Origins of all Current team names (Note): Long Post

[Homestead Gray]

Though I have seen quite a few posts of the origins of team names I thought that I would put this together in one list and post it. I apologize for the length of the post and welcome any corrections or additions to current information or additional team names.

I did search for posts on team names but could not find a complete list so if this is redundant please excuse.

I have added one defunct team, the Montreal Expos, as I could not do this without referencing them.
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New York Mets
– Named by franchise owners
– Meant to be a reflection of the NY Metropolitans from the American Association (1880-1887) also represented the owner’s corporate name of “New York Metropolitan Baseball Club”
– Other names considered were the Skyliners (runner up), Bees, Burros, Continentals and Jets
Philadelphia Phillies
– Founded as the Quakers in 1884 and changed names to the Philadelphias
– Name was officially shortened to Phillies in 1890
– Call the Blue Jays from 1943 to 1948 but official name remained Phillies
Chicago Cubs
– Named Chicago Cubs in 1902 when franchise was purchased by John Hart
– Names prior to 1902 included Chicago Colts and Chicago Orphans
– Other unofficial nicknames include North Siders (Wrigley located on the North side in Chicago and Cubbies
St. Louis Cardinals
– Named St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association (1882)
– After the American Association went bankrupt the Brown Stockings joined the National League and changed their names in 1890 to the St. Louis
Perfectos before finally changing the name to Cardinals in 1990
– Other unofficial nicknames include Redbirds and Cards
Montreal Expos
– Public Poll – Based on hype from the 1967 Worlds Fair (Expo ’67)
– Expos name the same in both French and English
– Other names considered ( Voyagers, Nationals and Royals –based on old Dodger franchise the Montréal Royals but already used by KC)
Atlanta Braves
– Retained name of Braves after the team moved from Milwaukee in 1966
– Former official nicknames based on club evolution include Boston Red Stockings (1871-1876), Boston Red Caps (1876-1882), Boston Beaneaters
(1882-1906), Boston Doves (1907-1910), Boston Rustlers (1911), Boston Braves (1912-1935), Boston Bees (1936-1940), Boston Braves (1941-1952)
moved to Milwaukee in 1953
Florida Marlins
– Owner named as Florida Marlins in 1991
– Other name considered Florida Flamingos
– Un-officially nicknamed The Fish
Washington Nationals
– Owner(s) named as Nationals in 2005
– Movement to name team the Senators meant with opposition from the politicians as the District of Columbia does not have voting representation in Congress and the fact that the Texas Rangers (formerly the Washington Senators held the rights to the nickname)
– Other un-official nicknames include the Nats
Houston Astros
– Fan poll named the franchise the Colt .45s
– Named changed to Astros in 1965 to match the movement to the Eight Wonder of the World – the Astrodome
Milwaukee Brewers
– Named after Milwaukee’s beer brewing heritage
– Name selected by Bud Selig’s Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club Inc (formerly Team Inc.) which was formed to return baseball to the Milwaukee area
Pittsburgh Pirates
– Owner named in 1891 based on allegations from American Association’s Philadelphia Athletics that the player signings by the Alleghenys were “piratical”
– Un-official nickname the ‘Bucs
Arizona Diamondbacks
– Fan selected name as Arizona Diamondbacks
– Un-official names include ‘Backs and Snakes
– Team was marketed as the Arizona Diamondbacks to appeal to all of the state rather than just the Phoenix area
Colorado Rockies
– Named for the Rocky Mountains in 1993
– Un-official nickname The Rocks (Rox)
Cincinnati Reds
– Joined the American Association in 1882 as the Cincinnati Red Stockings
– Known as Cincinnati Reds (1890-1953), Redlegs (1953-1958) then back to the Reds from 1958 to present
– Un-official nickname “The Big Red Machine”
LA / Brooklyn Dodgers
– Named the Dodgers in 1913 while still located in Brooklyn – shortened from Trolley Dodgers
– Began as the Brooklyn Atlantics (1883-1884) then became Brooklyn Grays (1885-1887), Bridegrooms (1888-1890 and 1896-1898), Grooms (1891-
1895),Superbas (1899-1910), Trolley Dodgers (1911-1912), Robins (1914-1931) Dodgers (1913-1957) the franchise then moved to Los Angeles
SF/NY Giants
– Originally known as the Gothams (1883-1885)
– Became known as the New York Giants (1885-1957) until the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958
San Diego Padres
