LOS ANGELES (AP) — Annette O’Malley, who helped her husband Peter O’Malley promote baseball globally during his family’s ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has died. She was 81.
She died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles, the Dodgers announced on Thursday after being informed by Peter O’Malley’s assistant.
Peter O’Malley was president of the Dodgers from 1970 to 1998 and took over ownership of the team upon the death of his father, Walter, in 1979.
Annette regularly attended spring training with her family at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida, where she spent time with the players, their wives and children.
She made many trips abroad with her husband to support the sport, including visiting Japan over 25 times. Among their destinations were Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and Venezuela.
In 1984, South Korea Baseball Commissioner General Jyong Chul-Suh invited Annette to throw the ceremonial first pitch for Game 7 of the Korea Championship Series in Seoul between the professional Lotte Giants and Samsung Lions.
Born Annette Zacho on Feb. 1, 1942, in Copenhagen, Denmark, she married O’Malley in her hometown in 1971. The couple honeymooned in Ireland and returned to Los Angeles to set up their household.
Annette studied graphics and design at the Academie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and the Croydon College of Art in London.
She was a supervisor and designer at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen and later worked designing cards and wrapping paper for Caspari, known for its printed paper products.
Besides her husband of 52 years, she is survived by children Katherine, Kevin and Brian, eight grandchildren and sister Merete Lunn.
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