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 1910s
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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.
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| 1910 |
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April 7, 1910: Charles Ebbets and his club pay a visit to President Taft at the White House.
June 23, 1910: The Dodgers win big in Pittsburgh, 19-6, in a game that saw Brooklyn connect for 12 consecutive hits and a two homer performance from Babe Herman. |
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| 1911 |
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Aug. 3, 1911: Ed Zimmerman, Tex Erwin and Zach Wheat all go deep in the fifth inning, the first three-homer inning in franchise history, as Brooklyn beats the Cubs, 5-3.
Oct. 6, 1911: Brooklyn beats the great Cy Young, 13-3, in his last Major League game.
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| 1912 |
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Jan. 2, 1912: Charles Ebbets announces that he has purchased enough land in "Pig Town" to build what will be known as Ebbets Field.
April 11, 1912: Opening Day of the final season at Washington Park is so crowded that the police are called in for control and the game is called after six innings. Brooklyn lost to New York, 18-3.
July 6, 1912: The cornerstone for Ebbets Field is put in place.
Sept. 17, 1912: Casey Stengel's Major League debut is a good one -- four hits and a walk with two RBIs and a pair of stolen bases to lead Brooklyn past the Pirates.
Oct. 5, 1912: The Superbas close Washington Park the way it opened in 1912, with a loss to the Giants. |
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| 1913 |
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April 5, 1913: Ebbets Field opens in front of 25,000, on hand to see an exhibition game with the Yankees. Casey Stengel breaks in the park the right way -- with an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the first. Future MVP Jake Daubert belts a home run and the Superbas win, 3-2.
April 9, 1913: The first regular-season game at Ebbets Field is a pitchers' duel, with Philadelphia's Tom Seaton and his knuckler getting the edge on Nap Rucker for a 1-0 win.
April 25, 1913: The Dodgers beat the Giants, 5-3, in New York's first game at Ebbets Field when Casey Stengel belts a tie-breaking two-run homer.
May 1, 1913: Casey Stengel hits a pair of homers -- both of the inside-the-park variety -- and the Superbas double up Boston, 4-2, at Ebbets Field.
Aug. 4, 1913: George Cutshaw becomes the second Superba this season to hit two inside-the-park homers in a 7-1 win over the Cubs at Ebbets Field.
Aug. 16, 1913: Bob Fisher proves to Casey Stengel and George Cutshaw that you don't have to be at Ebbets Field to hit two inside-the-park home runs. Fisher, the third Superba to accomplish the feat this season, leads Brooklyn to a 15-4 win to complete a doubleheader sweep in St. Louis.
Oct. 4, 1913: Jake Daubert is named National League MVP. Daubert's .350 average is high enough for the first of his two consecutive batting titles.
Oct. 16, 1913: Wilbert Robinson replaces Bill Dahlen as manager and the Superbas will eventually be nicknamed "the Robins." |
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| 1914 |
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Aug. 15, 1914: Reigning MVP Jake Daubert ties a Major League record by laying down four sac bunts in the second game of a twin bill sweep over the Phils. |
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| 1915 |
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March 13, 1915: Wilbert Robinson, after bragging that he could catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, is set to prove his mettle. But when aviation pioneer Ruth Law forgets to bring the baseball, she drops a grapefruit, which explodes on impact in Robbie's glove.
Aug. 9, 1915: In a 13-0 win over the Cubs, George Cutshaw goes 6-for-6.
Sept. 9, 1915: Jeff Pfeffer tosses a two-hitter against Boston for a 1-0 win and a heartbreaking loss for Lefty Tyler, who pitched a one-hitter in the losing effort. |
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| 1916 |
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May 6, 1916: George Cutshaw hits a line drive that bounces, spinning, and seems to roll up and over the outfield wall for an 11th-inning, walk-off home run to beat the Phillies, 3-2.
Sept. 16, 1916: Zack Wheat has 12 innings to get a hit, but his streak comes to an end at 29 straight games -- the Brooklyn record -- when the game is finally called a tie at 1-1.
Sept. 22, 1916: Jimmy Johnston swipes second, third and home in a win over St. Louis at Ebbets Field.
Oct. 3, 1916: The Dodgers beat the Giants, 9-6, to clinch the National League pennant.
Oct. 10, 1916: Jack Coombs and Jeff Pfeffer combine to beat the Red Sox, 4-3, in Game 3 of the World Series, but the Red Sox would prevail in five games. |
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| 1917 |
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July 1, 1917: Another Sunday, another attempt by Charles Ebbets to find a way to play baseball, despite Blue Laws prohibiting him from charging admission. Ebbets claims the money is going to charity and has a band and exhibition to prove it, but the police who arrest him and his manager Wilbert Robinson are unconvinced.
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| 1918 |
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June 6, 1918: Casey Stengel, making his return to Ebbets Field after being traded during the offseason, tips his cap to the crowd and a sparrow flies out from under it.
Sept. 2, 1918: With the United States at war in Europe, baseball ends a month early. Zach Wheat's .335 batting average is enough for the National League title. |
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| 1919 |
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Jan. 31, 1919: Mallie Robinson gives birth to her son, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, in Cairo, Georgia.
April 30, 1919: Burleigh Grimes pitches 20 long innings, but Philadelphia's Joe Oeschger matches him and the game ends in a 9-9 tie.
May 4, 1919: The Dodgers beat the Braves, 6-2, in front of a sellout crowd at Ebbets Field. It's the first time a baseball can be played on a Sunday without Charles Ebbets worrying about the police because the New York State legislature legalized Sunday baseball.
June 29, 1919: Ed Konetchy's 5-for-5 performance at Ebbets Field in a 9-4 victory against the Phillies gives him 10 hits in a row, tying a record.
Sept. 21, 1919: It takes Sherry Smith and the Robins just a club-record 55 minutes to beat the Reds, 3-1, in a full nine-inning game. |
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History
