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Brooklyn Team Nickname
The team name, Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, was coined in 1895. The nickname was still new enough in September 1895 that a newspaper could report that “‘Trolley Dodgers’ is the new name which eastern baseball cranks [fans] have given the Brooklyn club.” In 1895, Brooklyn played at Eastern Park, bounded by Eastern Parkway (now Pitkin Avenue), Powell Street, Sutter Avenue, Van Sinderen Street, where they had moved early in the 1891 season when the second Washington Park burned down. Some sources erroneously report that the name “Trolley Dodgers” referred to pedestrians avoiding fast cars on street car tracks that bordered Eastern Park on two sides. However, Eastern Park was not bordered by street-level trolley lines that had to be “dodged” by pedestrians. The name “Trolley Dodgers” implied the dangers posed by trolley cars in Brooklyn generally, which in 1892, began the switch from horse-power to electrical power, which made them much faster, and were hence regarded as more dangerous. The name was soon shortened to Brooklyn Dodgers.
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Breaking the Color Barrier
For most of the first half of the 20th century, no Major League Baseball team employed a black player. A parallel system of Negro Leagues developed, but most of the Negro League players were denied a chance to prove their skill before a national audience. Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League baseball in the 20th Century when he played his first major league game on April 15, 1947 as a member of the Dodgers. Robinson’s entry into the league was mainly due to General Manager Branch Rickey’s efforts. The deeply religious Rickey’s motivation appears to have been primarily moral, although business considerations were also present. Rickey was a member of The Methodist Church, the antecedent denomination to The United Methodist Church of today, which was a strong advocate for social justice and active later in the Civil Rights movement.
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World Series Winner 1955
The 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won in Brooklyn the team relocated to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American baseball team that was active in the major leagues from 1884 until 1957, after which it moved to Los Angeles, where it continued its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team’s name derived from the reputed skill of Brooklyn residents at evading the city’s trolley streetcar network. The Dodgers played in two stadiums in South Brooklyn, each named Washington Park, and at Eastern Park in the neighborhood of Brownsville before moving to Ebbets Field in the neighborhood of Flatbush in 1913. The team is noted for signing Jackie Robinson in 1947 as the first black player in the modern major leagues.
Established
1889
City
Brooklyn – Los Angeles
League History
2000 – Present / Major League Baseball
1889 – 1999 / National League
Team History
1958 – Present / Los Angeles Dodgers
1932 – 1957 / Brooklyn Dodgers
1914 – 1931 / Brooklyn Robins
1911 – 1912 / Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers
1899 – 1910, 1913 / Brooklyn Superbas
Nickname
Dodgers – The nickname was still new enough in 1895 that a newspaper could report that, “Trolley Dodgers is the new name which eastern baseball fans have given the Brooklyn club.” The Dodgers nickname referenced the pedestrians who dodged the trolleys that carried passengers through the streets of Brooklyn. The name was soon shortened to Brooklyn Dodgers.
Championship
World Series 1
1988, 1981, 1965, 1963, 1959, 1955
Stadium
1962 – Present / Dodger Stadium
1958 – 1961 / Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
*Brooklyn*
1913 – 1957 / Ebbets Field
1898 – 1912 / Washington Park II
1899 – 1897 / Eastern Park
Owner
2012 – Present / Guggenheim Baseball Partners
2005 – 2012 / Frank McCourt
1998 – 2005 / News Corporation
1970 – 1997 / Peter O’Malley
1950 – 1970 / Walter O’Malley
1945 – 1950 / Branch Rickey, Walter O’Malley, Andrew J. Schmitz
1925 – 1945 / Stephen McKeever, Brooklyn Trust Company
1912 – 1925 / Charles Ebbets, Ed McKeever, Stephen McKeever
1907 – 1912 / Charles Ebbets, Henry Medicus
1905 – 1906 / Charles Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell, Henry Medicus, Ned Hanlon
1899 – 1904 / Charles Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell, Harry Von der Horst, Ned Hanlon
Retired Number
1 Pee Wee Reese
2 Tommy Lasorda
4 Duke Snider
19 Jim Gilliam
20 Don Sutton
24 Walter Alston
32 Sandy Koufax
39 Roy Campanella
42 Jackie Robinson
53 Don Drysdale
*Blue is this team’s history