– Named after the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League
– Un-Official nickname The Friars
NY Yankees
– Name changed to Highlanders after original club moved to New York in 1903
– Changed from Highlanders to Yankees in 1913
– Franchise originally placed in Baltimore and was known as the Orioles
– Media had been calling the Highlanders the “Yankees” as early as 1904 but the name was officially changed in 1913
– Dispute as to the origin of the nickname but generally thought to have derived from reference to “Northern” Americans as Yankees
– Name change coincided with the move from Hilltop Stadium to the Polo Grounds
Boston Red Sox
– Named by owner John I. Taylor as Boston Red Stockings after the 1907 season
– Name was shortened by the media to Sox as red Stocking proved to be too long for print
– Introduced to the American League in 1901 without a nickname the Boston team was called the Americans, Bostonians and the Bostons
– The uniform was blue and included blue stockings until 1907 when Taylor changed the color to Red and the name was changed to Red Stockings
– Un-official names included the Sox and BoSox
Toronto Blue Jays
– Named by fans as the Blue Jays in a Name the Team contest
– Part franchise owners, Labatt Brewery accepted the name as their best selling beer was Labatt Blue and an obvious connection could be made
– Un-official nickname is The Jays
Baltimore Orioles
– Name by ownership group as Baltimore Orioles in reference to multiple baseball clubs that had used the name since the early 1900’s
– Name change occurred when the group brought the franchise to Baltimore from St. Louis (Browns) and the group wanted to distance themselves from
the Browns legacy
Tampa Bay ‘Rays
– Named by fans in 1998 as Tampa Bay Devil Rays
– Name change by owner Sternberg to Tampa Bay Rays in 2007
Chicago White Sox
– Named the Chicago White Stockings in 1901 after the name was abandoned by the Cubs
– Shortened in 1903 to Chicago White Sox
– Also known as the South Siders due to their south side location and their home ballpark called South Side Park and the ‘Sox
Minnesota Twins
– Named for the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul
– Team formed in 1901 in Washington as the Senators then changed to the Nationals in 1905
Cleveland Indians
– Name changed by media selection to the “Indians” to emulate the Boston Braves
– Originally known as the Bluebirds and was shortened to the Blues
– Name changed to Naps after a fan poll in 1903 then to Indians in 1915 after another fan/media poll
Kansas City Royals
– Name originates from Kansas City Royal livestock show held since 1899
Detroit Tigers
– Has been the nickname of the franchise since the American League changed from the Western League and joined the major leagues
– First game under the official name Tigers was held on April 25, 1901 at Bennett Park
– Various explanations on how the Tiger nickname came to be
– It has been said that the Tiger name came from a newspaper man who indicated that the ball club played like Tigers (reference to the Princeton
Tigers), another says that they were named for the orange stripe on their black socks but it is believed that the name came from a reference to the
Detroit Light Guard who were known as the Tigers.
– The ball club official requested permission to use the name Tigers from the Light Guard upon entry in the major leagues
LA Angels
– Named the Angels by owner Gene Autry in 1961
– Nickname came from original Los Angeles franchise in the California League and to the PCL Angels who played in Los Angeles from 1903-1957
– Name also translates direct from the Spanish “Los Angeles” to English “The Angels”
Seattle Mariners
– Nickname origin unknown but it is believed to be based on the marine based west coast
– Franchise awarded when MLB offered an expansion franchise to Seattle if the Pilots law suit against MLB would be dropped
Oakland Athletics
– Oakland Athletics nickname came from a reference to local Athletic Clubs in the 1860/70s
– Name migrated with the franchise moves from the Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1954) to the Kansas City Athletics (1955-1967) to the Oakland Athletics
(1968-1969) then to Oakland A’s (1970-1981)
Texas Rangers
– Named by owner Bob Short as the Texas Rangers
– Nickname originates from the historical Texas Ranger law enforcement organization

[Buzzaldrin]

One small point here- when the NL formed it had no official nicknames, only unofficial ones. The teams were officially named after their cities of origin- Chicago was officially either Chicago or the Chicagos, Boston was Boston or the Bostons, etc., all other nicknames were unofficial.

