Love Affair Between Brooklyn and Dodgers Relived on 30th Anniversary of Series Win

They gathered Friday to relive the love affair between Brooklyn and the Dodgers.

Former Dodger players, loyalists and sportswriters traded stories about the days when subway series were commonplace and when ballplayers had names like “Pee Wee,” “Duke” and “Dixie,” at a celebration commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ first and only World series victory in 1955. “It’s wonderful, you can go home again,” said Irving Rudd, the clubs former public relations manager.

Carl Erskine, Gene Hermanski, Joe Pignatano and Jimmy Romano were the former players who joined the celebration that was held by a group of diehard fans at a downtown restaurant.

Most of the memories were provided by Brooklynites who could never transfer their loyalty to the Yankees, or later the Mets, after the team moved to Los Angeles nearly three decades ago.

“The people of Brooklyn were the Dodgers, the team was the community and the community was the team,” said Tom Bartosiewicz, a lifelong Brooklyn resident who is now a New York state senator.

“Ebbets Field was not a place, it was a state of mind,” Rudd said. “Today, baseball is so plastic and remote.”