Owners Approve Dodgers’ Sale Of Century Murdoch Adds To His Empire For Record $311 Million

In an unexpectedly one-sided vote, major league baseball owners on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Group for about $311 million, the most ever paid for a professional sports franchise.

The vote puts one of baseball’s most storied ballclubs in the hands of one of the world’s most unsentimental and pragmatic businessmen. The Australian-born Murdoch has gained a reputation for ruthless competitiveness in assembling a worldwide empire of television, newspaper, and publishing properties, which were valued in 1997 at nearly $27 billion. Among those assets are broadcast and cable TV rights to games of 22 of the 30 major league baseball teams.

The transfer also ends baseball’s oldest family dynasty. The O’Malley family had controlled the team since Water O’Malley bought a majority interest in the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. O’Malley, who moved the team to Los Angeles in 1958, died in 1979.

“This is a happy and proud day,” said his son, Peter O’Malley, who put the team up for sale in January, 1997. O’Malley added he was confident that Fox would maintain Dodgers tradition and “be a great contributor to the baseball industry.”

According to an arrangement announced last week, O’Malley will remain with the franchise for at least the next year as chairman of the board. Executive Vice President Bob Graziano, will become Dodgers president and chief executive, with day-to-day responsibility for running the team.

In a statement issued from London, where he was tending to other business, Murdoch said he was pleased to become a more active partner with organized baseball.

“Since Fox entered sports, we have been amongst the strongest believers and supporters of major league baseball,” he said. “As owners of the Dodgers, we will work hand in hand with the other owners to further assure the long-term growth and success of America’s pastime.”

Despite rumors that Murdoch’s aggressive business practices might stir up serious opposition to the deal by other owners, only two teams voted against the transaction, which required approval by 12 of the 16 N.L. clubs and eight of the 14 A.L. clubs.

The sole “no” vote cast in the National League was cast by Atlanta Braves’ owner Ted Turner, the vice chairman of Time Warner Corp., who has waged a long and bitter personal war with Murdoch. Turner, who was attending his first owners’ meeting in nine years, had long been expected to vote against the sale as a personal gesture, especially if it seemed clear it would pass anyway.

Business associates of both men, however, noted that Time Warner and Fox are entwined in so many joint ventures outside of baseball that there was some doubt Turner would have cast a decisive vote against the deal.

In the American League, only Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox, cast a negative vote. Reinsdorf also left immediately after the vote without commenting on his reasons.

Opposition to Murdoch’s acquisition of the Dodgers had come down to three issues: Whether Murdoch would comply with bylaws requiring that overseas rights to all games be negotiated through Major League Baseball, rather than individual clubs; whether he might bid too aggressively for top players, ratcheting the sport’s salary spiral up another few notches, and whether he would use his cable contracts with 22 teams to impact the local revenues of those teams.

The Dodgers won six World Series titles, 13 National League pennants and nine Western Division titles during the O’Malley years. But Peter O’Malley said the rising costs of ownership had grown too onerous for a family whose only business income came from baseball.

He also said his decision was prompted by the need for him and his sister, Terry Seidler, to undertake estate planning for their families, as well as his frustrations over baseball’s labor and leadership problems and the failure of L.A.’s municipal leaders to support his effort to attract a National Football League franchise.

O’Malley displayed emotion only when asked by a reporter if he saw any comparison and similarity between his decision to sell and his father’s decision to move the team out of Brooklyn.

“No,” he said, with a degree of sharpness. “My father tried to build a stadium at Flatbush and Atlantic (avenues) and exhausted every effort to do so but was blocked politically. I don’t see any similarities.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FRANCHISE PRICE TAGS $311 million - Los Angeles Dodgers, by Peter O’Malley to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Group, Thursday. $250 million - Texas Rangers, by a group headed by George W. Bush to Tom Hicks, owner of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, Jan. 7, 1998. $200 million - Seattle Seahawks, Paul Allen exercised his option to buy from Ken Behring, June 30, 1997. $195 million - New York Islanders, John Pickett to New York Sports Ventures, Feb. 25, 1998. $190 million - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Trustees of Culverhouse estate, to Palm Beach millionaire Malcolm Glazer, Jan. 16, 1995. $185 million - Philadelphia Eagles, Norman Braman to Jeffrey Lurie, April 7, 1994. $173 million - Baltimore Orioles, at bankruptcy auction by group led by Peter Angelos, Aug. 3, 1993. -Associated Press