The 2020 World Series title will forever be remembered as the crowning moment for the LA Dodgers or Tampa Bay Rays in one of the most bizarre seasons in MLB history that was played during a worldwide pandemic. At the start of the shortened 60-game season, many experts predicted the Dodgers would be in this position after reaching the Series twice in the last three seasons, losing both times. How many World Series titles have the Dodgers won? 

Dodgers won first World Series title in 1955

The Brooklyn Dodgers won their first National League pennant in 1941, before losing to the New York Yankees. It was the beginning of the Dodgers-Yankees rivalry. 

During the next 13 years, the Dodgers won the pennant four times, but then fell painfully each time to the hated Yankees. In 1955, the club finally had its breakthrough. 

Led by the first Black player of the modern era in Jackie Robinson and three-time NL MVP Roy Campanella, the Dodgers managed to overcome their rivals to win the organization’s first World Series title in seven games. It turned out to be the club’s only title in Brooklyn.  

Dodgers move to LA and add more titles

In 1957, after much wrangling with New York City officials about a potential new stadium, Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley received an offer to move the team to LA. He accepted. 

The LA Dodgers played their first game in California in April 1958. The club had a new home, but the same core of quality players, and it didn’t take them long to make it back to the top. After a lackluster performance that first season in LA, the Dodgers rebounded quite nicely the following year, winning the World Series 4-2 over the Chicago White Sox.

Four years later, the Dodgers made it back to the World Series and faced a familiar foe in the New York Yankees. It wasn’t a contest as the Dodgers quickly swept their former cross-town rivals and won their third World Series title. 

In 1965, the Dodgers won their fourth World Series title, defeating the Minnesota Twins in seven games. Then, it was a flashback to the 1940s. Over the next 14 seasons, the team made it to the Series on four occasions, falling short each time. In 1981, LA broke the streak beating the Yankees in six games and the Dodgers won their fifth World Series crown.  

Dodgers won last World Series title in 1988

For the rest of the 1980s, the Dodgers had their ups and downs. Outside of reaching the NLCS in 1983 and 1985, the club didn’t even make the playoffs the other seasons, the exception coming in 1988. 

That was a magical season for the Dodgers and their fans. Pitcher Orel Hershiser dominated opposing batters to the tune of a 2.26 ERA and a league-leading 23 wins. He finished the season with a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings. 

Hershiser provided the pitching that season, and Kirk Gibson, who came over from the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, provided the offense. Gibson, who won the NL MVP that season, is most remembered for his dramatic appearance in Game 1 of the World Series against the Oakland Athletics. 

Manager Tommy Lasorda called on the injured Gibson in the bottom of the ninth to pinch hit against Oakland star closer Dennis Eckersley. Gibson stepped up to the plate, blasted a game-winning two-run homer, then hobbled around the bases. It was one of the most iconic moments in World Series history and propelled the Dodgers to win the Series in five games.

That year, however, is the last time the Dodgers won a World Series title. With a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, it would be the Dodgers’ seventh World Series title and also one to remember because of the extraordinary circumstances the team had to overcome on and off the field to achieve it.