Unusual sports team names

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

I'm interested in finding relatively rare sports team names.

My interest was piqued by my discovery that there appear to be barely a baker's dozen teams sharing the name of my beloved Green Bay Packers at present. A cursory search turned up the following:

Armour Packers (High School team name, SD)
Austin Packers (HS, MN)
Colquitt County Packers (HS, GA)
Cudahy Packers (HS, WI)
Fremont Packers (HS, MI)
Largo Packers (HS, FL)
Moultrie Packers (HS, GA)
Omaha South Packers (HS, NE
Santa Maria Valley Packers (collegiate level baseball, CA)
Smithfield Packers (HS, VA)
South St. Paul Packers (HS, MN)
West Fargo Packers (HS, ND)
Westchester Packers (minor league football, NY)

In the past, there were about 2 dozen more, usually minor-league or senior-league baseball teams, but occasionally a basketball team.

Any other major sports franchises with such an uncommon name? I do note the 49ers appear be the name of only 5 sports teams I can locate.

Any franchises with unique names?

[soulmurk]

Don't imagine there are many teams named like the NJ Devils. Their minor league affiliates are named such (Albany and Trenton), and I know of the Duke Blue Devils... but it's not a figure most want to be associated with (even in NJ--the team is named for the Jersey Devil, not Lucifer). Even the Tampa Bay Devil Rays dropped the "Devil" part to avoid the connotation.

[astorian]

"Jazz" and "Heat" have to be pretty unusual.

[notfrommensa]

I doubt if many High School and College teams are nicknamed the Jazz and the Heat and the 76ers.

I am surprised the Reds survived the 1950's and again I doubt that many HS and college teams are named exactly the Reds.

[notfrommensa]

Canucks, Canadiens, Nationals, White Sox, Red Sox.

[Paintcharge]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

I am surprised the Reds survived the 1950's and again I doubt that many HS and college teams are named exactly the Reds.

I seem to recall that the Reds did change the name during the 50's.

Wiki says Redlegs.

[An Arky]

My high school and college alma maters both have unusual names: Sand Lizards and Wonder Boys, respectively.

[NDP]

The various minor league baseball teams based in New Orleans were called the Pelicans which I used to think was odd since the pelican is such a silly-looking bird. However, pelicans are native to the area so I guess it's no more ridiculous than the Baltimore Orioles or St. Louis Cardinals.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by soulmurk

Don't imagine there are many teams named like the NJ Devils. Their minor league affiliates are named such (Albany and Trenton), and I know of the Duke Blue Devils... but it's not a figure most want to be associated with (even in NJ--the team is named for the Jersey Devil, not Lucifer). Even the Tampa Bay Devil Rays dropped the "Devil" part to avoid the connotation.

Wiki's got a page that isn't JUST devil names, but it does list several more devil names.

[Skammer]

The Lakers? I don't think "laker" is even a real word, even among people who live their lives in lake country.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by An Arky

My high school and college alma maters both have unusual names: Sand Lizards and Wonder Boys, respectively.

Wonder teams:

Arkansas Tech University Wonder Boys
Arkansas Tech Wonderettes
West Virginia Wonders

Sand teams:
Gulfport - Biloxi Sand Crabs
Santa Cruz Sand Crabs
Redondo Beach Sand Dabs
Atlantic City Sand Snipers
Las Vegas Sand Vipers
Charles Page Sandites
San Diego Sandpipers
Lake Linden Sandy Cities

Viper teams:

Las Vegas Sand Vipers
Beaver County Vipers
Central PA Vipers
Chattahoochee Valley Vipers
Chattahoochee Valley Vipers
H.S. of Health Professions/Human Services Vipers
Kern County Vipers
Lake Hartwell Vipers
Las Vegas Vipers
Ocean State Vipers
Orthopedic Hospital Vipers
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Roanoke Valley Vipers
San Miguel Vipers
Space Coast Vipers
St. Louis Vipers
Staten Island Vipers
Tennessee Valley Vipers
Victoria Memorial Vipers
Wichita Falls Vipers

Orthopedic hospital vipers????

