'Dodgers Rule': Graffiti artist Chaka and others draw inspiration — and murals — from World Series champs

Legendary graffiti creator Daniel “Chaka” Ramos erstwhile claimed helium had tagged much than 40,000 locations astir Los Angeles.

He tin present adhd 7 more. And dissimilar decades agone — erstwhile Ramos had to sneak astir successful acheronian to spray-paint his nickname successful large, artifact letters each implicit the metropolis and surrounding areas — this clip it was afloat permissible.

Earlier this month, Nike recruited Ramos to adhd his signature benignant to 7 murals celebrating the Dodgers’ back-to-back World Series titles, which the squad clinched Nov. 1 with a melodramatic Game 7 triumph against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ramos, an L.A. autochthonal and Dodgers fan, was much than blessed to participate, adding his sanction and slogans crafted by Nike to each piece. He told The Times successful an email that it was his “first large task with a firm elephantine similar Nike.”

A mural of Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is simply a impermanent summation to the downtown Los Angeles skyline.

(Natasha Campos / Nike)

“They’re 1 of the astir prolific originative forces successful the world, and collaborating with them was a milestone for me,” the 53-year-old creator said. “The unreserved of graffiti can’t truly beryllium compared to commissioned oregon assemblage work, but this acquisition came close.”

The Nike murals, which are scheduled to stay up done Nov. 30, are among the pieces included successful a caller and rapidly expanding online representation detailing the locations of Dodgers murals successful and astir L.A. The representation was created by and is curated by Mike Asner, the mastermind down a akin website that documents the locations of hundreds of Kobe and Gianna Bryant murals astir the world.

Asner already has a full-time occupation arsenic a selling manager successful sports and entertainment, arsenic good arsenic maintaining the Bryant mural site. Still, the greeting aft the Dodgers clinched their 2nd consecutive championship, Asner knew it was clip to get to commencement tracking much murals.

“I deliberation the reception from the fans and the artists I got to cognize from the Kobe mural task was precise positive,” Asner, who besides has an Instagram leafage highlighting Dodgers murals, said. “And the main happening I realized was it was helping radical and providing a work to them and making things easier. ... After the Dodgers won back-to-back championships, we started to spot murals going up immediately, truthful I felt it would beryllium the close happening to bash again.”

The representation presently includes 54 murals, located arsenic acold northbound arsenic Van Nuys and each the mode down to Lake Elsinore. One of the standouts for Asner is simply a sprawling coating by creator Royyal Dog successful the Florence-Graham vicinity successful South Los Angeles (2619 Firestone Blvd.). It features portraits of galore all-time Dodgers greats, including Tommy Lasorda, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.

A sprawling mural by Royyal Dog successful South Los Angeles features images of Dodgers greats past and present, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto (second from right) and Freddie Freeman (far right).

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Another of his favorites is 1 by creator Gustavo Zermeño Jr. connected the Eat Fantastic gathering successful Redondo Beach (701 N. Pacific Coast Highway). A tribute to the 2024 World Series championship, the mural features Betts, Freeman and Ohtani but is highlighted by a larger-than-life representation of Lakers fable Bryant wearing a hoops jersey with Dodgers colors and lettering.

The Nike-Chaka collaborations correspond immoderate of the newer artwork documented connected Asner’s map. A Nike spokesperson said the thought was to springiness Ramos approved spaces successful section neighborhoods to explicit the pridefulness that Dodgers fans are feeling aft back-to-back championships.

Two of the murals were painted straight connected the walls by L.A.-based artists, with Ramos adding the slogans and his tag afterward. Artist Swank One painted the 1 astatine 2844 1st St. successful Boyle Heights. It features alleviation pitcher Roki Sasaki and Smith embracing aft the Dodgers clinched the National League pennant, with the slogan “On the Double.”

Graffiti creator Daniel ‘Chaka’ Ramos was commissioned by Nike to use his tag to respective impermanent murals astir Los Angeles celebrating the Dodgers’ back-to-back World Series championships.

(Natasha Campos / Nike)

Artists Enkone and Keorock painted astatine 4560 Whittier Blvd. successful East L.A. The mural features pitcher Blake Snell, whose postseason included a one-hit, eighth-inning gem successful Game 1 of the NLCS, with the slogan “Twice arsenic Nice.” That mural has since been removed.

For 4 of the others, Nike licensed crippled photos from Getty Images, overlaid tag designs from Ramos and past had the images blown up and printed arsenic murals.

Those see “Twice successful a Blue Moon” successful Silverlake (at Hollywood Boulevard and Hillhurst Avenue), featuring Max Muncy and Hyesong Kim; “Repeat Heroes” successful Echo Park (at West Temple Street and North Boylston Street), featuring Smith and Sasaki; “Turn Two, Earn Two” successful Echo Park (atSunset Boulevard and Marion Avenue), featuring Muncy; and “Dodgers Rule” — a play connected Ramos’ longtime slogan “Chaka Rules” — successful Westlake/Echo Park (at Beverly Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue), featuring Sasaki.

The past mural features a photograph of Yamamoto letting retired a roar. The photograph was blown up respective stories precocious and installed respective stories higher successful downtown L.A. astatine 213 S. Broadway. Ramos past boarded a suspended scaffold and was lifted precocious supra his hometown, wherever helium spent 4 to 5 hours adding his tag and the slogan “Back 2 Back.”

It whitethorn not person been arsenic daring arsenic immoderate of the stunts helium pulled successful the past, but Ramos decidedly felt the rush.

“I’ve done graffiti astatine daredevil heights without a harness before, but thing astatine this scale. This clip I really had to cogwheel up with a harness — haha,” helium wrote. “It was intense, but a batch of fun.”

The Nike-Chaka murals volition beryllium coming down soon, but Asner says he’s excited to spot what different caller creations mightiness capable retired the representation successful the aftermath of the latest title run.

“We’re gonna spot truly astonishing artwork going up, and we’re gonna spot artwork of Dodgers that haven’t needfully been connected murals. similar Will Smith and Yoshinobu Yamamoto,” Asner said. “There’s a batch of truly large stars from this bid that merit to get recognition for their astonishing job. ...

“You know, Ohtani was incredible, obviously, Friedman was incredible. But determination were a batch of large players that stepped up — Miggy Rojas, right? Huge, immense crushed they won. So it’s gonna beryllium large to spot what these artists do, and I’m looking guardant to seeing it myself.”