Brooklyn Dodgers team photo, 1913. Photo by Charles E. Stacy in the collection of the Library of Congress
The team known today as the Los Angeles Dodgers formed in 1883 and, over time, came to be named or nicknamed Brooklyn Base Ball Club, Grays, Atlantics, Bridegrooms, Grooms, Ward's Wonders, Superbras and Robins (see Los Angeles Dodgers Franchise History). These, however, were not the names to stick. In 1895, due to the numerous (and hazardous) trolley lines that criss-crossed Brooklyn at the time, the team also came to be nicknamed Trolley Dodgers. This nickname persisted among the others and, by 1913, was shortened to Dodgers.
In 1914, the team discarded its formal name Brooklyn Base Ball Club and replaced it with Brooklyn Robins (named for longtime manager Wilbert Robinson). Despite that, the name Dodgers was still printed on the team's 1916 World Series program. After Robinson retired in 1932, the team reclaimed the Dodgers name, formally renaming itself Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1958, the team left their long-time home in Brooklyn and moved to Los Angeles, becoming the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Comic illustrating the dangers of Brooklyn's street trolleys, from The Evening World, Feb. 27, 1895. Posted at The Grim Reality of the "Trolley Dodgers".
L.A. Video: History of the Dodgers
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