I remember going to see the Yankees play the New York Giants in 1957 at the polo grounds located in upper manhattan New York City on a summer day I had to meet up with other kids about 4 blocks away where we would board a school bus supplied by the town at the time and be on our way!
When it was over they would travel back to the pick up stop and we all went home i was 10 years old at the time, I do remember we had to go the see the man who was in charge of the playgrounds at the time to get a ticket to go to the game, and my sister and i went to get 2 tickets, but they wouldn’t allow girls to go! That’s the way it was back then unfortunately that would never happen today. I forgot who won the game really but it was exciting to go and see the yanks playing, Mickey mantel was my favorite player.
And that story brings back memories of when the New York Yankees and The Brooklyn Dodgers were rival teams during the 1940’s and 1950’s!
The rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers was one of the biggest stories in baseball during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Both teams were right there in New York City—Yankees in the Bronx and Dodgers in Brooklyn—so fans could actually take the subway to see the games. That’s why people called it a “Subway Series.”
They kept meeting in the World Series over and over again. The Dodgers would win the National League, the Yankees would win the American League, and there they were facing each other again. The problem for Brooklyn was that the Yankees almost always came out on top. They beat the Dodgers five times in the World Series, and it became frustrating for Brooklyn fans, who were desperate for just one championship.
Then came 1955. That was the year everything flipped. The Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series, and it meant everything to Brooklyn. People celebrated in the streets—it wasn’t just a win, it felt like years of heartbreak finally paid off.
The teams themselves had big personalities and star players. The Yankees were loaded with legends and had a reputation for winning all the time. The Dodgers were more of a scrappy, emotional team that fans really connected with. It felt like working-class Brooklyn going up against a powerhouse.
What really made the rivalry special was the pride. It wasn’t just baseball—it was borough against borough. Brooklyn fans were loud and loyal, while Yankees fans had that confidence that came from winning so much.
Then, suddenly, it ended. After the 1957 season, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. That broke a lot of hearts in Brooklyn and took the rivalry away overnight. For a lot of people who lived through it, that Yankees–Dodgers rivalry was something unforgettable.
