1981 World Series

1981 World Series
Team (Wins) Manager(s) Season
Los Angeles Dodgers (4) Tommy Lasorda 36–21, .632, GA: 12 (1st half)
27–26, .509, GB: 6 (2nd half)
New York Yankees (2) Bob Lemon 34–22, .607, GA: 2 (1st half)
25–26, .490, GB: 5 (2nd half)
DatesOctober 20–28
Venue(s)Yankee Stadium (New York)
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
MVPRon Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager (Los Angeles)
UmpiresLarry Barnett (AL), Nick Colosi (NL), Terry Cooney (AL), Doug Harvey (NL), Rich Garcia (AL), Dick Stello (NL)
Hall of FamersUmpire:
Doug Harvey
Dodgers:
Tommy Lasorda (manager).
Yankees:
Goose Gossage
Reggie Jackson
Bob Lemon (manager)
Dave Winfield
Broadcast
TelevisionABC
KTTV (LAD)
WPIX (NYY)
TV announcersABC: Keith Jackson (in New York)
Al Michaels (in Los Angeles)
Howard Cosell and Jim Palmer
KTTV: Jerry Doggett and Ross Porter
WPIX: Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White
RadioCBS
KABC (LAD)
WABC (NYY)
Radio announcersCBS: Vin Scully and Sparky Anderson
KABC: Jerry Doggett and Ross Porter
WABC: Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White and Fran Healy
ALCSNew York Yankees over Oakland Athletics (3–0)
NLCSLos Angeles Dodgers over Montreal Expos (3–2)
World Series

The 1981 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It marked their third Series meeting in five years and was their 11th overall Series meeting. The Dodgers won the Series in six games, as the Yankees had done in the teams' prior two Series meetings, in 1977 and 1978. This was the Dodgers' first title since 1965, their first victory over the Yankees since 1963, and third overall Series win over the Yankees.

This is the most recent World Series that a team won after losing the first two games on the road, the next previous instance being the Yankees' victory over the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series. This was the last meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship until the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers reached the NHL's 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, as well as the last meeting between the Dodgers and the Yankees in the World Series until 2024. The Dodgers-Yankees matchup has been the most frequent pairing in World Series history.