As the Los Angeles Dodgers’ historical 2025 season is well in the past at this point, what better time than now to review the history of the reigning World Series champions?
Specifically, the Dodgers are a team with a long and convoluted history of different names, dating back well over 100 years.
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The Dodgers’ history dates back to 1883, when the club was formed as the Brooklyn Baseball Club in New York, playing in the Interstate League as the Atlantics.
The team, which moved to the American Association and the National League throughout the late 1800s, earned the nickname “the Bridegrooms” after several players got married around the same time. The “Dodgers” nickname dates back to as early as 1896, when electric trolley tracks were constructed in front of Eastern Park, forcing fans to dodge trolley cars on their way to games.
However, even as the Dodger name originated, the team underwent several name changes before sticking with the name we now know.
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After a few years of the Bridegrooms, the team’s name was changed to the Brooklyn Superbas during Ned Hanlon’s time as manager, a nod to a popular vaudeville acrobatic troupe of the era known as Hanlon’s Superbas.
In 1914, the team took the name the Brooklyn Robins after their longtime manger Wilbert Robinson, who managed the team from 1914-1931. Finally, in 1933, the team officially took on the Dodgers name that lives on today.
It was in this era that the Dodgers won their first World Series title in an epic crosstown showtown in 1955 against the New York Yankees, who had enjoyed much more relevance throughout the century. In seven games, the Dodgers took down the Yankees for the club’s first championship. Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in baseball and became the first African-American player to play in the major leagues, was a part of the 1955 championship team.
Whether it be for bar trivia or to simply impress a Dodgers-loving friend, solidify your Los Angeles Dodgers knowledge by watching this video from Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain.
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