# Origin of the term "bullpen" in baseball **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 1, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160 "2004-01-01T20:31:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/1 "2004-01-01T20:31:11Z")
Nice column, except that in item #2, Cecil mentions that the infamous Black Sox players were able to see a jail cell firsthand. Only if they were in jail before their trial, because IIRC they were found not guilty in court. Kennesaw Mountain Landis was not fooled however, and instituted the lifetime ban for players found to be gambling on baseball or consorting with those who do. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/2 "2004-01-01T23:13:17Z")
Link to the column: [Where does the baseball term " bullpen" come from?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_303a.html) **EJsGirl** , when you start a thread, it’s helpful if you provide the link, so that others will know what you’re talking about. Yes, it’s on the front page now, but in a few days it will vanish into the Archives. So, in future, please help everyone out by providing a link in the OP, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Borodog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@Borodog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borodog)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/3 "2004-01-02T05:16:16Z")
I hate to burst Cecil’s bubble, but the origin of the term “bullpen” is right here in Durham, North Carolina, where play the (you guessed it) Durham Bulls. There is a giant bull, balls and all y’all, in left field, our equivalent of the Green Monster. He snorts smoke and his eyes flash red after a home run (the original bull didn’t do this, but they liked it so much when it was included in the movie that they copied it). The bullpen is the pen next to the bull, literally. –A lurker in Durham. ---
**Author:** ![redbird007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@redbird007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redbird007)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/4 "2004-01-02T08:02:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I hate to burst Cecil’s bubble, but the origin of the term “bullpen” is right here in Durham, North Carolina, where play the (you guessed it) Durham Bulls. There is a giant bull, balls and all y’all, in left field, our equivalent of the Green Monster. He snorts smoke and his eyes flash red after a home run (the original bull didn’t do this, but they liked it so much when it was included in the movie that they copied it). The bullpen is the pen next to the bull, literally. This is hardly proof of how or why the term came about. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/5 "2004-01-02T14:42:08Z")
When was the first bull constructed in Durham’s stadium? [WordOrigins.com](http://www.wordorigins.org/index.htm) cites the first use of “bullpen” in the baseball context as being from 1915: > [@](#): > > One of the mysteries of the game of baseball is the origin of the term _bullpen_, the name for the area in which relief pitchers warm up. Several competing theories, none with compelling evidence to support or refute them, vie for the origin. About all we know for sure is the earliest recorded use of the term to refer to the pitchers’ warm-up area was not until 1915, in _Baseball Magazine_. The [team history](http://www.dbulls.com/team/team_history.html) of the Bulls states that they played their first game as the Bulls in 1913, and (apparently) didn’t move into their own park until 1926. Thus, given that the term was in use in 1915, it seems unlikely to me that the term comes from a giant mechanical Durham Bull. ---
**Author:** ![joachim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a87d85/32.png) [@joachim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joachim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/6 "2004-01-02T15:49:46Z")
I don’t have anything to offer on the origin of the word bullpen, but Cecil’s assertion that “policemen were popularly called “bulls,” out of respect for their towering strength and masculinity.” has to be scutinized closely. In German, there is a similar appelation for the boys (and girls) in blue (who wear green and mustard in Germany) , “Bulle”. Translated to English this becomes “bull”. Most Germans do believe that this word is bovine in ancestry and derisive in nature but entymological research has shown it to stem from the Rotwelsch (thieves’ argot) word “Puhler” for the German “Polizist” (policeman). I would wager, though I can’t offer any proof, that “bulls” for “policemen” takes its roots from the German appelation and not from any assumption of virility. ---
**Author:** ![NazNomad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/edb3f5/32.png) [@NazNomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NazNomad)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/7 "2004-01-02T17:23:38Z")
My dad always told me that it was called a bullpen because the pitchers had plenty of time to sit around and “shoot the bull.” I don’t know if he made that up, but it’s no more or less ridiculous than any other explanation I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Borodog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@Borodog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borodog)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/8 "2004-01-02T19:59:24Z")
Zut, It seems you’ve musted a myth I’ve been told my whole life. In my defense though, I’ve heard it repeated many times during baseball broadcasts, so apparently I’m not the only one taken in. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/9 "2004-01-03T20:06:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EJsGirl \* > Nice column, except that in item #2, Cecil mentions that the infamous Black Sox players were able to see a jail cell firsthand. Only if they were in jail before their trial, because IIRC they were found not guilty in court. It seems pretty likely that they would have seen the inside of a cell or holding area since they were arrested. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/10 "2004-01-04T02:54:49Z")
I’m still reading contemporary account about the incident. I haven’t found anything yet that indicates anyone was arrested and spent the night in jail. But I’m still searching. Just to update you, the earliest we’ve been able to find a print cite for “bull pen” as it is understood today, relief pitchers…etc., is now from 1913. Not earlier yet. The Bull Durham signs were there for SURE before that. Paul Dickson, in his latest (1999) version of his _Baseball Encyclopedia_ cites that the Bull Durham signs were there in 1909. They were part of a promotion–hit the sign, win $50. But these were major league parks. Not likely in Durham, but not impossible. Dickson has a cite for an 1877 use of the term to indicate where spectators were allowed to view the game outside of the foul line. I’ll try to give an update on that. ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/11 "2004-01-04T08:35:58Z")
Hello everybody! Does use of the term “bullpen” in relation to office workers (i.e. their general gathering place at work) pre-date or post-date its use in relation to baseball? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/12 "2004-01-06T20:02:27Z")
Probably post dates the baseball reference. I too have worked in offices where the sales department area was called a bullpen. Sorry about forgetting the link, **CK**. ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/13 "2004-01-06T23:37:56Z")
If the term “bullpen” in relation to office workers pre-dates its use in baseball, couldn’t the office term have simply been adopted into baseball? office “bullpen” - office workers gathering place baseball “bullpen” - pitchers gathering place Anyhoo… ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/14 "2004-01-07T13:07:16Z")
From [WordOrigins.com](http://www.wordorigins.org/index.htm) again: > [@](#): > > And yet another explanation, not even directly associated with baseball, may be the origin. The term bullpen was used as early as 1809 to refer to a stockade or jail. By 1903, O. Henry was using the term to refer to any waiting area. Perhaps the generic term for waiting area simply became a more specialized term when applied to the sport. Note 1903 is before the 1913 data **samclem** cites. It seems plausible that the origin of the office bullpen and the baseball bullpen _could_ have come from the same “generic waiting area” meaning, perhaps even at roughly the same time. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/15 "2004-01-08T03:55:27Z")
**Zut** The 1903 O. Henry quote, from his _Works_ is > [@](#): > > Unlock him…and let him come to the bull-pen…the warden’t outer office. I, unfortuntately can’t fill in the missing parts of the quote. The fact that it takes place in a prison leads me to suspect that it was the old “prison/cell” meaning of “bull pen.” NOT a general reference for a holding place. But, in fairness, the cite is from the excellent _Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang_. So perhaps it is correct. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-term-bullpen-in-baseball/222160/16 "2004-01-08T22:18:05Z")
The story is [The Retrieved Reformation](http://sujith_v.tripod.com/stories/reformation.txt) about a safecracker named Valentine. In the scene in question, the prisoner has been pardoned by the governor and is scheduled for release the next morning. It seems fairly clear that the bull pen and the warden’s outer office (waiting room?) are meant to be the same thing. > [@](#): > > “Take him back, Cronin,” smiled the warden, “and fix him up with > outgoing clothes. Unlock him at seven in the morning, and let him come to > the bull pen. Better think over my advice, Valentine.” > > At a quarter past seven on the next morning Jimmy stood in the > warden’s outer office.