"In 1954, Dodger executives came to me and said pick one of these (minor league) ballclubs and go see if you can fly one for a season. See if the airplane is dependable enough, if we can overcome the weather problems and all the obstacles to see if we can fly a ballclub all year. So, we picked out the St. Paul (MN.) ballclub in the American Association. I flew them all that summer."
"They also owned a 20-seat DC-3 given to them by Bud Holman, who was a director for the team in Brooklyn and L.A. The Dodgers owned the DC-3 from 1949-1957 but it was primarily used for transporting team executives from Vero Beach, Fla. - their Spring Training complex at the time - to New York until they decided to experiment to see if flying was a viable form of transportation for an MLB club."
On Jan. 4, 1957 the Brooklyn Dodgers purchased a Convair 440 two-engine airplane for more than $700,000, seating 44 passengers, becoming the first Major League team to own its own plane for player travel. Prior travel relied primarily on trains, supplemented by a 20-seat DC-3 donated by director Bud Holman, which served mainly for executive transport between Vero Beach and New York from 1949-1957. Team owner Walter O'Malley tasked pilot Harry Holman to test regular-season air travel by flying a minor-league club in 1954; the successful experiment prompted the Convair purchase and Holman became the team's first pilot. Modern teams now typically charter aircraft.
Read at Dodger Blue
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