5. Brooklyn loved their Dodgers
When the 1950s began, the New York area supported three Major League Baseball teams. The Yankees played in Yankee Stadium, the Giants in the cavernous Polo Grounds, and the Brooklyn Dodgers occupied Ebbets Field in the Crown Heights neighborhood. Ever since, the Dodgers have been lauded in reminiscences of the beautiful little ballpark, playing before adoring crowds of fans. The departure of the Dodgers in 1957 for Los Angeles is often seen as a betrayal of their hordes of loyal supporters. From 1951 to 1957 the Dodgers fielded largely competitive, successful teams, though the crowds which saw them play were far from those depicted in the memories of their fans. Their small ballpark, which seated only about 32,000 during the 1950s, seldom held sellout crowds. During their successful seasons, including 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, they averaged less than 14,000 fans per game in attendance.
The Dodgers left Brooklyn for greener pastures because the fan support in the ballpark was insufficient for the team to remain competitive. Decreasing revenues and the deterioration of the neighborhood led the Dodgers to move west. Their crosstown rivals, the Giants, headed west with them, settling in San Francisco. Afterward, nostalgia created the myth of the widespread rabid support of a large fan base in Brooklyn. To hear it told today, the Dodgers always played before huge crowds, including hundreds if not thousands of youths who found ways to get into the park without twirling the turnstiles. Like many reminiscences of the 1950s, it is far from true. Had the team been able to draw the crowds inaccurately portrayed from fading memory, it likely would never have left Brooklyn. Ebbets Field, their long-time home, remains one of the most storied ballparks in history, though it is long gone.