Teams that should of changed their names but didn't

ChrisCary · 05-07-2002, 09:19 AM

The Dodgers name came from shortening their prevous name, The Trolley Dodgers after the kids that played stickball in the street around the Trolleys that ran in Brooklyn those days.

The name Dodgers had regional relevance to the Brooklyn team but when they moved to LA they kept the name.

I grew up listening to this rant from my father and it (probably by osmosis) irks me pretty good when I think about it.

Have their been other teams that kept their original name when they moved cities which had no relevance in the new town?

SmedIndy · 05-07-2002, 09:30 AM

In the NBA, the New Orleans Jazz and Minneapolis Lakers come to mind.

As far as baseball, I think just the Dodgers, and that was such a brand identity (even then) they wouldn't dare change it.

TimmyB · 05-07-2002, 10:22 AM

When they changed leagues the Brewers should have been changed to the Buds.

(okay... lousy pun)

Actually, Charlie Finley shortened his team's name to the A's, as he felt "Athletics" had more significance to Connie Mack's Philadelphia team than his KC/Oakland team.

Skip · 05-07-2002, 10:35 AM

Technically speaking, I guess the Astro's should have changed their name when they moved to Enron. Instead they instigated this whole accounting flap at Enron so they could change the name of the field instead.

Also the Colts name lost whatever meaning it had after reappearing in Indy. Original Baltimore Colts were named in a fan contest to represent the horse racing/breeding history of the area.

05-07-2002, 11:31 AM

Can you think of a good reason why that team in Atlanta should be called the Braves? The American Indian tradition isn't exactly overflowing in Georgia. It made slightly more sense in Boston and Milwaukee (heck, Milwaukee is an Algonquin name).

The Pirates got their nickname because the rest of the league thought that they "pirated" a player away from the A's when the Players League folded. But I suppose Pirates is a better nickname than the Alleghenies, which is what they were originally.

There are more than a few baseball nicknames that are outdated, but to change many of them would border on sacrilege.

SmedIndy · 05-07-2002, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Long John - RJ
The Pirates got their nickname because the rest of the league thought that they "pirated" a player away from the A's when the Players League folded. But I suppose Pirates is a better nickname than the Alleghenies, which is what they were originally.

There are more than a few baseball nicknames that are outdated, but to change many of them would border on sacrilege.

Pittsburgh was the Innocents in 1890, because the Players League robbed them of anyone that was good and they played a bunch of greenhorns.

And that would be the old Philadelphia Athletics, which died in 1891 when they couldn't pay the bills, so released all their players and played out the string on the road paying players on a per diem basis. (Not related to the suspected thievery by the Pittsburgh club, which was based on the reserve rule vs. the Players League and wound up causing the AA to fold).

SmedIndy · 05-07-2002, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TimmyB

Actually, Charlie Finley shortened his team's name to the A's, as he felt "Athletics" had more significance to Connie Mack's Philadelphia team than his KC/Oakland team.

But that's not really a name change. It's like going by Rich instead of Richard.

LeGrandOrange · 05-07-2002, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisCary
The Dodgers name came from shortening their prevous name, The Trolley Dodgers after the kids that played stickball in the street around the Trolleys that ran in Brooklyn those days.

The name Dodgers had regional relevance to the Brooklyn team but when they moved to LA they kept the name.

I grew up listening to this rant from my father and it (probably by osmosis) irks me pretty good when I think about it.

Have their been other teams that kept their original name when they moved cities which had no relevance in the new town?

Would you rather have the Los Angeles Bridegrooms?

They've merely gone from dodging trolleys to dodging traffic on the freeways, and while that's a stretch there is no problem with the name being Los Angelan. At least you can dodge something. The Lakers were already brought up...and where have you seen a Clipper in Los Angeles anyway?

BTW, I think "Memphis Grizzlies" is also un-fitting in the NBA. Better then "New Orleans Hornets", though. I think Utah should relinquish the team name to New Orleans, try to get permission to be the "Utah Grizzlies" from the hockey team with that name, and then we'll just worry about the Memphis Hornets.

TimmyB · 05-07-2002, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SmedIndy

But that's not really a name change. It's like going by Rich instead of Richard.

Quite right. However, as I had already committed to the horrible pun, I needed to... hmm... learn to quit while behind...

spitball · 05-07-2002, 06:04 PM

Lakers is a stupid name for an L.A. team. We do have many fine dried up riverbeds and even finer reservoirs..
We have salt water ( Pacific Ocean) so the Clippers' name is applicable.
We used to have trolleys in L.A. before my time , so the Dodgers are allowed to keep their name .

pwdennis · 05-07-2002, 06:39 PM

San Francisco should have dropped Giants and taken the name of the old PCL team the Seals.

Fuzzy Bear · 05-07-2002, 07:28 PM

Keeping seemingly irrelevant nicknames has provided continuity to baseball history. It also keeps history alive. Because the old Philadelphia A's (they were the A's in Philly as well, and are still the Athletics, officially) Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons are still in their record books. They are remembered. By contrast, Goose Goslin, Heine Manush, and Buddy Myer are forgotten. They were Washington Senators. (Myer is forgotten and Billy Herman is in the HOF even though they both played 2B at the same time and both have near identical records. Herman was a Dodger.)

Shouldn't Warren Spahn still be the career wins leader for his team? He wouldn't be if the Braves changed their nickname. Do any of you reading this see how keeping seemingly silly and irrelevant nicknames is a baseball history preservative?

spitball · 05-08-2002, 12:31 AM

I was making light.

