Baseball Fans - Why are they called Bums?

[ace31216]

Why are the Dodgers called 'Bums'?

 

[piku]

While I honestly have no clue, my best guess would be something relating back to when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

[kranky]

The name came from a cartoon drawn by William Mullin. Mullin was in a cab headed home after a Dodger doubleheader in 1937 when the driver asked, "How did our Bums come out?" He used that to create a cartoon character, who was a tramp. [from the Baseball Dictionary by Paul Dickson]

 

[derfman]

The Dodgers were affectionately "dem bums" to their fans in Brooklyn. The term doesn't carry well to LA, they don't habla good Brooklynese out there.

 

[ggavinmoss]

It probably has something to do with the origin of "Dodgers," which I believe refer to people dodging streetcars or cabs, etc. And who better to be a "dodger" than a bum.

Just a guess...

-geoff

 

[Linflas]

The Dodgers name did come from the nickname for the residents of Brooklyn. They were known as trolley dodgers and if I recall correctly it was because their trolley system was powered by DC rather than AC which caused the trolleys to lurch forward unpredictably.