Brooklyn Superbas Team History
Brooklyn Team Formation and Many Nicknames
The Dodgers were originally founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Atlantics, taking the name of a defunct team that had played in Brooklyn before them. The team joined the American Association in 1884 and won the AA championship in 1889 before joining the National League in 1890. They promptly won the NL Championship their first year in the League. The team was known alternatively as the Bridegrooms, Grooms, Superbas, Robins, and Trolley Dodgers before officially becoming the Dodgers in the 1930s.
In the 1898-1899 offseason, a remarkable thing happened, the ownership groups in Baltimore and Brooklyn swapped part shares in each other’s clubs, the Orioles effectively merged with the Dodgers, with the class of the two ball clubs going to Brooklyn and the dregs staying in Baltimore — with the exception of star Baltimore third baseman John McGraw, who refused to leave. The super-team in Brooklyn, formerly called the Trolley Dodgers, became known as the “Superbas.”
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
Superbas – “Superba” was the title of an 1890s entertainment spectacle brought forth by the Hanlon family. When Ned Hanlon (no relation) managed the Brooklyn club in 1899, his team was called “Hanlon’s Superbas.” Hanlon was let go as manager in 1905. The Brooklyn team would continue to be called the Superbas until 1910.
Championship
World Series 0
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
Mascot
*Blue is this team’s history