When Did the Dodgers Permanently Adopt Their Name?

[KG Erwin]

I understand that they were called the Robins while Wilbert Robinson was the manager, so did the permanent change to "Dodgers" happen in 1932, when Max Carey took over?

[VIBaseball]

Looking back, it wasn't as clear-cut as that, KG -- the two names co-existed. Even from 1914 to 1931, Robinson's tenure, the papers still used "Dodgers" a lot. And even after Robinson was gone, Robins still saw some use for a few years.

[penncentralpete]

The Bums were referred to many times in both headlines and stories as the "Flock" (Robins) in the Daily News, Post, and Mirror all the way to their final season in 1957.

[Roundin' third]

So would the dual use of "Robins" and "Dodgers" explain this?:

http://www.huntauctions.com/LIVE/ima...=386&lot_qual=

I find this a bit odd as the uniforms stated "Dodgers" at this time.

[BaronSamedi]

In the early days, nicknames were a lot more ubiquitous and interchangeable. A modern example would be the European soccer, with the way teams have more than one nickname - and they're all unofficial - which identifies them. Aston Villa is known as both the Villains and the Lions, Everton has the nicknames the Toffees, the Blues, the School of Science, and the Peoples' Club, and Newcastle United is known as the Toons and the Magpies.

[keacla1]

Looking back, it wasn't as clear-cut as that, KG -- the two names co-existed. Even from 1914 to 1931, Robinson's tenure, the papers still used "Dodgers" a lot. And even after Robinson was gone, Robins still saw some use for a few years.

I've seen New York Times articles from the early twentieth century in which the team is referred to by three different names in the same story--Dodgers, Robins, and Superbas.

[EdTarbusz]

I don't think the team was known strictly as the Dodgers until they were playing in LA. Even into the 1950s virtually every team had at least one alternate nickname that sportswriters would use when writing about teams. I've read that this ended for the Dodgers when LA sports editors wouldn't use terms like 'Bums' for the team because they wanted to disassociate the team from Brooklyn.

[MATHA531]

I don't think the team was known strictly as the Dodgers until they were playing in LA. Even into the 1950s virtually every team had at least one alternate nickname that sportswriters would use when writing about teams. I've read that this ended for the Dodgers when LA sports editors wouldn't use terms like 'Bums' for the team because they wanted to disassociate the team from Brooklyn.

Well there's the official name and there is what headline users and sportswriters use. The New Jersey AFC football team claiming to represent New York City is the New York Jets, period. Yet you see many headline writers and columnists refer to them as Gang Green.....the same for the NFC team claiming to represent New York City despite the fact they play, train and maintain corporate offices in the Garden State (at least Gang Green oops the Jets have their corporate offices in New York). They are the Giants and often referred to as Big Blue. But they are the Jets and Giants.

The Yankees are the Yankees. Not the Bombers. The Mets are the Mets. Not the Amazins. In the late 1940's and through the 1950's, the Brooklyn National League team was the Dodgers, period. They were referred to often in newspaper stories and headlines as the Flock and sometimes the Bums but they were officially only the Dodgers.

Of course we had to have political correctness in the 1950's also. The Cincinnati Reds were forced to refer to themselves as the Cincinnati Redlegs due to the McCarthy era garbage that went on during that time.

But it said on their uniforms Dodgers and Dodgers they were no matter what else appeared in the newspapers.

[elmer]

I understand that they were called the Robins while Wilbert Robinson was the manager, so did the permanent change to "Dodgers" happen in 1932, when Max Carey took over?

January 23, 1932 Brooklyn Eagle