Almanac: The Dodgers leave Brooklyn
And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: October 8th, 1957, 60 years ago today -- the day baseball fans in Brooklyn struck out.
For that was the day the hometown Dodgers announced they were leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles.
Long a hard-luck team derided by many as "The Bums," the Dodgers enjoyed sweet vindication in 1955 with a World Series win over their hated cross-town rivals, the Yankees.
Even as the Yankees struck back with a World Series win over Brooklyn in 1956, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley was battling to replace his small and obsolete Ebbets Field with a brand-new stadium.
Stymied by the opposition of New York City public works czar Robert Moses, O'Malley finally yielded to the siren song of the City of Angels -- instantly becoming the devil incarnate whom many Brooklynites despise to this day.
Fast forward to THIS October, when the Dodgers and the Yankees are both in the hunt for post-season glory. Could yet another Dodgers-Yankees World Series be on deck?
Possibly yes, though fans in Arizona, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, and Washington doubtless have other plans.
For more info:
- Brooklyn Dodgers (baseball-reference.com)
- Dodgers Timeline (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Exorcising the Dodgers (New York Magazine)
