The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are two of the most iconic teams in baseball, if not all sports. Their respective interlocking-letter logos – the famous "NY" and "LA" – transcend the game and stand on their own as iconic fashion emblems.
It's no surprise, then, that the Yankees and Dodgers come together to make our ideal World Series match-up, from a visual standpoint. The two teams have a long history of playing each other in the Fall Classic, but haven't done so in a while. They met every decade from the 1940s to the '80s, including five times in the '50s. It's been 11 total, and the Yankees have won eight of those series.
The Yankees-Dodgers rivalry started as a local one, of course, with the Dodgers being in Brooklyn until 1957. It was very much David vs. Goliath at that time; the Bronx Bombers won the first five meetings before the "Bums" could squeeze out a win in seven games in '55. As you might imagine, the borough of Brooklyn – which had a close connection with their team – went wild, celebrating what seemed like an impossible victory.
Then, as quickly as the good times came, they left. With Ebbets Field falling apart and restless owners looking for greener pastures, the Dodgers moved West with the Giants to California. The Yankees were suddenly the lone New York club. But, this change wasn't all bad. It meant the Yankees-Dodgers rivalry gained new meaning: East vs. West.
The Dodgers found success quickly in their new home, winning the World Series only two years in (against the White Sox), in 1959. Four years after that, the cities of New York and Los Angeles played for the first time in the Majors. LA won that one, then New York took back-to-back in '77 and '78. The Californians then retook the crown in '81.
The two clubs haven't met in the World Series since. Regular-season interleague play has scratched that itch a bit, providing 16 games. There was a three-game series in LA this season, but that was a phallic victory as both teams were subject to the all-black/all-white "Players' Weekend" uniforms, a tragedy considering how wonderful the uniform match-up usually is, and how infrequently it occurs.
In any case, it's the weight of the World Series that gives this rivalry its magic, and if you're a '90s baby like me, there's been no chance to see it live. But there is hope. This season the Yankees and the Dodgers are two of baseball's best teams. Both won their divisions and racked up over 100 wins. Anything can happen, obviously, and there are other good teams out there (the 107-win Astros spring to mind and the Nationals have pushed the Dodgers in the NLDS), but we could finally get that classic Yankees-Dodgers World Series match-up.
Is your mouth watering yet? If not, here's some beautiful photography from our archive to set the mood:
