Sports teams have some interesting stories behind their team names. In this series, we look at every baseball team name origins.
AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, and NL West
History of Team Names – American League East
Baltimore Orioles
The history of the Orioles franchise is a long one. In 1894, the city of Milwaukee was granted a team, which it named the Brewers. The team has no connection aside from name to the current team from Milwaukee. With the area being well known for its affinity for beer-making, the name was suitable. The team left Milwaukee for St. Louis where it became the Browns, which was named after the old St. Louis Browns in the 1880’s. When the team moved further east into their current Baltimore home, the team went with Orioles, as a tribute to the National League team of the same name in the 1880’s, as well as an expansion American League team at the turn of the century (see: NY Yankees). Though they’re unrelated, the name is fitting.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox literally got their name from their red signature stockings – really, that’s it. In 1907, the team’s owner chose the name and accompanying socks after the already formed White Sox from Chicago. The Boston Red Sox were not the first, however, to use the name. In the late 1880’s, a team of African Americans out of Virginia used the Red Sox name. Even before that, there was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who helped to form the National Association of Base Ball Players. The Red Stockings folded, moving to Boston where they kept the Red Stockings until 1882. The name Stockings was shortened to Sox, by journalists of the day, and the team eventually adopted it as their official name.
New York Yankees
The origin of the Yankees is very much tied to the Baltimore Orioles. Back at the turn of the last century, The upstart American League was looking to expand into New York City, but with the powerful National League’s New York Giants already firmly established, they opted for Baltimore, and played as the Orioles. In 1903, a meeting was held between the two leagues to come to an understanding and co-exist. A vote was conducted and all but the owner of the Giants agreed that New York needed a second team – which became the New York Highlanders due to the physical elevation as well as a reference to a British Military group. It was Jim Price, a sports editor for the New York Press, who coined the name Yankees because it was easier to fit on the page.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays entered MLB in 1977, and have played every year in Toronto. However, it wasn’t the first time Toronto had a baseball team; from 1896-1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs played in the International League. To make the story more interesting, the team was almost called the Toronto Giants, as the current Giants were almost sold to a group in Toronto including CIBC (bank) and Labatt’s Breweries. The deal fell apart, but Toronto was soon after awarded an expansion team. After 4000+ suggestions, shareholder Labatt’s (whose top selling brand is called Labatt Blue) made the final choice – Blue Jays – not too subtle, eh?
Tampa Bay Rays
First, some Geography. Tampa Bay is not a city. It’s an area that comprises 4 jurisdictions – Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Bradenton. The Rays play out of St. Petersburg. The city of St. Petersburg has been after a team (loosely) since the 60’s, but they weren’t awarded a new team until 1995 to begin play in 1998. The team’s first name was Devil Rays, which was changed in 2008 to just “Rays”. At the time of the 2008 change, there were actually several other options the team was considering: Aces, Bandits, Cannons, Dukes, Stripes and simply “Nine”.