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Skammer

The Lakers? I don't think "laker" is even a real word, even among people who live their lives in lake country.

Lotsa lakers teams:
Advanced Tech Academy Lakers
Apponequet Regional Lakers
Bear Lake Lakers
Boys Latin Lakers
Calloway County Lakers
Clayton College and State University Lakers
Coeur d'Alene Lakers
Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers
Detroit Lakes Lakers
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Lakers
Finger Lakes Community College Lakers
Garrett College Lakers
Glen Lake Lakers
Grand Valley State University Lakers
Green Lake Lakers
Hayes Vo-Tech Lakers
Houghton - Portage Lakers
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers
Indian Lake Lakers
Iowa Lakes Community College Lakers
Lake Charles Lakers
Lake Clifton Lakers
Lake Clifton-Eastern Lakers
Lake County Lakers
Lake Land College Lakers
Lake Michigan Catholic Lakers
Lake Oswego Lakers
Lake Region Lakers
Lake Sumter Community College Lakers
Lake Superior State University Lakers
Lakeland Community College Lakers
Long Lake Central Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
Mackinac Island Lakers
Mercyhurst College Lakers
Mercyhurst Prep Lakers
Metropolitan Community College-Longview Lakers
Minneapolis Southwest Lakers
Mountain Lakes Lakers
North Tahoe Lakers
Okanagan University College Lakers
Our Lady of the Lakes Lakers
Prior Lake Lakers
Purdue University-Calumet Lakers
Pymatuning Valley Lakers
Pyramid Lake Lakers
Rangeley Lakes Lakers
Roosevelt University Lakers
Russell County Lakers
Shell Lake Lakers

[Skammer]

Well, I sit corrected.

I wonder what the most common sports nickname is? I'd probably guess "Wildcats."

[Suburban Plankton]

I'm guessing that there aren't a whole lot of Redskins in existence outside of Washington these days.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

Canucks, Canadiens, Nationals, White Sox, Red Sox.

lotsa sox:

New Bedford Bay Sox
Grand Rapids Black Sox
Toms River Black Sox
Green Bay Blue Sox
Highland Park Blue Sox
South Bend Blue Sox
St. Thomas Blue Sox
West Virginia Coal Sox
Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox
Fort Lauderdale Red Sox
Hazlehurst - Baxley Red Sox
New Britain Red Sox
Rocky Mount Red Sox
San Jose Red Sox
Winter Haven Red Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Sun Cities Solar Sox
Deerfield Beach Sun Sox
Fort Myers Sun Sox
Winter Haven Sun Sox
Winter Haven Super Sox
Glens Falls White Sox
Great Falls White Sox
Los Angeles White Sox
South Bend White Sox
Wisconsin Rapids White Sox

coupla canucks:

Fort William-Port Arthur Canucks
Hamilton Canucks
Kitchener Canucks
North Plainfield Canucks
Toronto Canucks
Vancouver Canucks

coupla canadiens too:

Fredericton Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa - Hull Canadiens
Outremont Canadiens
Sherbrooke Canadiens
St. Jean Canadiens
Verdun Junior Canadiens

nationals, too:

Laval National
Rosemont National
Augusta Nationals
Concord Nationals
Concord Nationals
Dearborn Heights Nationals
Emporia Nationals
Fairfax Nationals
Germantown Nationals
Kitchener Nationals
London Nationals
Long Island Nationals
Minnesota Nationals
Montreal Nationals
New York Nationals
Orlando Nationals
Ottawa Nationals
Pontiac Nationals
Potomac Nationals
Shelby Nationals
Springfield Nationals
Syracuse Nationals
Toronto Nationals
Trenton Nationals
Tucson Nationals
Washington Nationals

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

I doubt if many High School and College teams are nicknamed the Jazz and the Heat and the 76ers.

I am surprised the Reds survived the 1950's and again I doubt that many HS and college teams are named exactly the Reds.

