From the Archives: Dodgers’ spring training in Florida

The Dodgers trained in Vero Beach, Fla., from 1949 to 2008, when they moved spring training to Arizona. The facility became known as “Dodgertown.”

The Vero Beach facility started in World War II as U.S. Navy housing for Marines and sailors who trained at the adjacent Naval Air Station. In 1948, the Dodgers leased the location. A stadium was built in 1953.

In 2012, members of the Peter O’Malley family and two ex-Dodger pitchers, Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo, reinvested in the site to create Historic Dodgertown, which became a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2014. The site now includes multi-sport training facilities and a hotel.

This photo gallery looks back at Dodger spring training — and all those stretching exercises.

This post was originally published on March 2, 2012.

In the above photo, from left, are Don Drysdale, Roger Craig, Larry Sherry, John Klippstein, Carl Erskine, Clem Labine, Sandy Koufax, Bob Giallombardo, Danny McDevitt, Fred Kipp, Ralph Mauriello, Don Bessent, Johnny Podres, Stan Williams and Ed Roebuck.