Brooklyn Dodgers

Professional baseball team (National League) who played at Ebbets Field in New York city until 1958. That year they left the borough of Brooklyn and moved to the west coast to play in Los Angeles. The name "dodgers" came from the term used to describe people who jumped onto/off of streetcars in the city.

Their chief rival, the New York Giants baseball team, played across town until they too moved to California. The San Francisco Giants also left New York prior to the '58 season.

some information from sfgiants.com

It was with the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers that Jackie Robinson made his debut in the major leagues and broke the long standing color barrier.

Few teams in the history of sports have aroused as much passion in their fans as the Brooklyn Dodgers. A native of Brooklyn myself, I grew up hearing my uncle and his friends talk endlessly of afternoons at Ebbets Field. Their reaction to the Dodgers deserting them for the bright lights of Los Angeles in 1958 is comparable only to Browns fans after the departure of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season. In their eyes, tradition and passion were being traded for the lure of bigger money.

The 1950s were the era of "Dem Bums," the famous Dodgers squads that made regular World Series appearances, only to be undone by their archnemesis, the New York Yankees... except in 1955 when the Dodgers finally conquerered the world. It was more than just a championship. This was a moment of pure clarity... a religious moment... Brooklyn's only world championship.

Unbekownst to almost everyone, the Brooklyn Dodgers were also an NFL football team from 1930 to 1943, playing at Ebbets Field and posting a record of 60-90-15 in 14 NFL seasons. After posting a dismal 2-8-1 record in 1943, the team tried to change its luck by changing its name, playing as the "Brooklyn Tigers" for the 1944 season. The name change apparently didn't help, however, as the erstwhile Dodgers did even worse, limping to a winless 0-10-1 finish in 1944. The next year the team partially folded, merging with the Boston Yanks (There's a name to make Red Sox fans cringe!), and then in 1946 the former owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers started the rival AAFC (All-America Football Conference), reincarnating his old team as the Brooklyn Dodgers once more. Ebbets Field hosted football games for three more years until the team merged with the AAFC's New York Yankees to become the Brooklyn-New York Yankees following the 1948 season. The AAFC itself lasted only one year longer, folding at the end of 1949.

Brooklyn Dodgers Year-by-year NFL Standings

Year                       Record  Pct. Finish 

1930 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  7-4-1  .636  4 of 11
1931 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  2-12-0 .143  10 of 10
1932 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  3-9-6  .250  6 of 8
1933 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  5-4-1  .556  6 of 10
1934 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  4-7-0  .364  7 of 11
1935 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  5-6-1  .455  6 of 9
1936 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  3-8-1  .273  8 of 9
1937 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  3-7-1  .300  8 of 10
1938 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  4-4-3  .500  7 of 10
1939 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  4-6-0  .400  7 of 10
1940 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  8-3-0  .727  3 of 10
1941 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  7-4-0  .636  4 of 10
1942 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  3-8-0  .273  8 of 10
1943 NFL Brooklyn Dodgers  2-8-1  .200  7 of 8
1944 NFL Brooklyn Tigers   0-10-1 .000  T9 of 10