Sports Reference Blog
Historical Franchise Nicknames Altered on Baseball Reference
Posted by Mike Lynch on August 29, 2023
In SABR's Fall 2019 Baseball Research Journal Ed Coen produced some remarkable research on the history of franchise nicknames.
Coen wrote:
Of the major league teams that trace their history before 1960, most started out with several short-term unofficial nicknames or even no nickname at all. Although several reputable sources provide a history of these nicknames, there are numerous contradictions between the available sources, and sometimes even when these sources agree, they conflict with the original sources. In other words, they do not reflect what the team was actually known as at the time.
Coen then performed exhaustive research using local newspapers to find out what teams were actually most commonly referred to at the time in their home cities. Thanks to his research, we are now able to use the actual names these teams were mostly commonly known as locally at the time on Baseball Reference. In many cases, you'll see the teams had no nicknames at all and were just known for the city and league they played in. Below is a list of the changes we have made:
- Braves Franchise
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- 1876: Boston Red Stocking changed to Boston Reds
- 1877-1900: Boston Red Stockings and Beaneaters changed to Boston
- 1901-1906: Boston Beaneaters changed to Boston Nationals
- 1911: Boston Rustlers changed to Boston
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- Cubs Franchise
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- 1888-1889: Chicago White Stockings changed to Chicago
- 1902: Chicago Orphans changed to Chicago
- 1903: Chicago Cubs changed to Chicago
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- Reds Franchise:
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- 1882-1886: Cincinnati Red Stockings changed to Cincinnati
- 1887-1889: Cincinnati Red Stockings changed to Cincinnati Reds
- 1953: Cincinnati Reds changed to Cincinnati Redlegs
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- Guardians Franchise
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- 1901: Cleveland Blues changed to Cleveland
- 1902: Cleveland Bronchos changed to Cleveland Blues
- 1903-1905: Cleveland Naps changed to Cleveland Napoleons
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- Dodgers Franchise
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- 1884: Brooklyn Atlantics changed to Brooklyn
- 1885-1887: Brooklyn Grays changed to Brooklyn
- 1888: Brooklyn Bridegrooms changed to Brooklyn
- 1891-1894: Brooklyn Grooms changed to Brooklyn
- 1896-1898: Brooklyn Bridegrooms changed to Brooklyn Grooms
- 1913: Brooklyn Superbas changed to Brooklyn Dodgers
- 1914-1915: Brooklyn Robins changed to Brooklyn Dodgers
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- Twins Franchise
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- 1905-1956: Washington Senators changed to Washington Nationals
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- Phillies Franchise
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- 1883-1885: Philadelphia Quakers changed to Philadelphia
- 1886-1889: Philadelphia Quakers changed to Philadelphia Phillies
- 1942: Philadelphia Phillies changed to Philadelphia Phils
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- Pirates Franchise
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- 1882-1890: Pittsburgh Alleghenys changed to Allegheny City
- 1891-1894: Pittsburgh Pirates changed to Pittsburgh
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- Giants Franchise
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- 1883-1884: New York Gothams changed to New York
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- Cardinals Franchise
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- 1882: St. Louis Brown Stockings changed to St. Louis Browns
- 1883: St. Louis Browns changed to St. Louis
- 1899: St. Louis Perfectos changed to St. Louis
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Please correct the team nickname for the Chicago Cubs in 1902-1903 to Chicago Cubs instead of just "Chicago".
Thank you!
The St. Louis Browns were not part of the Cardinals organization. They were originally the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901. In 1902 they moved to St. Louis and became the Browns. In 1954 they moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Orioles. The original Baltimore Orioles became the New York Highlanders and then eventually the New York Yankees. These were all American League teams
Greetings ! ...it's been my understanding that during the WW2 period that Philadelphia briefly were called the Blue Jays...any feedback to that end... next- regarding nicknames... curious that Mudcat Grant is listed that way and Mudcat or Jim is nickname... and same with Catfish Hunter-- named Catfish with Jim as a nickname... next- another thought... would you consider listing batting /pitching logs before splits...typically habit to click on the top listing as one I use most...thanks and keep up all the good work your team does.a great job..... Regards,Rick Agran
Good work, even if my favorite, Boston Beaneaters, is no more.
So with the Braves, the Beaneaters nickname is now gone completely? There are a lot of references to that nickname in the last 12-15 years of the 19th Century. Was it just informal? And weren't a lot of nicknames back then informal?
Hi, Rick. Regarding your question about Philadelphia and the Blue Jays nickname: Ed Coen wrote about this in the research Baseball Reference is using for franchise name history. He wrote:
"A word should be added here about what some have erroneously called an alternate nickname: The Blue Jays. From 1944 through 1949, the team used a blue jay as a symbol, but never dropped Phillies from their uniform or official publications. The intent of this change is best illustrated by the headline in the March 5, 1944, article about the change in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Phillies Accept Blue Jays as Team Emblem.”29 The designer of the emblem is shown holding up a drawing of a blue jay with the word “Phillies” under it. Clearly, the team was never meant to be called the Blue Jays and the bird was intended to be symbol, like the white elephant for the Philadelphia Athletics."
See entire article here: https://sabr.org/journal/article/setting-the-record-straight-on-major-league-team-nicknames/
When they hearken back to older eras for team and player comparison and claim that athletes have made giant improvements, just remember Philly favorite and reserve Clint Richardson and his 42 inch vertical.