Dodger Stadium history: City Section title games debut in 1969
Every baseball season since 1969, Dodger Stadium has hosted the City Section championship game. Only COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 disrupted a streak that has allowed hundreds of Los Angeles Unified School District students the opportunity to experience an unforgettable moment — to play on the same field as their professional baseball heroes.
In celebration of the All-Star Game being played on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium in its 60th year, let’s celebrate the history of high school baseball being played there.
Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley made the commitment that Dodger Stadium should open its doors every season to the best teenage baseball players in Southern California from LAUSD varsity teams.
He said in 2018 that this father, Walter, welcomed the game to try to heal wounds in the city. Residents were still reeling after the tragedies of 1968, including the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy in downtown L.A. and Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tenn., and the city still was dealing with the ramifications of the 1965 Watts riots. So the Dodgers welcomed a high school championship game to their world-class stadium.
“That was one of the reasons and it meant a lot to my dad, and it would be the right thing,” O’Malley said. “Supporting and encouraging youth to participate in baseball. It was common sense. We had the facility and why not do it.”
The first City final featured Birmingham and Monroe, two San Fernando Valley schools. Birmingham won 1-0. Robert LoPresti was the first high school player to throw a pitch at Dodger Stadium. In 2018, on the 50th anniversary, he visited the ballpark.
The MLB All-Star Game returned to Dodger Stadium for the first time since 1980 on Tuesday. Here’s our coverage:
“I went through my scrapbook and newspaper clippings. It was kind of nostalgic,” he said.
Playing at a major league stadium has always been challenging for high school athletes. Catchers know they have to protect balls from going to the backstop and first baseman have to prevent balls thrown in the dirt from going into the dugout. Pop flies and fly outs can produce interesting moments depending on the time of day or night. Games were originally held at night but most have been day games in recent years.
Monroe came back to win in 1971 1-0 over Fremont to finish a 19-0 season. No other school until Chatsworth went 35-0 in 2004 had a perfect season.
Dodger Stadium has been the site for memorable teenage moments for star athletes that became household names. John Elway of Granada Hills struck out Darryl Strawberry of Crenshaw in 1978. Steve Kerr was a pitcher for Palisades when Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland threw the only no-hitter in City championship history in 1982. Randy Wolf of El Camino Real and Garret Anderson of Granada Hills Kennedy won City titles.
There have been memorable home runs. Matt Dominguez of Chatsworth hit home runs in different years at Dodger Stadium. Ryan Braun hit a home run for Granada Hills in an City Invitational final. The most dramatic came in 1985 when Kevin Farlow of Kennedy hit a walk-off home run for a 10-9 win over Banning.
“You’re standing on the field, looking up at the loge level, looking up at the club level, looking up at the reserve level, and it’s like a guest standing in the Grand Canyon,” Farlow said in 1998.
Chatsworth has won 10 City title games at Dodger Stadium, the most of any school, including this year.
The Southern Section has held several of its championship games at Dodger Stadium. Rio Ruiz hit a home run for Bishop Amat in the 2011 Division 4 championship game. In 2013, future major leaguer Jack Flaherty of Harvard-Westlake threw a 1-0 shutout over Huntington Beach Marina in the Division 1 final.
On the 30th anniversary in 1998, Peter O’Malley said, “We’ve got to keep it going another 30 years.”
Through different owners, it has kept going, producing memories of a lifetime for high school baseball players in the City Section and elsewhere.
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