Dodgers–Giants rivalry

The Dodgers–Giants rivalry is regarded as one of the fiercest and longest-standing rivalries in American baseball, with some observers considering it the greatest sports rivalry of all time. It dates back to the late 19th century, when both clubs were based in New York City. After the 1957 season, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley decided to move the team to Los Angeles for financial and other reasons. Along the way, he convinced New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham (who was considering moving his team to Minnesota) to preserve the rivalry by bringing his team to California as well. New York baseball fans were stunned and heartbroken by the move, which left the city with only one baseball team, the Yankees. However, to ease the loss of both the Dodgers and Giants, New York City was granted a fourth baseball team, the Mets, who began play in 1962. The Mets appealed to both sets of fans by adopting colors from each team: orange from the Giants and blue from the Dodgers. They eventually moved into a new stadium in Queens, a borough which had not previously hosted Major League Baseball. Given that the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco had long harbored animosity against one another in the economic, cultural, and political arenas, the teams' new homes in California were fertile ground for the rivalry's transplantation. Each team's ability to endure for over a century while moving across the country, as well as the rivalry's growth from a cross-city to a cross-state engagement, have led to the rivalry being considered one of the greatest in sports history. Geographic factors have also led to the rivalry becoming one of the fiercest between fans as numerous acts of violence have occurred between both players and fans alike. The Dodgers and Giants each...