Under the guidance of Leo Durocher, who became the Dodger manager in 1939, the Dodgers in 1941 won their first National League pennant in 21 years with a 100-54 record and played the first of their classic World Series confrontations against the New York Yankees.
ML teams conduct spring training in northern sectors due to WWII travel restrictions...The previous year Dodgers of 1942 wins 104 games to tie an ML record for the most wins by an also ran as the Cardinals rally to win the NL. Branch Richey leaves the Cardinals and replaces Larry MacPhail as the Dodgers president in 1943.
In the 1947 World Series, the Dodgers fell to the Yankees in seven games, but there were two memorable moments for the Dodgers. Cookie Lavagetto broke up Bill Bevens' no-hitter in the ninth inning of Game 4 with a game-winning two-run double to give the Dodgers a 3-2 victory; and Al Gionfriddo's great catch of a Joe DiMaggio ball which preserved an 8-6 victory in Game 6.
The Dodgers sign a 21-year lease with Vero Beach, Fla., for Spring Training.
The first game of a Dodgers doubleheader with the Braves is the first Major League game to be broadcast in color.
Gil Hodges sets the Dodgers home run record with his 35th and 36th against the Reds. He would end the season with 40.
Branch Rickey is ousted by Walter O'Malley the previous year...Brooklyn's Joe Black is the first African American to win a World Series contest ( Game 1)....Black is also the NL "Rookie of the Year"...The Dodgers win 3 of the first 5 WS games and they need only one victory in the last two games at their own Ebbets Field but the Yankees prevail and win it again.
Roy Campanella wins his second NL MVP award. His 41 homers set an ML record for catchers at that time...Carl Furillo takes the NL batting crown at .344....Dodgers tie an ML record with six men scoring 100 runs or more....Brooklyn wins club-record 105 games and reprats as NL champs...second basemn Junior Gilliam is named Nl "Rookie of the Year"... Yankees beat the Dodgers in 6 games for the series.
Leo Durocher's Giants beat the Dodgers by 5 games in the NL..
...Players are no longer allowed to leave their gloves on the playing field while their team is batting...23 year old Karl Spooner is brought up in September and with straight winning games with 15 and 12 strikeouts consecutively and becomes a short lived phenom as arm troubles come in 1955.
In 1955, the Dodgers defeated the Yankees and won their first-ever World Championship in a seven-game World Series. The Dodgers took Game 7 at Yankee Stadium as Series MVP Johnny Podres shut out the Yankees, 2-0.
The Dodgers repeated as National League champions in 1956 and once again faced the Yankees. In another heart-stopping World Series, the Yankees prevailed in seven games.
Dodger right-hander Don Newcombe made baseball history in 1956 when he became the first player to win Cy Young and MVP awards in the same season.
On October 8, 1957, O'Malley announced that after 68 seasons in Brooklyn, the Dodgers would be moving to Los Angeles. In a move to bring baseball to all parts of the country, the Giants also decided to relocate from New York to San Francisco. On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles, defeating the Giants, 6-5, before 78,672 fans at the Coliseum.