And the Pirates got their name in 1891, not 1981. They were known as the Alleghenys then the Innocents before that.

Also, in newspapers from 1889, Chicago was referred to as the Babys and Cap Anson as Baby Anson.

And the Browns didn't become the Perfectos until 1899. That name only lasted one seasons before they became Cardinals.

Nice work otherwise.

[Brian McKenna]

Many of these nicknames are well over 100 years old predating the current franchise and should be noted as such - Orioles, Brewers, Nationals nicknames pre-date the 20th century. Some of these nicknames are strongly used city nicknames from way back into the 1800s - that also involve other sports.

Not so sure the original LA entry in the California League (league name first used in 1879) was called the Angels.

Not so sure the Metropolitan name doesn't pre-date the American Association.

I second Buzz in that there were a ton of nicknames for these clubs.

Still didn't identify how these names originated. For example, where did "Marlins" come from? Here is a site that does it for the NFL: http://www.profootballhof.com/history/nicknames.jsp

There has to be a standard which identifies popular nicknames and weeds out mere slang references like "The Fish" for the Marlins - I personally never heard that one. Such as, "The Birds" for the Orioles - a very strong unofficial nickname that's been around for decades.

[Ubiquitous]

The Cubs name has nothing really to do with the purchase of the team by Hart. Almost all teams back then were given nicknames by the newspapers covering the teams. One of the newspapers took to calling the Chicago teams the Cubs in part because of their youth. The name stuck and by I believe 1908 you saw a cub logo on the jersey. Before this naturally the Cubs had a ton of nicknames as there were many newspapers in Chicago.

[OleMissCub]

The Royals one is interesting to me. I had always figured that the name "Royals" was an homage to the Kansas City Monarchs.

[parlo]

The term Yankee has evolved over time and has had different meanings.
In colonial days it referred to a colonist of British descent, such as in Yankee Doodle. A New York Yankee was a British colonist in heavily Dutch New York.
The term also had a New England connotation as in A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. It was not until the Civil War that the term implied northerners in general.
By the time of the Spanish-American War, and then WWI, the term Yankee had become synonymous for Americans as a whole, especially US soldiers fighting overseas. This period would be when the Highlanders changed their name to Yankees.
I hope this helps.

[EdTarbusz]

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Cleveland Indians
– Name changed by media selection to the “Indians” to emulate the Boston Braves
– Originally known as the Bluebirds and was shortened to the Blues
– Name changed to Naps after a fan poll in 1903 then to Indians in 1915 after another fan/media poll


Cleveland was originally the Blues and then became the Bluebirds.

[steveironcity]

Ive read that the Indians were named that in honor of Louis Sockalexis, And the Braves got that name because the owners at the time had been involved in the Tammeny Hall Political machine, which got its name from an indian chief named Tammenen.

[EdTarbusz]

Ive read that the Indians were named that in honor of Louis Sockalexis

I think that's a myth. I looked at the Cleveland papers from the off-season of 1914-15 and there was some mention of the team being renamed, but the name Indians or Sockalexis were not mentioned. I believe the name Indians was chosen because of the Miracle Bostin Braves.

Sockalexis would have been an odd choice to honor. In two full seasons (and about 3 weeks of a third) he played less than 100 ganes for the Spiders. He only played half time in his one good season (1897).

[parlo]

There was a Negro League team called the Miami Marlins.
I believe Satchel Paige pitched for them at one point.

[EdTarbusz]

There was a Negro League team called the Miami Marlins.
I believe Satchel Paige pitched for them at one point.

There was a Minor League team called the Miami Marlins.