New York Islanders and Every Brooklyn Professional Sports Team in History

Brooklyn Islanders logo? Not yet. Still the “New York” Islanders.

The New York Islanders are moving to Brooklyn!

After nearly six decades, Brooklyn – New York City’s most populous borough – will have not just one, but two major professional sports teams in the NBA‘s Brooklyn Nets and the NHL‘s so far still-named New York Islanders.

Both will play at the Barclays Center beginning in 2015, the year the Islanders are set to move. The Nets, meanwhile, will open up their regular season on November 1st against the New York Knicks.

Brooklyn has a longer professional sports history than you might suspect. Baseball, especially, took to the borough, fielding a team for over 80 years, from the Brooklyn Eckfords in 1872 through the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957.

Those teams noted with an “*” in the baseball section below roll up into the Brooklyn Dodgers. Did you know that team was called the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1911 and 1912, before changing its name to the Brooklyn Superbas and Robins (1913-1931), and then reverting back to the “Dodger” moniker from 1932-1957?

Meanwhile, the NFL has had its share of Brooklyn teams: three to be exact, including two versions of the Dodgers. The “**” Dodgers rolled up into the Brooklyn Tigers.

The NBA never had a franchise based in Brooklyn, until today, in the Nets.

And finally, the NHL did have one – but for one year – when the now defunct New York Americans changed their name to Brooklyn in their final season. They still played their games at Madison Square Garden, though.

The “New York Islanders” will keep their name, so far. We need a little grass-roots campaign to make them change it.

Please visit my source – the sports-reference.com suite. They have everything you need.

Photo: wepuckny.com