I dont think there should be name changes at all. Not even for the sake of the P.C. police.
It's just funny that the Jazz are in Utah, the Grizzlies are in Memphis, etc. though.
I mean , what are we going to call the Dodgers? The L.A. Latte's ?
Actually that's not bad.

Gosfgiants · 05-08-2002, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by spitball
I mean , what are we going to call the Dodgers? The L.A. Latte's ?Actually that's not bad.

How 'bout the LA Gliteratti? The LA Surf Bums?

P.S. Beat LA

Slippery Pedro · 05-08-2002, 06:15 AM

Other than the Dodgers, Braves, A's and Giants - I think everyone who moved had changed their name.

Two bucks says we will not see the "Washington Expos."

05-07-2002, 09:19 AM	#1
ChrisCary High and tight Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 1,281	Teams that should of changed their names but didn't The Dodgers name came from shortening their prevous name, The Trolley Dodgers after the kids that played stickball in the street around the Trolleys that ran in Brooklyn those days. The name Dodgers had regional relevance to the Brooklyn team but when they moved to LA they kept the name. I grew up listening to this rant from my father and it (probably by osmosis) irks me pretty good when I think about it. Have their been other teams that kept their original name when they moved cities which had no relevance in the new town?

05-07-2002, 10:35 AM	#4
Skip NetShrine Vagabond Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Louisville Posts: 7,866	Technically speaking, I guess the Astro's should have changed their name when they moved to Enron. Instead they instigated this whole accounting flap at Enron so they could change the name of the field instead. Also the Colts name lost whatever meaning it had after reappearing in Indy. Original Baltimore Colts were named in a fan contest to represent the horse racing/breeding history of the area. Last edited by Skip : 05-07-2002 at 10:39 AM.

05-08-2002, 06:15 AM	#15
Slippery Pedro NetShrine Creator & Curator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NetShrine WHQ Posts: 999	Other than the Dodgers, Braves, A's and Giants - I think everyone who moved had changed their name. Two bucks says we will not see the "Washington Expos." __________________ Steve, Forum Administrator PLEASE READ: Community Standards . : ~ : PLEASE SHOP: Our Stuff! : ~ : HOW CAN YOU: Help? : ~ : BE NICE: To Your Fav Baseball Person. : ~ : ARE YOU: Posting Correctly?

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05-07-2002, 09:30 AM	#2
SmedIndy NetShrine's Historian Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Zionsville, IN Posts: 10,569	In the NBA, the New Orleans Jazz and Minneapolis Lakers come to mind. As far as baseball, I think just the Dodgers, and that was such a brand identity (even then) they wouldn't dare change it.

05-07-2002, 10:22 AM	#3
TimmyB NetShrine's Magic 8-Ball Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Where the cops speak slow and the air is nice Posts: 2,591	When they changed leagues the Brewers should have been changed to the Buds. (okay... lousy pun) Actually, Charlie Finley shortened his team's name to the A's, as he felt "Athletics" had more significance to Connie Mack's Philadelphia team than his KC/Oakland team.

05-07-2002, 11:31 AM	#5
Long John - RJ Posts: n/a	Can you think of a good reason why that team in Atlanta should be called the Braves? The American Indian tradition isn't exactly overflowing in Georgia. It made slightly more sense in Boston and Milwaukee (heck, Milwaukee is an Algonquin name). The Pirates got their nickname because the rest of the league thought that they "pirated" a player away from the A's when the Players League folded. But I suppose Pirates is a better nickname than the Alleghenies, which is what they were originally. There are more than a few baseball nicknames that are outdated, but to change many of them would border on sacrilege.

05-07-2002, 06:04 PM	#10
spitball Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Studio City, Ca. Posts: 1,751	Lakers is a stupid name for an L.A. team. We do have many fine dried up riverbeds and even finer reservoirs.. We have salt water ( Pacific Ocean) so the Clippers' name is applicable. We used to have trolleys in L.A. before my time , so the Dodgers are allowed to keep their name .

05-07-2002, 06:39 PM	#11
pwdennis NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Winter Springs, FL Posts: 2,503	San Francisco should have dropped Giants and taken the name of the old PCL team the Seals.

05-07-2002, 07:28 PM	#12
Fuzzy Bear NetShrine's Evangelist Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Living by faith, and not by sight! Posts: 2,194	Keeping seemingly irrelevant nicknames has provided continuity to baseball history. It also keeps history alive. Because the old Philadelphia A's (they were the A's in Philly as well, and are still the Athletics, officially) Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons are still in their record books. They are remembered. By contrast, Goose Goslin, Heine Manush, and Buddy Myer are forgotten. They were Washington Senators. (Myer is forgotten and Billy Herman is in the HOF even though they both played 2B at the same time and both have near identical records. Herman was a Dodger.) Shouldn't Warren Spahn still be the career wins leader for his team? He wouldn't be if the Braves changed their nickname. Do any of you reading this see how keeping seemingly silly and irrelevant nicknames is a baseball history preservative?

05-08-2002, 12:31 AM	#13
spitball Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Studio City, Ca. Posts: 1,751	I was making light. I dont think there should be name changes at all. Not even for the sake of the P.C. police. It's just funny that the Jazz are in Utah, the Grizzlies are in Memphis, etc. though. I mean , what are we going to call the Dodgers? The L.A. Latte's ? Actually that's not bad.

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