A few Jazz, none of which are HS or College teams:

Jazz of Tacoma
Kansas City Jazz
San Bernardino Jazz
Utah Jazz
St. Louis Jazzz

Some Heat, a few of which are HS teams:

Abbotsford Heat
Abraham Joshua Heschel Heat
Anderson Heat
Arizona Heat
Barry/West Pike Heat
Blythe Heat
Brevard Home Education Activities Teams Heat
Brooklyn Heat
Carolina Heat
Chico Heat
Columbia Heat
Des Moines Heat
Fresno Heat
Harrisburg Heat
Havasu Heat
Kelowna Heat
Laredo Heat
Las Vegas Heat
Los Angeles Heat
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Heat
Phoenix Heat
Sonrise Academy Heat
South Florida HEAT
Southern Oregon Heat
Spring Heat
Texas Heat
Utah Heat
Huron Heaters
Fresno Heatwave
Sacramento Heatwave
Hot Springs Savage Heat

one other 76er (that I could find):

Independence 76er (HS, San Jose, CA)

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Harrisburg Heat

Gotta be the worst pro team name of all time. Seriously, Harrisburg Heat? Did the people who named the team ever see a central Pennsylvania winter?

Can't think there's too many teams out there called the Wheat Kings. Or the IceHogs.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Suburban Plankton

I'm guessing that there aren't a whole lot of Redskins in existence outside of Washington these days.

I found a few active Redskins teams:

Momence Redskins
Alabama School for the Blind Redskins (yes, really)
Clinton Redskins
Goshen Redskins
Liberal Redskins (go figure)

(assorted others are out there, I'm sure, but I got bored)

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Duke

Can't think there's too many teams out there called the Wheat Kings. Or the IceHogs.

I found Grand Prairie Airhogs but no other Icehogs, past or present.

And I found the Wichita Wheatkings of today and the Larned Wheat Kings of yesteryear.

[Telemark]

Hartford Whalers
Detroit Pistons
Houston Astros

[Freddy the Pig]

Two of my favorites from Illinois high school sports:

Teutopolis Wooden Shoes
Effingham Flaming Hearts

[Ludovic]

Are there any other Isotopes out there?

[Lamar Mundane]

Brush, CO High School are the beetdiggers.

[Telemark]

If you go to minor league teams there will be many unusual names (Lock Monsters, Mud Hens, Isotopes).

[Ponch8]

Southern Illinois University has definitely the coolest nickname, the Salukis (a dog breed from ancient Egypt).

[Ol'Gaffer]

The University of California, Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Cudahy Packers (HS, WI)

I live in Cudahy Packer Country. Now, I know how the GB Packers got their name, but I've always wondered if the Cudahy Packers took their name from the Green Bay Packers or just for the same reason. In Cudahy we have the Patrick Cudahy Meat Packing Plant.

[notfrommensa]

And the 'Macon Whoppee'

[thirdwarning]

Originally Posted by Freddy the Pig

Two of my favorites from Illinois high school sports:

Teutopolis Wooden Shoes
Effingham Flaming Hearts

Don't forget my favorite: Freeport Pretzels

[RealityChuck]

Current
New York Mets -- Other than farm teams, I doubt there's another team using that nickname
New York Yankees
Detroit Pistons


Historical:
Buffalo Buffeds -- Federal League
Chicago Whales -- Federal League
Brooklyn Superbas -- NL

[Randy Seltzer]

Before my alma mater switched to the more pedestrian "Wildcats" in the 1920s, its sports teams went by the name "The Fighting Methodists." I'm sure you can find lots of "fighting whatevers" but I'd be surprised if any were Methodists.

Besides the Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (already mentioned by Ol'Gaffer), I think my favorite offbeat mascot is the Haverford Black Squirrels.

Originally Posted by Skammer

I wonder what the most common sports nickname is? I'd probably guess "Wildcats."

