History of the Los Angeles Dodgers Franchise

On February 7, 1899, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Baltimore Orioles merge to form the Brooklyn Superbas. The Superbas would defeat the Giants for the National League title that same year. By 1916 Brooklyn (then known as the Robins) played in their first World Series, falling to the Boston Red Sox. Dodger owner Charles Ebbets moved the team from Washington Park to a new venue constructed in Flatbush during the 1913 season. The park would be named Ebbets Field.

In 1947 the Brooklyn Dodgers gave African-American Jackie Robinson the chance to play Major League Baseball. Robinson was the first to break MLB's color barrier after playing the 1946 season for the Dodgers top minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals. General Manager Branch Rickey sought Robinson after much research and was quoted as saying "I'm looking for a ballplayer with enough guts not to fight back." Amid all forms of abuse and pressure, the more Robinson was taunted and threatened, the better he let his performance speak for himself. Robinson netted the first ever Major League Rookie of the Year by hitting .297, stealing 29 bases, and scoring 125 runs. Jackie Robinson would go on to become the first African-American baseball player to enter the MLB Hall of Fame.

Walter O'Malley became president and team owner in October of 1950 of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite several successful seasons and the team's first World Series title, O'Malley and the Dodgers moved west to Los Angeles in 1957. The move came after O'Malley was unsuccessful in his bid to build a more modern stadium in Brooklyn due to New York officials being unable to provide a suitable site. The rival New York Giants decided to relocate from New York to San Francisco that same year in an effort to bring baseball to all parts of the country. The Dodgers would play their first game on the west coast on April 18, 1958 before 78,672 fans at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Dodger Stadium opened as the home for Los Angeles on April 10, 1962. The 1960s and Dodger Stadium proved to be successful for the franchise with World Series titles in 1963 and 1965 and a third appearance in 1966. In the intervening years manager Tommy Lasorta takes the reigns of the Dodgers bringing world titles to the team in 1981 and 1988. The 1990s saw the Dodgers set a record with five consecutive National League Rookies of the Year. In 2003 Eric Gagne became the 7th Dodger in history to win a Cy Young Award.

• 1988 vs. Oakland Athletics W. 4-1
• 1981 vs. New York Yankees W. 4-2
• 1978 vs. New York Yankees L. 2-4
• 1977 vs. New York Yankees L. 2-4
• 1974 vs. Oakland Athletics L. 1-4
• 1966 vs. Baltimore Orioles L. 0-4
• 1965 vs. Minnesota Twins W. 4-3
• 1963 vs. New York Yankees W. 4-0
• 1959 vs. Chicago White Sox W. 4-2
• 1955 vs. New York Yankees W. 4-3
• 1953 vs. New York Yankees L. 2-4
• 1952 vs. New York Yankees L. 3-4
• 1949 vs. New York Yankees L. 1-4
• 1947 vs. New York Yankees L. 3-4
• 1941 vs. New York Yankees L. 1-4
• 1920 vs. Cleveland Indians L. 2-5
• 1916 vs. Boston Red Sox L. 1-4