The Subway Series

From the Bridegrooms and Giants to the Mets and Yankees, discover 136 years of epic clashes that made the Subway Series a legendary rivalry. For nearly thirty years, the modern-day tradition of the Subway Series has featured epic moments and iconic players squaring off to capture ultimate New York baseball bragging rights. With origins predating the advent of Gotham City’s subway system in 1904, the clash between New York’s original American Association (AA) clubs: the Metropolitans and Atlantics along with their original National League (NL) baseball counterpart, the Gothams, is a tradition that dates back over 143 years.  After adopting new nicknames in the seasons following their inception, the Yankees, formerly known as the Highlanders (AL), met the Dodgers (Brooklyn transferred to NL in 1890) and Giants, a combined thirteen times in the World Series. Unfortunately, both of New York’s NL clubs left for the West Coast following the 1957 MLB season. Upon Branch Rickey and William Shea delivering NL baseball back to New York in 1962, the revival of The Mayor’s Trophy Game saw the Amazin’s and Pinstripes lock horns in exhibition play for parts of nineteen years from 1963-79 and-1982-83. Following a 14-year hiatus in the area rivalry, the modern-day Subway Series took shape in 1997; conjuring up the same mystique and bad blood that existed in the late nineteenth century. Tag along on a memorable journey into New York baseball’s celebrated past to relive the truly unforgettable milestones and legendary moments that built the Subway Series into the longstanding rivalry that it is today. 

Rick Laughland has been front and center in the New York sports scene, covering the Brooklyn Nets, New York Jets, New York Mets and New York Giants as a beat reporter over the past decade. Laughland's work has been featured online via FOXSports and CBS Sports, along with broadcast appearances on FOX 5 TV in New York, Sirius XM Radio, FOXSports National Radio and FOXSports Radio New Jersey. Laughland currently operates an independent Brooklyn Nets blog at NetsInsider.com, with syndication on Bleacher Report, Hoopshype and Yardbarker. Laughland currently serves as an adjunct professor of marketing at his alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University.    

Foreword by Bobby Valentine Chapter 1: Trolley Series Era (1889–1903) Chapter 2: Subway Series Origins (1904–1957) Chapter 3: Dodgers and Giants NYC Exodus (1957–1958) Chapter 4: Shea and Rickey bring NL Baseball back to New York City (1958–1961) Chapter 5: New York Mets Established (1962)  Chapter 6: Mayor’s Trophy Era Revival (1963–79, 1982–83) Chapter 7: New York a National League City Once Again (1983–1990) Chapter 8: Modern Era Subway Series Early Years (1997–1999)  Chapter 9: Subway World Series Clash (2000) Chapter 10: Post-Subway World Series Battles (2001–2008)