those who opposed the sport. By broadening the focus of the vote, city officials were able to obscure the meaning of each vote, manipulating the voting public into a false understanding of the dispute. Again backed by the Los Angeles Times, which compelled voters to “vote yes on baseball to make the city great,” support of the deal reached its pinnacle when a 5-hour telethon featuring Hollywood movie stars and public figures aired on television. Presenting various mainstream celebrities such as Ronald Reagan, Groucho Marx and George Burns, the personalities were televised supporting the deal.

Passing by a 2% margin on June 3^rd, 1958 the Chavez Ravine was for a moment placed in the hands of Walter O’Malley, although there were still more disputes to arise. Filing a lawsuit on behalf of the Los Angeles taxpayers, attorneys Julius Rueben and Louis Kirschbaum’s allegations claimed that the transfer of private funds could not be used to acquire a public domain. And as such could not be transferred to a private corporation to operate a private business. Ruling that the Chavez Ravine contract was invalid, The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors began to reallocate funding for the stadium to other initiatives throughout the city.

Although the deal for Chavez Ravine seemed as if it would ultimately prove a loss, L.A. City Attorney Roger Arnebergh suggested that the city file a “Writ of Prohibition” which would allow the California State Supreme Court to take over and continue the existing case. Although a long shot, the suggestion proved invaluable as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the deal, stating that although parts of the Chavez deal could be disputed, as a whole the L.A. city council acted in the interest of the people. Thus the original deal for the ownership of Chavez Ravine was deemed valid.

After close to a decade of inter-city turmoil and disputes, Walter O’Malley and the Dodgers were granted permission to begin the construction of Dodger stadium. While nearly all of the inhabitants of the ravine had left by 1959, one family in particular stood up to the impending overhaul. Becoming the poster family of the land dispute, the Arechiga Family refused to vacate their property against mounting pressure from the city to leave.

The morning of May 8, 1959 would mark the moment that would epitomize the injustice of the Battle for Chavez Ravine. With the aim to demolish the remaining community and infrastructure, a mob of police, media, and bulldozers physically removed the Arechiga family from their home. Bulldozing the remaining houses, the police carried Aurora Arechiga out of her house, the act confirming her vow that she would have to be carried out to leave her family home. Five months later construction began on Dodger Stadium, marking the death of Chavez Ravine and the birth of the Los Angeles Dodgers.