I once wondered the same thing, and, in fact, had the same hypothesis (i.e. "wildcats"). However, if I remember correctly, it turned out that the most popular college mascot was "Tigers."

[Sakuma Drops]

I honestly don't know if any other team in NC (or anywhere) uses the nickname "Tar Heels" other than UNC. If there is another Tar Heels team out there, it's probably a high school/middle school of some kind. Most of those schools around here are just named after various cats, though :-P

Other names that are probably not too common:

Syracuse Sky Chiefs (minor league baseball)
Tulane Green Wave
Stanford Cardinal
Wake Forest Demon Deacons

[Randy Seltzer]

Originally Posted by Randy Seltzer

I'm sure you can find lots of "fighting whatevers" but I'd be surprised if any were Methodists.

You know what? I'm just going to follow this up myself.

College sports team nicknames beginning with "Fighting"

• Fighting Camels - Campbell
• Fighting Christians - Elon University (until 1999 - then the more boring "Phoenixes")
• Fighting Illini - Illinois
• Fighting Irish - Notre Dame
• Fighting Knights - Lynn
• Fighting Leathernecks - Western Illinois men's teams
• Fighting Scots - seven schools:
  • Edinboro
  • Gordon
  • Macalester
  • McHenry County College
  • Monmouth College
  • Ohio Valley
  • Wooster
• Fighting Sioux - North Dakota

[GIGObuster]

Alright, lets see if you can find many sounding like this one from the old country:

Originally this first division football soccer team was named "Tecun Uman", after the last ruler of the Maya people, but then it switched the name to Luis Angel Firpo, a famous boxer of the past... Uh?

http://lafirpo.fanspace.com/History.htm

But the name "TECUN UMAN" was short lived, it lasted only five days!! So, What happened? Why did the name change so fast?

In September 14 1923, Jack Dempsey, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, defeated the Argentinean Luis Angel "The Wild Bull of the Pampas" Firpo in a brutal, quick fight that has often been called the most exciting championship fight ever witnessed. In four minutes of wild, frenzied action, the two boxers traded blows and knockouts with a savage fury unmatched before or since. The winner, as was expected, was Dempsey, but it was Firpo who recorded perhaps the most famous knockout in boxing history.

After being sent to the mat, Firpo rushed the confused Dempsey and dealt him nine unanswered shots, finishing with an earth-shattering left that knocked Dempsey clear through the ropes!

With the help of the journalists at ringside, Dempsey climbed back into the ring after about twenty seconds (yes! they stole the fight from the Bull). Weak as he was, the champ warded off another Firpo attack and the wildest round ever in a championship fight ended. Observers reported between five and seven knockouts of Firpo and three of Dempsey in the first round. The second round was briefer but just as gory. Firpo continued rushing the champ, but he parried his blows. After receiving a crushing uppercut, Firpo went down again. For the eighth time Firpo struggled to his feet and rushed the champ again, and Dempsey sent him to the mat once more. This time the Wild Bull of the Pampas had no answer and did not get up. Dempsey retained his championship, of course, but it was Firpo who returned to Argentina a hero to all Latin Americans even in defeat.

After the fight, in September 26, 1923, the city of Usulután paid homage to the Bull by changing the name of its soccer team, TECUN UMAN, and renaming it CLUB DEPORTIVO LUIS ANGEL FIRPO. Being Mr. Gustavo Demis the team's first president.

[Wargamer]

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels.

[Ol'Gaffer]

Originally Posted by Randy Seltzer

You know what? I'm just going to follow this up myself.

College sports team nicknames beginning with "Fighting"

• Fighting Camels - Campbell
• Fighting Christians - Elon University (until 1999 - then the more boring "Phoenixes")
• Fighting Illini - Illinois
• Fighting Irish - Notre Dame
• Fighting Knights - Lynn
• Fighting Leathernecks - Western Illinois men's teams
• Fighting Scots - seven schools:
  • Edinboro
  • Gordon
  • Macalester
  • McHenry County College
  • Monmouth College
  • Ohio Valley
  • Wooster
• Fighting Sioux - North Dakota

Don't forget the "Fighting Whites" (aka the Fighting Whities) from the University of Northern Colorado...although they were just an intramural team and are now disbanded.

