It is the question that still makes old-timers in Brooklyn grit their teeth and reach for a stiff drink. What year did Dodgers move to LA? If you want the short, trivia-night answer, it’s 1958. But honestly? The move didn't just happen overnight because some guy signed a piece of paper. It was a slow-motion car crash of politics, ego, and concrete.
Brooklyn lost its soul on April 18, 1958. That was the day the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first "home" game at the Memorial Coliseum. They beat the Giants 6-5. About 78,000 people showed up to watch, which was a record at the time. Back in Flatbush, the Ebbets Field faithful felt like they’d been robbed in broad daylight.
The 1957 Heartbreak
You can't talk about 1958 without looking at 1957. That's when the ink actually dried. Walter O'Malley, the man often cast as the ultimate villain in New York sports history, officially announced the move on October 8, 1957.
He didn't want to leave. At least, that's what he claimed. O'Malley wanted a new stadium in Brooklyn to replace the cramped, aging Ebbets Field. He had his eye on a spot at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. He even offered to pay for the stadium itself if the city would just help him acquire the land. Robert Moses—the "Master Builder" who basically ran New York City’s infrastructure—said no. Moses wanted them out in Queens, where Shea Stadium eventually landed. O'Malley basically told him to kick rocks.
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If Moses had blinked, the Dodgers might still be playing in Brooklyn today. Instead, Los Angeles came calling with the promise of Chavez Ravine and a city desperate for Major League status.
Why 1958 Was Such a Weird Year for Baseball
When the team finally landed in California for the 1958 season, they didn't have a baseball stadium. They played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was built for track and football, not a diamond.
The field was shaped like a giant, distorted taco. The left-field fence was a joke. It was only 250 feet from home plate. To prevent every fly ball from becoming a home run, they had to install a 42-foot high screen. It was basically "Screen Ball" for a few years. Dodgers legend Duke Snider hated it. He was a power hitter who watched his deep drives get caught by a literal fence in the sky.
- April 18, 1958: The first home game in LA.
- 1959: The Dodgers win the World Series, proving the move "worked" for the bottom line.
- 1962: Dodger Stadium finally opens.
People think the move was just about money. It was. But it was also about the car. Post-war America was obsessed with driving, and Ebbets Field had parking for maybe 700 cars. In Los Angeles? You had nothing but highways and space. O'Malley saw the future of the American suburbanite, and it involved a parking lot.
The Chavez Ravine Controversy
We have to talk about the "Battle of Chavez Ravine." This is the part of the story that gets skipped in the highlight reels. To give the Dodgers the land for their permanent stadium (which opened in 1962), the city of Los Angeles cleared out a vibrant Mexican-American community.
Families were evicted. Some were literally dragged out of their homes by sheriff's deputies. The city had originally designated the area for public housing, but that plan got scrapped during the "Red Scare" era. Instead, the land was handed over to O'Malley. It’s a dark chapter that still lingers over the stadium's legacy. When you ask what year did Dodgers move to LA, you’re also asking when those families lost their homes. 1958-1959 was a period of massive upheaval for both the fans in Brooklyn and the residents of the Ravine.
The Giants Connection
The Dodgers didn't come alone. Horace Stoneham, the owner of the New York Giants, was also struggling with an old stadium (the Polo Grounds). O'Malley basically convinced Stoneham that they should move west together to keep their rivalry alive and make the travel costs feasible for other teams.
Imagine the shock. Two of the biggest teams in the biggest city in the world just... left. It fundamentally changed the geography of American sports. Before 1958, the furthest "West" Major League Baseball went was St. Louis. The 1958 move turned MLB into a truly national league.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that the Dodgers moved because they were losing money. Nope. They were profitable in Brooklyn. They were one of the most successful franchises in the league.
The move was about growth potential. O'Malley was a visionary, even if he was a ruthless one. He saw that California was exploding in population. He saw that television rights would become more valuable if you owned a "territory" like Southern California.
- Brooklyn fans felt betrayed by a businessman.
- LA fans felt like they had finally arrived on the world stage.
- The players were caught in the middle, living in hotels and playing in a football stadium.
The transition was messy. Sandy Koufax, arguably the greatest pitcher in team history, was just a young guy with control issues back in '58. He actually struggled during those first few years in the Coliseum. It wasn't until they moved into the pitcher-friendly confines of Dodger Stadium in '62 that he truly became "The Left Arm of God."
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific era of baseball history, don't just look at the box scores. The real story is in the urban planning and the cultural shift of the late 50s.
Visit the Sites
If you’re in New York, go to the corner of McKeever and Montgomery in Brooklyn. There’s an apartment complex there now where Ebbets Field used to be. There’s a small plaque, but the vibe is gone. Then, compare that to the sweeping views of Dodger Stadium in LA. The contrast tells the whole story of 20th-century America.
Read the Real Accounts
Pick up a copy of The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn. It captures the bittersweet end of the Brooklyn era better than any textbook ever could. For the LA side of things, look into the history of the "Arechiga family" to understand the cost of building Dodger Stadium.
Watch the Footage
Look up old 16mm clips of that first game in 1958. Notice the weird screen in left field. Notice the sheer size of the crowd. It was a spectacle that signaled the end of the "neighborhood" team and the birth of the "mega-franchise."
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The move in 1958 changed the sport forever. It broke hearts, created a West Coast empire, and set the stage for the modern era of professional athletics. Whether you view O'Malley as a pioneer or a traitor, you can't deny that the map of America looked very different after that first pitch in April '58.
To understand the Dodgers is to understand this migration. It wasn't just a change of city; it was a change of identity. The team kept the name "Dodgers"—a reference to Brooklynites "dodging" trolley cars—which makes zero sense in the car-centric sprawl of Los Angeles. But they kept it anyway. A small, weird piece of Brooklyn that survives in the California sun.
Next Steps for Your Research
- Check the 1958 Roster: See how many "Brooklyn" legends actually made the trip. Guys like Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, and Pee Wee Reese had to navigate that massive culture shock.
- Compare Stadium Dimensions: Look at the layout of Ebbets Field versus the LA Coliseum. It explains why home run stats took a weird turn in the late 50s.
- Research the 1959 World Series: The Dodgers won it all just one year after moving. This success essentially "validated" the move in the eyes of the public, making it much harder for critics to argue they should have stayed.