Expert: Jamie Selko - 7/22/2007

Question
When the dodgers were in bklyn they were often referred to as dem bums and the flock in the tabloids. What is the origin of those two nicknames, and also, are those terms still used since they are in LA? I've heard many explanations but so far, nobody really has given me a definitive answer. You have the answer, don't you?

Answer
In 1937 (exact date unknown), famous sports cartoonist Willard Mullin was riding in a cab in Brooklyn when the rider, who recognized him, asked "How iz dem bums doin'?"(not an exact transcription, by the way).  Mullin, perhaps the most gifted sports cartoonist ever, took that question and ran with it.
 As far as "The Flock", I never heard the Dodgers called that before.  Could you possibly be referring to when the Dodgers were known as the Robins (for manager Wilbert Robinson), in which case they may have been referred to as his "flock"?
  Hope that helped.