Los Angeles Almanac Logo
Home | All Almanac Topics | Sports

Origin of Name "Dodgers" for Los Angeles Dodgers

As early as 1895, the then Brooklyn Bridegrooms baseball team (see Dodger history) was nicknamed Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, due to the numerous (and hazardous) trolley lines that criss-crossed Brooklyn at the time. In 1911, this name came to be formally adopted by the team and, for the 1913 season, was shortened to Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1914, the team was renamed to Brooklyn Robins, after its team manager, Wilbert Robinson. In 1932, after Robinson had retired, the team once again returned to its earlier name, Brooklyn Dodgers. They became the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958.

Brooklyn Dodgers, 1913. Liggett & Myers Co., Benjamin K. Edwards Collection, Library of Congress


L.A. Videos
L.A. Video: History of the Dodgers


See also: