Franchise Timeline
A decade of changes was marked by the Dodgers' move to a new home park, Ebbets Field, and the managerial era of Wilbert Robinson. "Uncle Robbie" arrived on the scene in 1914 and would stay through 1931. He made such an impact on the team and the city, that the Brooklyn ballclub was known as the "Robins" during this period.
The 1916 club won the National League pennant and finally played in its first true World Series with the help of the amazing Casey Stengel. Although the Dodgers (or Robins) fell to the Boston Red Sox in the 1916 World Series, Stengel was the team's leading hitter with a .364 mark and right-handed pitcher Jeff Pfeffer won 25 games that season for the 94-60 club.
In Game 2 of the Series, the Dodgers lost to a pitcher named Babe Ruth, who won a 2-1 decision in 14 innings. After allowing a first-inning inside-the-park home run to Hy Myers, Ruth hurled 13 consecutive scoreless innings.
In 1913, Jake Daubert became the first Dodger to win Most Valuable Player honors, as he batted a league-high .350. First baseman Daubert won the National League batting title again in 1914 with a .329 mark.
With the rivalry between the Brooklynites and Manhattanites heating up, the Dodgers and Giants feud began to boil. Robinson and Giants' Manager John McGraw took regular jabs at each other in the press and as a result, when the teams met at either New York site, fans packed the fields and were extremely vocal as well.
Dodger owner Charles Ebbets, recognizing that the club could no longer survive in the confines of Washington Park, purchased land in Flatbush bordered by Bedford Avenue, Sullivan Street, Franklin Avenue and Montgomery Street. Although he originally purchased most of the property in 1908, Ebbets was in a pinch for money and had to sell 50 percent of the club's stock to new partners, Ed and Steve McKeever. As a result of the partnership, the Brooklyn Baseball Club, Inc. was formed and Ebbets remained president, while the Ebbets-McKeever Exhibition company was run by Ed McKeever.
After a struggle to secure all of the land, Ebbets broke ground on his field on March 4, 1912. A group of sports editors suggested to Ebbets that the field should not be called Washington Park but "Ebbets Field." The Dodgers played an exhibition game against New York on April 5, 1913 for the unofficial opening of the field. On April 9, the Dodgers dedicated 18,000-seat Ebbets Field in a game against the Phillies.
In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany -- just five days prior to the opening of the season. Baseball owners asked the government to give them guidance on the status of the season. When no reply came from the nation's capital, the season proceeded and the Dodgers fell from the top spot in 1916 to seventh in 1917. The season was eventually curtailed in 1918 as some players began to leave for war.
Top players of the decade included: George Cutshaw at second base; shortstop Ivy Olson, who led the league with 164 hits in 1919; Otto Miller, Brooklyn's catcher from 1912-22; outfielder Zack Wheat, a solid .300 hitter who paced the N.L. in 1918 with a .335 mark; Stengel, very popular with Brooklyn fans and, after being traded to Pittsburgh, is remembered for returning to Ebbets Field in 1918, where he acknowledged the crowd and a sparrow flew out from beneath his cap, and outfielder Hy Myers, who had 73 RBI to lead the N.L. in 1919.