PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Ralph Carson, a key figure in bringing the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles and co-founder of what grew to be the largest independent West Coast advertising agency, has died at 69.
Carson died Monday of respiratory disease at his Indian Wells home, but his death was not disclosed until today.
Carson and Jack Roberts founded Carson-Roberts Inc. Advertising Agency in 1946 and by the time the agency was sold in 1970 to Ogilvy & Mather it was boasting billings of more than $30 million annually and employing more than 200 people.
His agency was among the first to grow by taking locally based companies and keeping their business after they had achieved national prominence. Clients included Mattel toys, Baskin-Robbins and Max Factor.
As well-known as he was in financial circles for his creative approach to marketing, Carson made a name for himself by mounting a one-man promotion campaign to bring the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.
The push began when Walter O'Malley announced he was considering transferring his ball club. Carson personally took out advertisements in cities where the Dodgers had been rained out, telling O'Malley that on the day of the rainout Los Angeles boasted rain and warm temperatures.
In a ceremony held at Dodger Stadium when famed southpaw pitcher Sandy Koufax retired in 1966, Carson's boosterim was recounted and he was given one of the athlete's jerseys.
