A trove of financial documents for the Dodgers from 1924-1965 which belonged to minority owner James A. Mulvey are on the auction block.
Consigned to Nate D. Sanders Auctions directly by the Mulvey family, the never before seen data includes reports prepared by the Dodgers’ accounting firm, with detailed income statements and balance sheets, usually on a quarterly or annual basis, as well as other information such as a 1932 report outlining the ”depreciation” of each baseball player, including Lefty O’Doul and Hack Wilson.
The early reports cover two corporations: the Brooklyn National League Baseball Club Inc., which owned the Dodgers, and the Ebbets McKeever Exhibition Company Inc., which owned Ebbets Field; beginning in 1960, reports are for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc.
The ledgers show how the popularity of the team skyrocketed in Los Angeles financially and through increased attendance.
The reports are more or less consistent from 1924 until 1949 after which there’s a gap until 1958 when a special report entitled ”Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc. Selected Data on Operations January-June 1958” was prepared, which contains a host of information regarding the Dodgers move to Los Angeles. Most of it is comparison data between Brooklyn and Los Angeles, such as a ”Comparison of Attendance and Game Income”, a ”Comparison of Television and Radio Income”, as well as data on advertising income, concessions and novelties sales, an ”Analysis of Ticket Sales and Home Game Income”, and ”Bonus Payments 1958 to 1962, Inclusive” related to bonus payments for up and coming players such as Frank Howard and Ron Fairly. Subsequent statements from the 1960s provide details on the construction of Dodgers Stadium, where the Dodgers would begin playing in 1962.
Walter O’Malley obtained majority control of the Dodgers in 1950. Mulvey died in 1973 and in 1975, O’Malley obtained Mulvey’s minority shares.
Bidding for the documents begins at $20,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, no bids had been placed.
The financial ledgers can be viewed here.
Related Stories:
The Original Dodger Bulldog – A Look at 5 Classic Don Drysdale Cards
Dodgers World Series Championship Memorabilia, Gift Guide
Dodger Fan’s Collection Takes Over His House
Vin Scully Collection Up For Bid In All-Star Auction
Fan Trades Turner Home Run Ball for Memorabilia to be Named Later
Baseball History on Stage as Sports Museum of LA Re-Opens
Walter Alston Collection Coming to Auction
Don Drysdale Career Collection Coming to Auction
