The Trolley Dodger

Thanks to an email contact for forwarding me this article in Parade Magazine, “Goodbye Again, Dear Bums”, by Alfred F. Kelly, Sr. in which the author shares memories of the Brooklyn Dodger era. An anniversary of the move to Los Angeles is coming up this year.

Oct. 8, 2007, will mark the 50th anniversary of Walter O’Malley’s crushing news that our Bums, our team, our heart and soul, would be moving to Los Angeles. What subway line do you take from Bedford Avenue to Los Angeles?

Kelly’s father was the long-time New York Times sports editor, Raymond J. Kelly, and they would attend games at Ebbets Field. Alfred Kelly also went to Fordham, where he knew a certain young broadcaster:

I was attending Fordham College then and would meet Vin Scully from time to time as we watched one of their teams practice. Scully was a prince of a man and a keen observer of sports. Red Barber recognized his talent, and he was hired to bring the Dodgers to us via radio. He, of course, went on to TV and to Los Angeles, where he calls Dodger games to this day.

I can’t imagine the loss that Brooklyn fans felt, considering how integral a part of the borough the Dodgers were back then. I think it’s impossible for 21st Century folks with a bazillion entertainment options, both sports and otherwise, to relate to having your heart ripped out as they did.

Their loss was our gain in Los Angeles, so there’s a pronounced bittersweet quality to reading the reminiscences of original Dodger fans like Mr. Kelly. With the Dodgers leaving Dodgertown in Vero Beach after next year, the last historical connection on the East Coast will be severed.

But if you’re like me and a lover of both baseball and history, it is more than worth your while to learn where your team came from — the ups and downs, the heroes and villains — and listen to the people who were in the stands back then, cheering just as hard as you do now.