# Sports teams named after a region's working people **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 31, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689 "2011-01-31T20:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/61 "2011-02-03T00:13:40Z")
Minor league baseball: Southern Illinois Miners (coalmine country). Lehigh Valley IronPigs (steelworkers). Louisville Bats (baseball bat manufacturing). Omaha Storm Chasers. Tulsa Drillers. Clinton (IA) LumberKings. Williamsport (PA) Crosscutters. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/62 "2011-02-03T00:50:03Z")
All of the following were American minor league baseball teams in the late 19th to early 20th century, whose names referred to local industries or occupations. Pottsville Anthracites (anthracite coal mines) Milwaukee Cream Citys / Creams (locally-produced cream-colored bricks) Kansas City Cowboys Lancaster Ironsides Oil City Oilers Minneapolis Millers (flour mills) Rochester Flour Citys (flour mills) Oswego Starchboxes (Oswego Starch Factory) Leavenworth Soldiers (U.S. Army Fort Leavenworth) Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons Manchester Farmers Wheeling Nail Citys / Nailers Birmingham Ironmakers / Iron Barons Williamsport Lumber Citys Scranton Miners / Coal Heavers Sioux City Cornhuskers Davenport Onion Weeders Lincoln Tree Planters Aspen Silver Kings (silver mines) Wilmington Peach Growers / Peaches Providence Clamdiggers Appleton Papermakers Peoria Distillers Brockton Shoemakers Mansfield Electricians Augusta Electricians Petersburg Farmers Norfolk Oystermen New Bedford Whalers Gloversville Glovers Carbondale Anthracites San Antonio Missionaries Lynchburg Tobacconists Portsmouth Truckers Paterson Silk Weavers Saginaw Lumbermen Owensboro Corncrackers Reading Coal Heavers Sunbury Railroaders Zanesville Clay Diggers Asheville Moonshiners Grand Rapids Cabinet Makers Taunton Herrings San Jose Florists Fort Collins Farmers New London Whalers Cortland Wagonmakers Sacramento Brewers San Jose Prune Pickers Seattle Clamdiggers Bristol Bellmakers Worcester Farmers Mansfield Haymakers Wheeling Stogies (Marsh Wheeling cigar factory) Schenectady Electricians Grand Rapids Furnituremakers Troy Washerwomen Fort Wayne Railroaders Grand Rapids Woodworkers Marion Glassblowers Ilion Typewriters (E. Remington & Sons, manufacturer of firearms and typewriters) Newport News-Hampton Shipbuilders Norfolk Skippers Bristol Woodchoppers Lagoon Farmers Butte Miners Sedalia Gold Bugs Chanute Oilers Iola Gasbags / Gaslighters (natural gas) New Bern Truckers Greensboro Farmers Marion Oilworkers Newark Sailors Pine Bluff Lumbermen Pittsburg Coal Diggers Joplin Miners Webb City Goldbugs Corsicana Oil Citys Boise Fruit Pickers Greenville Cotton Pickers Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters (gypsum mines) Boone Coal Miners Superior Longshoremen ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/63 "2011-02-03T01:47:04Z")
ETA: \*\*spark240 \*\*beat me by one post! One stinkin’ post! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/64 "2011-02-03T02:33:02Z")
> [@Sin\_Serially](#): > > The Houston Rockets actually kept their name when they were transferred from San Diego in the early '80s. > > The name still fits because of the NASA connection though. 😕 I thought San Diego’s basketball team was the Clippers, who moved on to become Los Angeles’ junior varsity team. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/65 "2011-02-03T05:03:14Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > 😕 I thought San Diego’s basketball team was the Clippers, who moved on to become Los Angeles’ junior varsity team. You are correct, but the Clippers were San Diego’s **second** NBA team. The Rockets were originally based in San Diego, where they played for the first four seasons of their history (1967-1971), before moving to Houston (note that **Sin Serially** had the timing of that move incorrect). The Buffalo Braves then moved to San Diego in 1978, becoming the Clippers, before moving to Los Angeles in 1984. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/66 "2011-02-03T05:03:49Z")
Anaheim Ducks - I imagine there are some people in Anaheim who are employed in wearing a duck costume. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/67 "2011-02-03T13:40:45Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Liverpool F.C. - “Thieves” Don’t forget Aston Villa - Villains (or is the “i” not supposed to be included :)). Hey, **GorillaMan** , long time no see (for me, anyway). How could you miss out your Tractor Boys (Ipswich Town), surely that counts as an occupation! More in line with the OP, several Eastern European football (soccer) teams are named this way, e.g. Red Star Belgrade (in Serbia) was to do with the army, I believe, Lokomotiv Moscow was originally railway workers. There are others, but I can’t remember them right now. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/68 "2011-02-03T14:10:13Z")
