The Major League Baseball team in Cleveland have made it official: they are dropping the Indians team name, probably by 2022. Possibilities for a new team name include the Spiders, which was the name of the Cleveland National League team from 1889 to 1899.
The last Spiders team famously lost 134 games after their owner sent the team’s best players to the newly formed St. Louis Browns. The 1899 Spiders drew an average of 145 fans per game and allowed a cigar stand guy to pitch the last game the team ever played.
What’s happening in Cleveland is a rare event in modern baseball. Outside of franchises that moved from other cities (the Washington Nationals) and one Florida franchise, team name changes are rare. For example, Cleveland has used Indians since the 1915 season.
But in the early years of the game, names were not always so set in stone. Here is what some current Major League Clubs used to be called, and when the change was made.
New York Yankees/New York Highlanders
When the original Baltimore Orioles moved to New York in 1903, they took the name Highlanders because the team played its games at Hilltop Park, one of the highest points in Manhattan. So, it made sense. However, many people referred to them as the New York Americans, and New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price shortened it to Yanks to fit into headlines. From there, the move to Yankees didn’t take long, and the team made it official in 1913 after they started playing in the Polo Grounds.
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Cincinnati Reds/Cincinnati Redlegs
If you want to know how bad the “Red Scare” about communists infiltrating the United States got in the 1950s, look no further than this gem. The team, from 1953 to 1958, changed the name to Redlegs to avoid any association with communism.
Los Angeles Dodgers/Brooklyn Robins, etc.
The Dodgers franchise alone has had many names – all of them while the franchise played in Brooklyn. The Dodgers franchise has been around since 1884, playing in Brooklyn until 1958. The complete list of names are as follows.
- Brooklyn Atlantics (1884)
- Brooklyn Grays (1885 -1887)
- Brooklyn Grooms or Bridegrooms (1888-1898)
- Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1913)
- Brooklyn Robins (1914-1931)
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Tampa Bay Rays/Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Devil Rays started play in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1998. For the next 10 years, they were very, very bad. The high-water mark was 70 wins in 2004. When new ownership took over in 2008, they dropped the “Devil” and became just the Rays. That year, they won the American League pennant. Since then, they’ve been to the playoffs five times and won another AL pennant in 2020. So, maybe there’s something in a name, after all.
The Boston Beaneaters/Atlanta Braves
Even casual fans may know that the Atlanta Braves once played in Boston and Milwaukee, but they may not be aware of the many names the team used during its time in New England. Beaneaters is clearly an all-time gem, and the name held by the team from 1883-1906. This National League club also was the Boston Red Stockings from its formation in 1876 to 1882. Before becoming the Braves in 1912, the team went by the Boston Doves, Boston Bees and Boston Rustlers.
All this is not to be confused with the Boston Red Sox, the American League club that was the Boston Americans from 1901 to 1907 and then became the Red Sox in 1908 until, likely, the end of time.
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Philadelphia Quakers/Philadelphia Phillies
This one is notable because it refers to a group of people united by a common religion, something you don’t see much in sports. The Philadelphia team took the name Phillies in 1890, making it one of the longest running names in baseball history. But before that, from 1883 to 1889, they played as the Philadelphia Quakers. The Quakers best player was pitcher Charlie Ferguson, one of the best players of his time, who was struck down by typhoid fever in 1888 when he was just 25.
Chicago Orphans/Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have been the Cubs since 1903. But in the 1898 to 1902 seasons, they were known as the Chicago Orphans. Again, sportswriters were involved. They started calling the team the Orphans after management released star player and manager Adrian “Cap” Anson. What’s surprising is that the name lasted for five seasons. What’s not surprising is that the team never finished higher than fourth place.
There are more, but these seven rank among some of the best – or, at least, memorable – Major League Baseball team nicknames from the past.
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