Minor League baseball has its share of dandies.
Lansing Lug Nuts
Traverse City Beach Bums to name a couple.
[QUOTE=winterhawk11]
I also think that when naming teams, people should take into account what they sound like, rather than just what they look like. “Philly” is a nickname for Philadelphia. “Fillies” (which is what “Phillies” sounds like when spoken) are young female horses. Whenever I hear it, I get this image of My Little Ponies (complete with flowing pink manes) cavorting around in baseball caps.
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Which led me to what I thought was the weirdest question I was ever asked when I hosted a sports talk show.
It was on the OTB channel, so we talked horse racing a lot. And, at the time, the NYRA track announcer was named Dave Johnson. So this kid calls up and asks a bunch of questions all related to horse racing.
Then, he asks, “Do you think Dave Johnson will make it with the fillies?”
It took me a few seconds to realize he was talking about the baseball player and the Phillies. Until then, the image was . . . bizarre.
Now, if we’re looking for stupid names, the mother lode is the old Federal League of 1914-1915, which includes:
Buffalo Buffeds (derived from BUFFalo FEDeral League)
Chicago Chi-Feds
Brooklyn Tip-Tops (the only MLB team ever to be named after a commercial brand name product – Tip-Top Bread)
Newark Pepper
The Players League of 1890 also has some silly ones:
Brooklyn Ward’s Wonders (probably named after John Montgomery Ward, who was instrumental in setting up the league)
Cleveland Infants
Pittsburgh Burghers (mmmmm. . . .Burghers)
There was also the following MLB teams:
Columbus Solons (They may have been wise, but athleticism was probably better)
St. Paul Apostles
Toledo Maumees (only team named after a character in “Little Women”)
Wilmington Quicksteps (only teams named after a dance)
[QUOTE=minlokwat]
From the NBA when the New Orleans Jazz moved to Utah, they kept the team name despite the fact that Utah isn’t exactly renowned for its rich musical contribution. Has anyone in Utah even purchased a jazz CD?
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As a Utah resident, this has always bugged me, too. One would have thought that they could have chosen a different name when they moved.
As a side note, there was some talk a couple of years back, when New Orleans was in the process of getting a new NBA team, that they might want the “Jazz” name back. We offered to trade straight across for the “Saints”, but no deal.
I have often said that I would love to own a sports team in Helena, Montana and name it the “Handbaskets.”
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy]
I have often said that I would love to own a sports team in Helena, Montana and name it the “Handbaskets.”
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This reminded me of the Houston Astros who do their spring training in Kissimmee Florida,making them the Kissimmee Astros.
[QUOTE=amarinth]
And decided they prefered having an incredibly stupid MLB name instead.
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Actually, the city is annoyed that the owner renamed them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
My high school team was the Bulldogs.
My junior high school team was the Bullpups.
Must have seemed cute to someone, but I couldn’t bring myself to root for them.
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy]
As a side note, there was some talk a couple of years back, when New Orleans was in the process of getting a new NBA team, that they might want the “Jazz” name back. We offered to trade straight across for the “Saints”, but no deal.
[/QUOTE]
Well, at least you’d have a team band .
And the beginning of the song called Something Good by said band (a cover of a Kate Bush song) would be perfect to get the Utah crowd revved up.
[QUOTE=RealityChuck]
Toledo Maumees (only team named after a character in “Little Women”)
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Don’t know anythng about “Little Women”, but I would suspect that the team was named after the Maumee River which runs through the city and into Lake Erie. The river name itself is a native American word.