Another tribute to Michigan autoworkers, although at the minor league level, the Lansing Lugnuts. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/69 "2011-02-03T19:22:37Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Anaheim Ducks - I imagine there are some people in Anaheim who are employed in wearing a duck costume. But they were named after a movie pee-wee league team. And that movie team got its name from the surname of the owner of the law firm that sponsored them, who also happened to be the boss of their coach. Of course, the movie was a Disney movie, so the connection is definitely there, but it’s not quite so direct. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/70 "2011-02-10T18:05:07Z")
meh ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/71 "2011-02-10T21:30:36Z")
As a young boy I always liked the sound of the amateur football team “Billingham Synthonia” A lovely, lyrical name I thought. I was somewhat shaken to find some years later that it started life as a works team from the local ICI plant that produced Synthetic Ammonia. And so a dream dies. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/72 "2011-02-10T22:09:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Also, I’d note that the paper industry, not meat-packing, is the iconic industry of the Green Bay area. Indeed. As a reference to local industry, Packers was actually more appopriate for the _Chicago_ Packers, a failed early NBA franchise (1961-62), since meat packing **was** one of the iconic industries in Chicago (hog butcher to the world, and all that). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/73 "2011-02-15T01:07:51Z")
The Steelers were originally called the Pirates, believe it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/74 "2011-02-15T01:16:07Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Ottawa Senators The OP specified **working** people. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/75 "2011-02-15T01:26:54Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > The OP specified **working** people. Oh no you DI-IN’T!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/76 "2011-02-15T01:40:00Z")
Soccer: Total Network Solutions (now called New Saints) - League of Wales ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/77 "2011-02-15T19:04:47Z")
Right, Scottish football… In the Highland League (sort of the regional fifth tier of Scottish football), there are: \*\*Forres Mechanics \*\*(definitely an occupation, but not one that’s peculiar to the area) **Inverurie Loco Works** (named for the place of employment rather than the individuals that worked there, but still worth a mention) Elsewhere in non-league Scottish football, I’ve always loved the name \*\*Burntisland Shipyard \*\*(again, not an occupation, rather an actual workplace). Further up the ladder, \*\*Hamilton Academical \*\*have already been mentioned. If we’re allowing nicknames: **Motherwell - The Steelmen** (undoubtedly named for the dominant local heavy industry) **Aberdeen - The Dons** (reputedly because they were founded by teachers and lecturers) Errr… that’s pretty much it! ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/78 "2011-02-15T21:36:23Z")
> [@JessMagic](#): > > **Aberdeen - The Dons** (reputedly because they were founded by teachers and lecturers) Ooh, we could use that in Chicago as well, but with a different meaning of “don”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/79 "2011-02-21T18:32:19Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > But they were named after a movie pee-wee league team. And that movie team got its name from the surname of the owner of the law firm that sponsored them, who also happened to be the boss of their coach. > > Of course, the movie was a Disney movie, so the connection is definitely there, but it’s not quite so direct. The team was originally owned by the Disney company, so yes, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim was a direct connection to the movie at that time. Before the 2006 season, Henry and Susan Samueli, who purchased the team from Disney, renamed the team to the Anaheim Ducks, removing the “Mighty” from the official team name. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689/80 "2011-02-21T20:04:27Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The team was originally owned by the Disney company, so yes, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim was a direct connection to the movie at that time. Before the 2006 season, Henry and Susan Samueli, who purchased the team from Disney, renamed the team to the Anaheim Ducks, removing the “Mighty” from the official team name. You miss my point. They weren’t named direcly after Donald Duck, which is what cmkeller was implying (unless there are other people in duck costumes walking around Anaheim that I’m unaware of). They were named after the coach’s boss from the movie. So there is no direct connection between the workers in the region and the name. But Disney created both, so there is an indirect conection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-teams-named-after-a-regions-working-people/569689.md?page=5)