[Sakuma Drops]

Okay, here are a few more I thought of:

U. of South Carolina Gamecocks
Penn State Nittany Lions
Montreal Expos (name not used in MLB anymore, of course)
Presbyterian College Blue Hose
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Akron Zips

[kunilou]

Back in the days of the American Basketball Association, the Memphis franchise came up with the name "Tams" (as in Tennesse-Arkansas-Mississippi.) Worse than that, the team symbol was actually a Tam O'Shanter. Even worse, the name was supposedly chosen by the fans.

[Little Nemo]

The Rhode Island School of Design's team name is the Nads. Their mascot is Scrotie, a giant penis, and the team call is of course "Go Nads!"

[dtilque]

One of the 49ers refered to in the OP is Long Beach State. However, their baseball team has a unofficial nickanme that's truly unique: the Dirtbags. They seem quite proud of it.

The Banana Slugs mentioned above reminds me of one of my favorites: The Evergreen College Geoducks (a geoduck is a large clam). Another favorite is the Spokane Community College Sasquatch.

Another "Fighting" nickname is the Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes (artichokes can fight?)

[TheChileanBlob]

Cairo, GA Syrupmakers

Hutchinson, KS Salt Hawks

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

My interest was piqued by my discovery that there appear to be barely a baker's dozen teams sharing the name of my beloved Green Bay Packers at present.

The Chicago Packers played in the NBA in 1961-'62. After one season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs, which if anything is even less common. (There's a minor league baseball team called the New Orleans Zephyrs, however.) In the end we all know what the Zephyrs became...

SPOILER:

The Washington Wizards. The team moved to Baltimore in the early '60s and became the Bullets, and more recently they moved to Washington and then changed Bullets to Wizards. The Chicago Bulls joined the NBA in 1966.

[Balance]

Originally Posted by Ol'Gaffer

Don't forget the "Fighting Whites" (aka the Fighting Whities) from the University of Northern Colorado...although they were just an intramural team and are now disbanded.

But not before endowing a scholarship or two with the proceeds from their merchandise sales. I never saw them play (or cared to), and am not a sports fan in general, but I liked the idea and came in here to make sure they got a mention.

[Marley23]

I don't know if there are many teams named after colors these days, but the Harvard Crimson and Stanford Cardinal are still out there. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Penn State Nittany Lions are probably not common either.

[Ichbin Dubist]

To make it local--
From the single-A New-York Penn League:
Auburn Doubledays -- how many teams have a logo that represents a historical person?
Williamsport Crosscutters
Vermont Lake Monsters
& the defunct Binghampton Triplets
Utica Utes

from the AA Eastern League:
Richmond Flying Squirrels
Johnstown Johnnies

From the old Canadian-American League (all defunct)
Amsterdam Rugmakers
Oswego Netherlands

[dtilque]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I don't know if there are many teams named after colors these days, but the Harvard Crimson and Stanford Cardinal are still out there.

The Cardinal were actually named in imitation of the Crimson. But most fans either mistakenly call them the Cardinals or refer to them by their informal nickname, the Trees.

Other color names are Dartmouth Big Green, Cornell Big Red, and Syracuse Orangemen

[Baker]

I graduated from Washburn University of Topeka, Topeka being the capital of Kansas.

Washburn men's teams are the Ichabods. See, the school was founded in 1865 as Lincoln College but just a few years later, struggling financially, the school got a big donation from a guy back East who never even SAW the place. His name was Ichabod Washburn. To honor him the school changed it's name, and later, when college sports got big, his given name became our mascot.

[Trom]

University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors...

[mkecane]

Do any teams use "Twins" besides Minnesota?

[silenus]

I know the school I teach at has a unique team name, at least for California: The Thunderbirds.

My favorite minor league team is named after a geologic rupture: The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.