Who are the orginal teams in major league baseball?

[RobertCleese77]

When major league baseball was first made in 1901 who were the teams in the league? Thanks.

[SwainZag]

 

When major league baseball was first made in 1901 who were the teams in the league? Thanks.

 

This should help you out.  http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1901.shtml

[Jerr]

Chief???? What say you?????       

[spinowner]

I think this link is more clear:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901_Major_League_Baseball_season

 

As noted, two American League teams relocated, one after the 1901 season and another after the 1902 season. Another note is that between 1891 and 1911 the official spelling of Pittsburgh was Pittsburg. The final h was officially returned after that.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

fun fact - before moving to Chicago and becoming the White Sox, Ban Johnson's team was based in Saint Paul, MN as part of the Western League.

 

 

A quick chart of the teams in MLB in 1901 and their current incarnations:

 

AL

Chicago White Stockings -> Chicago White Sox

Boston Americans -> Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers -> Detroit Tigers

Philadelphia Athletics -> Oakland A's

Baltimore Orioles -> New York Yankees

Washington Senators -> Minnesota Twins

Cleveland Bluebirds -> Cleveland Indians

Milwaukee Brewers -> Baltimore Orioles

 

NL

Pittsburg Pirates -> Pittsburgh Pirates

Philadelphia Phillies -> Philadelphia Phillies

Brooklyn Superbas -> Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis Cardinals -> St. Louis Cardinals

Boston Beaneaters -> Atlanta Braves

Chicago Orphans -> Chicago Cubs (The "Orphans" name came about because Cap Anson A.K.A "Pop" Anson retired, so the team was left without its "Pop")

New York Giants -> San Francisco Giants 

Cincinnati Reds -> Cincinnati Reds

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

fun fact - before moving to Chicago and becoming the White Sox, Ban Johnson's team was based in Saint Paul, MN as part of the Western League.

 

 

A quick chart of the teams in MLB in 1901 and their current incarnations:

 

AL

Chicago White Stockings -> Chicago White Sox

Boston Americans -> Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers -> Detroit Tigers

Philadelphia Athletics -> Oakland A's

Baltimore Orioles -> New York Yankees

Washington Senators -> Minnesota Twins

Cleveland Bluebirds -> Cleveland Indians

Milwaukee Brewers -> Baltimore Orioles

 

NL

Pittsburg Pirates -> Pittsburgh Pirates

Philadelphia Phillies -> Philadelphia Phillies

Brooklyn Superbas -> Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis Cardinals -> St. Louis Cardinals

Boston Beaneaters -> Atlanta Braves

Chicago Orphans -> Chicago Cubs (The "Orphans" name came about because Cap Anson A.K.A "Pop" Anson retired, so the team was left without its "Pop")

New York Giants -> San Francisco Giants 

Cincinnati Reds -> Cincinnati Reds

I knew most of this but putting it in a list is amusing... Only three of those teams still have the same name. Kinda weird.

 

If you put a gun to my head, I would have listed the Highlanders as an original AL team. I didn't realize they came into existence two years after the formation of the AL.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

There is some debate among baseball historians about the link between the Baltimore team from 1901 and the Yankees. The Yankees themselves seem to largely ignore the Baltimore records, claiming that The Highlanders were an expansion team and the Baltimore franchise was a separate entity that went out of business.

 

But the fact that several Baltimore players went directly to the New York Franchise and some of the same people were managing the "new" team's finances puts the Yankees' position in a different light. There's some interesting reading to be had on the subject for people that like that kind of stuff. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The Cincinnati Reds also went by the Redlegs for a few years in the 1950's, because Communism.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

All the Red Sox, White Sox, Redlegs, etc. are named for the long socks and shorter than full length pants worn by the players. The original style of the long socks was introduced because the players from the 1867 Cincinnati team (a pre-professional team) wanted to "better display their manly calves in carmine hose." Other teams all wore long pants like Manny Ramirez! 

Cincinnati player Harry Wright brought his red stockings to a new team he formed in Boston, and that's how the Boston team started with the name "Red Stockings" (later changed several times, in 1901 they were known as the Boston Americans because they were in the American League) before settling on Red Sox. 

[FattCrapps]

My favorite non-Twins jersey I own is my St. Louis Browns Satchel Paige flannel (eventually became the Orioles)

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCtVf1j2RPI/VZDjagWJoTI/AAAAAAAAEj0/tYLwfhRH5u4/s1600/1339.gif

[awinter]

 

 

Brooklyn Superbas -> Los Angeles Dodgers

 

What is a "Superba"? What a cool nickname!

[sane]

The National League was founded on Feb 2, 1876

The National League had eight original members: the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

 

 

[sane]

 

What is a "Superba"? What a cool nickname!

I'm trying to get my wife to call me that.

So far, no luck!

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

 

What is a "Superba"? What a cool nickname!

 

here's a source for that nickname:

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/8/5/future-brooklyn-dodgers-nicknamed-%E2%80%98superbas%E2%80%99-when-they-started-spring-training

 

 

That's when I found the source of the Superba nickname. According to Remington, the nickname came into use simply because Ned Hanlon had the same last name as the Hanlon Brothers from England, who wrote the immensely popular vaudeville theatrical production “Superba,” which had premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music almost a decade earlier in 1890.

 

[ashbury]

fun fact - before moving to Chicago and becoming the White Sox, Ban Johnson's team was based in Saint Paul, MN as part of the Western League.

 

 

A quick chart of the teams in MLB in 1901 and their current incarnations:

 

AL

Chicago White Stockings -> Chicago White Sox

Boston Americans -> Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers -> Detroit Tigers

Philadelphia Athletics -> Oakland A's

Baltimore Orioles -> New York Yankees

Washington Senators -> Minnesota Twins

Cleveland Bluebirds -> Cleveland Indians

Milwaukee Brewers -> Baltimore Orioles

 

NL

Pittsburg Pirates -> Pittsburgh Pirates

Philadelphia Phillies -> Philadelphia Phillies

Brooklyn Superbas -> Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis Cardinals -> St. Louis Cardinals

Boston Beaneaters -> Atlanta Braves

Chicago Orphans -> Chicago Cubs (The "Orphans" name came about because Cap Anson A.K.A "Pop" Anson retired, so the team was left without its "Pop")

New York Giants -> San Francisco Giants 

Cincinnati Reds -> Cincinnati Reds

 

Because a question like this always brings out the nitpickers, I can't resist adding.

 

In 1901, it was still the tail-end of an era where team nicknames weren't universally embraced. I note that this Cleveland team is listed by bb-ref.com as simply the Blues. Often the newspaper accounts would still refer to teams as the plural of the city name - e.g. the Clevelands might face the Washingtons for a game. Team nicknames were often assigned playfully by newspaper writers or others, and if a name found public acceptance it might last a few weeks or even become permanent (e.g. the Superbas became the Trolley Dodgers more or less this way). The Pirates' name was bestowed originally as a dig, for their having raided other professional teams too aggressively around 1890, and at some point the team adopted the name as a reverse badge of honor (or opprobrium).

 

Cleveland in particular went through a succession of nicknames: Bluebirds/Blues, Bronchos, Naps (in honor of their star Napoleon Lajoie), before finally becoming the Indians, apocryphally in honor of Louis "Chief" Sockalexis who had played for an NL incarnation in that city late in the 19th century, but more likely because the team owner just liked the name.

 

Baseball has amazing lineage and continuity, which is an important aspect of its charm. But, as with any major human enterprise, there are often interesting non-linear details beneath the surface.