 Robinson would eventually go on to become the first African-American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.Real estate investor Walter O'Malley acquired majority ownership of the Dodgers in 1950, when he bought the 25 percent share of co-owner Branch Rickey and became allied with the widow of the another equal partner, Mrs. John L. Smith.Before long, he was working to buy new land in Brooklyn to build a more accessible and profitable ballpark than the aging Ebbets Field.