52 years ago today, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field before heading west to LA. It was not officially known at that time that they were leaving, but the writing was on the wall, and most fans knew they were seeing their beloved Bums for the last time. Even with this knowledge, barely 6000 fans showed up to see the Dodgers play the Pirates. That is unimaginable today, where tickets to a final game in places much less majestic than Ebbets Field go for 10 times their face value on ebay.
I've always been torn on this move of my favorite team. LA is certainly a wonderful home for the Dodgers, and Brooklyn desperately needed a new park to replace the crumbling Ebbets. And contrary to most reports, the fact that this couldn't get done was more the fault of politician Robert Moses, as opposed to Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley. Would the team have survived much longer with the changing profile of the city, along with the fact that a 3-team city was no longer viable? We'll never know for sure. The Brooklyn Dodgers, like a celebrity who dies too young, are romanticized in a way that no other team is. And maybe that's better that way.
Here is video of the last pitch ever at Ebbets Field:
3 comments:
I recommend "Wrestling with Moses" the battle between a mom and the man who was changing NY. She is the reason the Village is still in existance!
Oh, and WHO reminded you to put up the post????
That would be you, sir.
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