Last week, we looked into the earliest days of the College World Series in Omaha – the first years from 1950-1963 during which the games where held at Omaha’s Municipal Stadium. These were formative years during which Omaha secured a national reputation as the host for the CWS.
But for most of the CWS’s 70-year history, the event as a whole, as well as the experience of attending a series game, has been associated with the iconic Rosenblatt Stadium. The Series was held at Muny Stadium until 1964, when it was renamed to pay homage to the man who had spearheaded its construction – and who was one of Omaha’s own top ball players himself.
Johnny Rosenblatt was born in Omaha on Christmas Day, 1907. He was a star baseball player at Tech High and went on to play under scholarship for the University of Iowa. He wasn’t able to finish his degree, but continued to play as a semi-professional outfielder under the name Johnny Ross. In the 1930’s, he worked as a salesman for Omaha’s Roberts Dairy while also playing on their company team.
Rosenblatt was certainly instrumental in bringing the construction Municipal Stadium to completion. He began his political career on a platform of finishing the project well, which evolved from serving as property commissioner, then street commissioner starting in 1948 to serving as mayor from 1954-1961. He was also a great advocate for Omaha baseball on a national level. In the 1950’s and 60’s, he secured contracts for Muny Stadium to house the St. Louis Cardinal’s AAA Omaha Cardinals team and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm team, the Omaha Dodgers.
In 1964, the city council voted unanimously to change the name of Municipal Stadium to Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. The dedication took place on June 28th of the same year, toward the end of the CWS festivities. Rosenblatt also threw the ceremonial first pitch of the series that year.
Rosenblatt at the stadium dedication dinner. Photo credit: Omaha World Herald
After looking at Omaha World Herald clippings from both the 1950 and 1964 coverage of the tournament, it’s interesting to observe the differences – in 1950, everything was new and no one had any precedent or idea what the CWS would become. There were even talks in the early 1950’s of moving the Series to another city. But as the tradition was built, each year’s sales and attendance numbers hit the previous year’s records out of the park. Last week it was mentioned that there were about 2,200 people at the opening game in 1950 – by 1963 the single-session record had climbed to 10,458 and the year’s total series attendance had topped out at 52,757.[1] Advance ticket sales in 1964 saw a 15% increase from the year before. Prices rose a bit too, but only to $1.50 for box seats. Children’s general admission stayed at a fairly accessible 50 cents.[2]
The 1964 series was one for the books in more ways than one – the Omaha World Herald reported that it was the “gol-dampest College World Series ever held.”[3] The whole segment, which appeared about a week after the Series opened, is a journalistic gem:
Omaha World Herald, June 18, 1964
In fact, there were so many rainouts that year that the teams spent much of the first week of the Series playing cards in their hotels, going to the movies, and having daily practice sessions in the Boys Town Field House.[4]
Headline: “Series to Resume When Players Grow Web Feet” Photo Credit: OWH S.J. Melingagio
Next week, we’ll focus more on what Rosenblatt Stadium meant to Omaha and CWS-goers from around the country, and the mutual impact produced by the close and long association between Omaha and the CWS.
[1] Williams, Robert. “Despite Rain Problems, CWS Officials Still Hope to Top Crowd Mark of 52,757.” Omaha World Herald, June 12, 1964.
[2] “CWS Ticket Sales Show Increase.” Ibid, June 8, 1964.
[3] Ibid, June 18, 1964.
[4] Frisbie, Al. “Series to Resume When Players Grow Web Feet.” Ibid, June 11, 1964.