Scholarship honors Sports Administration Program’s visionary, baseball pioneer

Walter O’Malley is pictured outside of his office at Dodger Stadium, a stadium this visionary behind Ohio University’s world-renowned Sports Administration Program designed, built and opened in April 1962. Photo courtesy of the O’Malley Family

In February 1970, Dean Taylor picked up a copy of The Los Angeles Times that changed his life forever, setting him on a path to Ohio University and a 40-year career in baseball that includes three world championship rings and five league championship rings in Major League Baseball.

Nearly 50 years later, Taylor, MED ’75, has established a scholarship that he hopes will help provide Bobcats some of the same opportunities he has had, while also paying tribute to the baseball pioneer and visionary behind one of OHIO’s most notable academic programs.

The Walter O’Malley Scholarship Fund is designated for full-time graduate students enrolled in the College of Business’ Master of Business Administration/Master of Sports Administration Dual Degree Program or the Master of Sports Administration Program, with preference given to students pursuing careers in the baseball industry.

“Whether it’s mentoring a student that’s currently in the program that’s interested in baseball or looking for advice, which I have done over the years, or giving back financially, I think it’s important to give students the opportunity that I had back in 1973,” Taylor said about creating the endowed scholarship. “It’s also a way to stay engaged with the program.”

Dean Taylor and his son, Colby, pose with the 2015 World Series trophy after the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets. A 1975 graduate of OHIO’s Sports Administration Program, Dean Taylor created the Walter O’Malley Scholarship Fund in honor of the program’s visionary. Photo courtesy of Dean Taylor

Taylor was a first-year college student living in Claremont, California, when he first discovered Ohio University’s Sports Administration Program. A pre-med major who dreamed of becoming a general manager of a Major League Baseball team, a column in the sports section of The Los Angeles Times caught Taylor’s eye.

The column touted a relatively new sports administration program at Ohio University, and the visionary behind the program, the late Walter O’Malley.

A sports executive, O’Malley owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and is credited with bringing Major League Baseball to the West Coast when he relocated the Dodgers to Los Angeles. A wise businessman, O’Malley also recognized an industry need for professionals trained in areas of sports administration. O’Malley shared his idea with a professor at Columbia University who later shared it with one of his doctoral students, James Mason, who brought the idea to Ohio University where, in 1966, he established the world’s first sports administration program.

“I read this story, and it was life-changing,” Taylor said. “I said this is the path I want to follow.”

Taylor immediately changed his major to economics and after earning his undergraduate degree enrolled in OHIO’s Master of Sports Administration Program, which continues to be ranked as the best sports business program in the world.

“It just grew and grew and grew,” Peter O’Malley, Walter O’Malley’s son and the former owner and president of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said of program, comparing its growth to that of a redwood tree. “That’s a remarkable accomplishment for everyone—the people at Ohio University, Dr. Mason, my dad and everyone else. It’s quite a story.”

The program’s innovative curriculum and exceptional reputation attracted students from across the country, like Taylor, who wanted to learn the skills necessary to work in sports administration.

While at OHIO, Taylor found quick success, working as a graduate assistant in the sports information office at the Convocation Center and landing a two-year internship in Minor League Baseball.

“It helped me get my foot in the door and started what turned out to be a fortunate 40-year career in baseball,” Taylor said.

After graduating from OHIO, Taylor spent three additional years as a general manager in the minor leagues before beginning his career with the Major Leagues and living out O’Malley’s vision as an educated and passionate sports administrator. Among his positions were assistant general manager for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds, and general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

“None of this would have been possible without Ohio U,” Taylor said, attributing his success not only to OHIO’s Sports Administration Program but also to Walter O’Malley. “There was no Walter O’Malley scholarship, so we felt it was appropriate … based on the huge role he played in getting the program started and his vision.”

Peter O’Malley said he is grateful that an OHIO alumnus is recognizing his father’s contributions.

“That’s extraordinary of him,” Peter O’Malley said.