TBT: When the Giants and Dodgers Headed West
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On this day in 1957, Major League Baseball owners unanimously voted to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to make the move from their New York City homes to the state of California. It was a move that shook the baseball landscape and has helped shape MLB as we know it today. These were two generally successful and popular ballclubs as well, adding to the significance of the two relocations. So, why did they decide to pack their bags and head for the West Coast?
The New York Giants had very successful years in the earlier part of the 20th century, winning nine pennants and three World Series. They played their home games at the famed Polo Grounds, a baseball cathedral, that was situated in upper Manhattan. But as the decades rolled over and the century got closer to its mid-point, the team started to struggle, which led to attendance going down. In its glory days, more than 1.5 million fans packed the Polo Grounds each year, but that number had dwindled to just 654,000 by 1957.
Polo Grounds
ballparksofbaseball.com
Along with the declining attendance, team owner Horace Stoneham decided it was time for the team to move into a new stadium. The Polo Grounds hadn’t been renovated in decades and desperately needed fixing up. In addition, New York City officials had also been looking to claim the land the ballpark sat on for public housing. And lastly, a trend was taking place with many New Yorkers moving out of Manhattan to the other boroughs. With all of this in consideration, Stoneham set his sights on other cities for his team.
But moving a franchise wasn’t an easy thing to do, especially with logistic considerations. When the league later voted on allowing the two ballclubs to move in 1957, they weren’t going to allow one team to move out west without the other. Either they both stayed in New York or they both would leave. So, with Stoneham and the Giants set on leaving town, he knew if another team would move out west with them, his chances of being able to make the move would drastically increase. Enter the Brooklyn Dodgers, who had just so happened to begin eyeing Los Angeles as a future home.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were playing in Ebbets Field in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and were an absolutely beloved and embraced team by their fans. And they were also successful at the time, on the field and financially. They had just won the World Series in 1955 and were the only NL team to actually make money from 1952-1956. But like Giants owner Horace Stoneham, Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley wanted a new stadium for his team. Ebbets Field was “small” and “rickety” and was of a “previous era.” O’Malley dreamed of an advanced 55,000-seat domed stadium that would sit on the land where the Barclays Center now sits. He negotiated for years with city officials, but to no avail. When these officials began to push his team towards a Queens location, O’Malley set his sights out west.
Ebbets Field
ballparksofbaseball.com
Los Angeles was a vastly growing city at the time and had no prior MLB affiliation. They were baseball hungry and willing to offer hundreds of acres of downtown L.A. land for a team. It didn’t take long before O’Malley was convinced that was where he wanted his team. With the Giants looking to move west at the same time, O’Malley persuaded Stoneham to consider San Francisco, another city looking for a team. It was all but officially settled, until May 28, 1957. Under the condition that both ballclubs move together, it was unanimously approved and both teams headed out West.
The new Los Angeles Dodgers would go on to win the World Series just two years later, in 1959, and four more times since. The San Francisco Giants had to wait until 2010 before their first of three World Series championships, but have experienced much success as well since the move. Both clubs also have great fanbases on the West Coast. While the two teams found new homes out West, a void was certainly left in New York City. In 1962, an expansion franchise was awarded to the city with the New York Mets. Naturally for many former Giants and Dodgers fans, the Mets became their new team to root for. And they’ve been missing the Giants and Dodgers ever since.
Willie Mays (Left) & Duke Snyder (Right)
AP Photo