Quote:
Originally Posted by dsvitak
Look at what happened in 1957, in New York City. The Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers, all trying to get fans.
I believe that the Dodgers and Giants had a damned hard time drawing anywhere near a million peeps.
|
Your belief is incorrect, at least in regards to the Dodgers.
The actual 1957 attendance:
Brooklyn: total, 1,028,258; per game average, 13,354; .545 winning percentage
New York Giants: total, 653,923; per game average, 8,493; .448 winning percentage
New York Yankees: total, 1,497,134; per game average, 19,443; .636 winning percentage
MLB team average: total, 1,063,489; per game average, 13,778
If you look at the immeidate post-war period, 1946-57, then the yearly average for those twelve seasons work out to the following:
Brooklyn: 16,472 per game average; .608 winning percentage
New York Giants: 13,634 per game average; .514 winning percentage
New York Yankees: 24,008 per game average; .628 winning percentage
MLB average: 14,011 per game average
The presence of a second team in a city often resulted in a combined city attendance above what was typical for a single-team city. In other words, the presence of a second team caused a general increase in interest in the sport and did not cause each club to split an already existing fan base.