The Chicago Orphans, the Cleveland Naps and other bizarre old-timey baseball teams

The New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the LA Dodgers… These names  are not only part of the history of baseball, they are American institutions. However, many baseball clubs have a long, complicated history full of bizarre, strange names and a few surprising origins.

The most recent name change for an MLB team was the Cleveland Indians becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2021, amid controversy. However, this was not the first time this club had a name change.

Early names for professional teams in the city included the Cleveland Bluebirds and the Cleveland Forest Citys. One of the best-remembered teams was the Cleveland Spiders, pictured here, which still holds the record for the worst MLB season for any team to this day.

Players of the Cleveland Bluebirds thought the name was unsuitable for a baseball team, so in 1903 the team was renamed as… The Cleveland Naps!

The new name was a reference to US-born French Canadian baseball player Napoleon Lajoie, the then highly popular team manager of the Cleveland club.

Lajoie left the team in 1909 and the Cleveland team became the Indians in 1915, supposedly after a nickname for the Cleveland Spiders.

The Atlanta Braves has the distinction of being the oldest professional baseball team still playing in the MLB. However, many would be surprised today to find out that…

...Originally, the team began in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings! Throughout their long history, they also have been called the Boston Red Caps, the Boston Beaneaters, the Boston Doves, the Boston Rustlers, the Boston Braves, the Boston Bees, and the Milwaukee Braves.

It was only in 1966 that the team moved to the peach state and became the Atlanta Braves we know today.

Something similar happened to the original Baltimore Orioles, they moved in 1903 to become a little team known as…

…The New York Yankees! Funny enough, the current Baltimore Orioles were originally named the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis and ultimately relocating to the East Coast in the early 1950s.

Meanwhile, the team we now know as the Milwaukee Brewers started as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, before moving to Wisconsin in 1970.

In a similar case, the original Washington Nationals moved to Minnesota in 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins.

While the team now known as The Washington Nationals was originally the very Canuck Montreal Expos.

To make things more confusing, the team that we know today as the Chicago Cubs started their existence in 1871 as…

The Chicago White Stockings! The name tried several names, including the Chicago Orphans, before adopting the Chicago Cubs in 1903.

Another bizarre old-timey team names come from the LA Dodgers. Many know that, until the 1950s, the team was the Brooklyn Dodgers…

However, in their long history, they were also known as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, the Brooklyn Superbas, the Brooklyn Robins and the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers. The last name was eventually shortened to just the Dodgers!

Something similar happened to the Philadelphia Phillies, founded in 1883, the team was originally known as the Philadelphia Quakers. As far as we know, no oatmeal sponsorship was involved.

The team finally adopted the Phillies in 1890, becoming the longest-running professional team in the United States to retain the same name and city.

Before adopting their iconic color and bird, the St. Louis Cardinals were known as the St. Louis Browns. Then, in the 1890s, they changed ownership and color and became the St. Louis Perfectos.

The red uniforms of the St. Louis Perfectos proved so popular and iconic that local press and fans started calling the team the Cardinals. The nickname became official in 1900.