That was a heartbreaking time for Ron Schweiger, a Brooklyn borough historian who has fond childhood memories of seeing the team play at Ebbets Field.
At the time, games on television were in black-and-white, of course.
So Schweiger remembers being astonished at the vivid colors when his father first took him to Ebbets Field, which held only about 36,000 fans.
"When we got to the top of the ramp and I caught my first glimpse of the field, I stopped short," he recalled.
"My father said, What's the matter? I said the grass is green. It was the greenest grass I had ever seen, ever."
His favorite memory naturally is when the Dodgers - with Jackie Robinson leading the way - beat the Yankees for the World Series title in 1955.
"Cars are blowing their horns and everything. People are outside banging their pots and pans. The Dodgers win the World Series! Mayhem."
Then three years later they were gone.
With his team 3,000 miles away, Schweiger couldn't root for the Dodgers anymore.
But he couldn't switch his allegiance to their longtime nemesis, the Yankees, either.
So who does he back in this year's Dodgers-Yankees World Series?
"I don't know who I'm rooting for. I'm watching the game."