Dodgers Franchise History: Timeline From Brooklyn To Los Angeles, Team Names & Year-By-Year Results

The Dodgers have a rich franchise history that spans over three different centuries. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, the organization called Brooklyn, N.Y., its home for nearly seven decades.

The journey began in 1884 when the then-Brooklyn Atlantics joined the American Association for their first professional season. The club won its first pennant in 1889 and defected to the National League the following year.

By that point, the organization was known as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. It was one of the many names the team dubbed themselves as until adopting the Dodgers moniker in 1932.

Brooklyn continued its winning ways in the NL, claiming the pennant in their inaugural 1890 season. The organization won additional pennants in 1899 and 1900, and over that time, developed a loyal fanbase.

The team moved to Ebbets Field in 1913, which would be their long-term home until moving to California in 1957. It was the stomping ground of many future Hall of Famers, including Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider.

As for Robinson in particular, he not only was an exceptional player, but also helped break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He made his debut in April 1947 and immediately flashed his talents on the field, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors.

Robinson’s contributions over his 10-year career guided the Dodgers to six additional NL pennants and the 1955 World Series championship.

Dodgers move to Los Angeles

Midway through the 1957 season, NL owners voted unanimously to approve the Brooklyn Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles for the following year. The organization didn’t formally announce their relocation plans until Oct. 8.

The New York Giants also relocated to San Francisco prior to the 1958 season. They were defeated by the Dodgers, 6-5, in their first home game at the L.A. Coliseum.

The Dodgers closed out the 1950s with a bang, defeating the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series en route to their first championship since moving to L.A.

Beginning with the 1962 season, the Dodgers moved into Dodger Stadium, located in the Elysian Park neighborhood of L.A. They still call it their home ballpark to this day, aging into one of the most iconic stadiums in all of baseball.

A new generation of stars, ranging from Sandy Koufax to Don Drysdale, helped the Dodgers win another pair of World Series championships in 1963 and 1965. They would reach the Fall Classic four more times over the next decade and a half, but could not get over the hump.

With Tommy Lasorda at the helm, the Dodgers returned to their glory in the 1980s, winning two World Series championships in 1981 and 1988. Key players that decade included Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Orel Hershiser and Kirk Gibson, just to name a few.

After Lasorda retired in 1996 because of health issues, L.A. fell into a lengthy slumber. They would not reach the playoffs again until 2004, only to fall to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Division Series.

The Dodgers advanced to the postseason two more times that decade in 2008 and 2009, but were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Frank McCourt’s tumultuous tenure as Dodgers owner came to an end in 2011 after MLB stepped in and directed him to sell the team. Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the organization the following year, and with it, infused hope back into the fanbase.

The group immediately flexed its financial muscle, taking on hundreds of millions in salary in trades as an effort to propel the Dodgers back into playoff contention. There was also a focus on adding talent to the organization via the international free agency period.

As a result, the likes of Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig were acquired or signed during the 2012 season. They each played a major role in the club winning the NL West title in 2013 — their first playoff appearance in four years.

That propelled the Dodgers to an unprecedented streak of NL West division titles. The organization returned to the World Series in 2017, but fell to the Houston Astros in seven games — a matchup that became marred by the latter’s sign-stealing scandal.

Franchise names

After debuting as a franchise in 1884 under the Brooklyn Atlantics name, the Brooklyn Grays followed (1885-1887), then the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888-1898) and Brooklyn Grooms (1891-1895) overlapped.

The “Bridegrooms” moniker was attached to the team because seven players got married around the same time in 1888. The franchise shifted to the Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1913) and were also known as the Brooklyn Robins (1914-1931).

‘Dodgers’ was incorporated beginning with the 1911 season.

Of course, the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers was first used to describe the team in 1895, in reference to citizens and players alike needing to “dodge” trolley cars as pedestrians in the city. They were officially known as Trolley Dodgers for the 1911 and 1912 seasons, then simply the Dodgers beginning in 1913.

Stats from Baseball-Reference.com