why have the Dodgers and Giants become so famous for leaving New York?

Question

other teams have moved away from cities when they were good, the Milwauke Braves for example. why have the Dodgers and Giants become so famous for moving was it their fans, New York city, or East coast bias. would like to know from people living in New York.

Answer 1

The moves really marked an end of an era, not only for New York, but for America. Books have been written on this, but I'll give a short answer.

Some teams moved because the economics no longer worked. Philadelphia and Boston couldn't support two teams each, so the A's and Braves moved elsewhere in an effort to find their own fan base. That's not particularly romantic, and probably was inevitable under the circumstances.

Brooklyn and New York were different. Remember that Brooklyn was a separate city until 1898 or so, and the borough took a lot of pride in having a separate identity on a national stage. You know about the history of the team, particularly in its final 10 years with Jackie Robinson.

The loss of the Dodgers wasn't a matter of New York being too small for the teams. Brooklyn couldn't figure out a way to get a new stadium built. The attendance figures were pretty dismal in the Fifties, even though the Dodgers had good teams. Fans were fleeing for the suburbs at that point, and some were afraid to come to the inner city for night games. That was happened in many big cities, of course, but this became something of a symbol for it.

Walter O'Malley finally gave up and headed to Los Angeles, although he probably could have had what turned out to be Shea Stadium built on his behalf around that time. (Robert Moses, the legendary power broker of New York, wasn't too interested in O'Malley's problems but late in the process thought Flushing Meadow might work.) Of course, it wouldn't have been in Brooklyn.

A great many people were in Brooklyn, either as youngsters or as adults, who felt a great sense of loss when the Dodgers left. Those people filled out the media for years to come (Howard Cosell, Larry King, Pete Hamill, and on and on). So they could go public with their anger over the move.

In hindsight, the interesting part was that there was very little anger over the Giants' departure. That franchise had been around forever, and also had stadium problems since the Polo Grounds was never much of a baseball field. Brooklyn received all of the attention.

Answer 2

The Giants and Dodgers both wanted new stadiums. The Polo Grounds was built in the 1890's and Ebbets Field was opened in 1901. The Giants were trying to close a deal to move to Minneapolis in 1955 which fell through. In 1955 when the people from LA were at the World Series, Walter O'Malley spoke to them about what was available in LA. The site for the Dodgers' new stadium was being blocked by a developer, and O'Malley got a better offer from LA. The Giants then worked a similar deal with San Francisco. O'Malley made a few last second efforts to get a new stadium before he moved, but the city wouldn't budge. Ebbets Field was torn down in 1960, and the Polo Grounds in the mid 1960's after the Mets moved into Shea Stadium in 1964. The Dodgers and Giants played their last games in NY in September, 1957, and began play in CA in 1958. Prior to their move, the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times each year, 11 games in Ebbets Field and 11 games at the Polo Grounds. Had they stayed, the Mets would not be here, that expansion team would have probably been awarded to a California city.

Answer 3

I am a Dodger fan, having grown up southern California, and subscribe to MLB.TV here in Georgia, just so I can keep following the Dodgers. Also I try to go to as many Dodger games as my schedule will allow since I work for an airline and can fly free (including at least one Dodgers-Giants game in SF per year with my best friend, a Giants fan).

Anyway, I don't think it was because they were necessarily "good" that they are remembered for moving. I think that the Dodgers and Giants have become so famous for leaving New York because they were so entrenched in the fabric and culture of New York that no one ever dreamed they would leave. In the Dodgers' case, they had been in the NL since 1890. From what I have heard and read, the "Bums" were part of the neighborhood of Brooklyn. Since most games were day games at that time, players would eat dinner at local restaurants afterwards, do their grocery shopping, etc.

But when the bourough of Brooklyn would not give Walter O'Malley a new stadium-- ironically on the very site where the NBA's New Jersey Nets' new arena will be in a few years--O'Malley left for Los Angeles and convinced the Giants' owner to leave the Polo Grounds for San Francisco so the rivalry would remain intact.

In your example, the Braves had already moved once, from Boston, in 1952 (1st season 1953). They were only in Milwaukee from 1953-1965, 13 seasons. That's not really time enough to become like the Dodgers and Giants, who had been in New York for over 60 years (in the Dodgers' case 67 years, the Giants' 74 years-- 1883-1957).

Answer 4

I from New York and as a Met Fan I can't say that I am upset they left because there wouldn't be any NY Metropolitan.

However the answer is simple... they left New York and went to California. The two most important states in this awesome country. Nobody cares about the Brewers moving because they are in Wisconsin now for Christ's sake. And yes there is a east coast bias, I live in Chicago now so I understand it fully. I think you just have to get used to it. Getting mad at it is like getting mad at a cloudy day... just nothing you can do.

Furthermore I think people in New York were mad because two good teams left and those smelly Yankees and there jerk-off fans are still there.

Answer 5

They were iconic teams in New York and they broke a lot of hearts when they moved, which they did at roughly the same time. It was the end of an era for New York baseball. Love for the Dodgers in particular was at an all-time high when they left because they'd just won their first series in forever. They transplanted their rivalry to the other coast and brought a lot of history with them.

Answer 6

Well the Giants and Dodgers were prety famous when they left NY. Keep in mind that they got their start in the greatest city in the world. They didnt leave for economic reasons and they had a real good fan base and some good young ball players when they left.

Answer 7

I have met much older fans who rememebred that time & till this day they say how they will never forgive the Dodgers for breaking their hearts. New York tried to make it up to them by putting a Minor League team in Coney Island. I have gone to some of these games & they are alot of fans from that time that feels good that some team even if it's a minto league one is in Brooklyn again.

Answer 8

they both left at the same time and were the first teams in Califronia. They were also already rivals. The braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta, and they don't have any fans in either city. Neither are baseball cities.

Answer 9

when i was in ny last october i talked to my cousins 89 year old neighbor in flatbush and asked her if she was a yankees fan. she looked at me, well she more like leered at me like i was crazy and said: " No! I'm a dodger fan. Im a true blue blooded brooklynite." and continued to talk about how great the dodgers were dispite the move. sure she was heartbroken at first but she still has love after all these years. GO DODGERS!

Answer 10

While I agree with the above answers, I would have to add that these two teams leaving helped expand MLB throughout the whole United States. Baseball stopped in the midwest (Stl. KC, etc.) at the time these two teams were moving.