Ask Mike: Nonsensical Nicknames
Hey Guys,
The other day I was watching a LA Lakers game on TV when something struck me. Why in the world are they called the Lakers when there is barely so much as a puddle in Los Angeles?
The answer, as many of you know, is that the team wasn’t always from Southern California. Originally, they hailed from Minnesota, self-described land of 10,000 lakes. The team kept its old nickname rather than change it. But, the Lakers aren’t the only team to have a nickname that makes no sense.
Consider the Utah Jazz. Salt Lake City is a great place, full of beauty and wonderful people, but, near as I can tell, it’s not particularly known for its thriving jazz scene. So, what’s the deal here? Like the Lakers, the Jazz moved to Utah from somewhere else — namely, New Orleans, where jazz is an art, religion, business, you get the idea.
And there are more. The Grizzlies, another NBA team, used to be in rugged Vancouver, Canada. Now they play in Memphis, where Elvis sightings are far more common than fearsome bears. And what about the Colts of the NFL? Is Indianapolis really a horse racing town? Nope, but Baltimore is. The Colts used to play in Baltimore (home of the famous Preakness Stakes) before moving to the Hoosier State.
One of the most popular teams in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, has a similar story. Originally, the Dodgers hailed from Brooklyn, New York. According to the official site for club, the team’s nickname was originally “Trolley Dodger,” “due to the complex maze of trolley cars that weaved its way through the borough of Brooklyn.” The name stuck even when the team moved to California.
Some team nicknames match perfectly with the their cities. The San Francisco 49ers come to mind. Ditto with the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Phoenix Suns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Got any other thoughts on team nicknames that either make perfect sense or no sense at all? Leave a comment below.
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the team was origionally from Minnesota (land of a thousand lakes)
This is a great read! Thanks for sharing this blog.
Dallas Mavericks fit well because of the nod to maverick horses-Texas-you know. but why is the hockey team called the San Jose Sharks? SJ is nearer the ocean than some cities but…….
How about the pistons? used to be the Ft Wayne Zollner pistons bc there was a factory there
the name works in the motor city too!
the oilers was a good name for the (former) nfl team, as well as the nhl team
i always thought names like the Texans and Canadiens were redundant
Before they were either of them, they were a disbanded team from the NBL, called the Detroit Gems.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article. However, there is one thing that I have wondered about. When the Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee, they changed not only their uniforms, but their nickname to the Titans.Since the Jazz and the Lakers kept their traditional nicknames, the Oilers should have done it as well. The same is true when the Old Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, and change their uniforms and nickname to the Ravens. Both the Oilers and the Browns completely changed their identity.
Again, I enjoyed your article, Mike. Be sure to visit my website at http://www.charrot.com.
Because the L.A. Laker didn’t start off in L.A., they originated in Minneapolis in 1947
The Colorado Rockies is PERFECT since just a few miles west of denver our the “beautiful” Rocky mountains!
Here’s a thought: Now that the Hornets are in NOLA and Utah still has the Jazz, why don’t the two teams do a switcheroo: Hornets fly to Utah (the Beehive State) and NOLA gets its groove back.
The rugby team that i support in Leeds, England are called the Leeds Rhinos.
The one nickname I’ve always hated is the Ravens. Great team. Great defense. Lamest nickname ever. Poe was from Baltimore. I get it. He wrote a poem about a Raven. I get it, already. Let’s name the Baltimore football team the Ravens. I don’t get it.
When the Browns left Cleveland there was a legal fight for the name. Eventually Modell gave up the name, colors and history.
What I really hated was that we gave everything Modell wanted to Lerner (new stadium, PSL’s, etc.). The Ravens will the Super Bowl and Cleveland has pretty much stunk since then.
Nor is there a lake in Greg Lake unless you can call his bladder that. lol
Are all these people posting about the Lakers being from Minneapolis just not reading the whole entry?
This has already been stated…
Always laugh at people who feel the need to respond to a question THAT IS ANSWERED IN THE ARTICLE. All the Pittsburgh teams make sense, if you know the background of the Pirates(they were accused of “stealing” players by offering to pay before it was allowed).
OK when the Houston Oilers MOVED to Tennessee they WERE the Tennessee Oilers, and Bud Adams decided the name sounded TERRIBLE and changed it(actually I think they started as Nashville Oilers). Cleveland SUED so that Art Modell had to change the name from the Browns.
The Seattle Mariners and Seattle Sounders both work perfectly too!
The team is originally from Minnesota which is the state of 10,000 lakes, hence the name the Lakers. The team just didn’t change their name just like the team stayed the Jazz even though they moved from New Orleans to Utah.
DATS COOL.
My High School Prior Lake High School’s sports teams are named after the Lakers when they were here in Minnesota known as the Minneapolis Lakers.
Detroit Pistons makes sense, Motor City, Pistons… yeah. I don’t understand the Detroit Tigers though.
Good ones:
Cleveland Browns (Paul Brown)
Denver Nuggets (gold)
San Diego Clippers (sailing)
Detroit Pistons (cars)
Milwaukee Brewers (beer)
Buffalo Bills (Cody)
Baltimore Ravens (Poe)
Minnesota Twins (Twin Cities)
Our Washington Senators (AL) moved twice! And changed their name both times. In 1961, they moved to Minneapolis to become the Minneapolis-St. Paul Twins (as in “the Twin Cities”), later to become the Minnesota Twins. At the same time, we were given a bunch of league cast-offs, who became the new Washington Senators, only to see them move again in 1969 to Arlington, Texas, to become the Texas Rangers. Another curious point is that the Washington Senators were often called by their nickname, the Nats, for National (Capital = Wash., DC). The new NL Washington team is the Nationals, also nicknamed, the Nats.
The Montreal Canadians hockey team have an excellent name to suit them seeing as they are Canadians.
A football team semi-swap:
Arizona Cardinals — They were the St. Louis Football Cardinals before they moved, matching names with the St. Louis Baseball Cardinals, making sense in St. Louis but not making sense in Arizona.
St. Louis Rams — They were the Los Angeles Rams before they moved (I don’t know why they were named “Rams” — I don’t think either city is known for male sheep! Maybe it’s just an analogy for butting heads being something like tackling. Does anybody know?).
You are all forgetting the best team name ever! The Albuquerque Isotopes! A minor league team named after the team in the Simpson episode!
totally Awesome!
Pittsburgh Penquins…no penquins in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Pirates….haven’t seen a pirate yet!
The Detroit Tigers were named after a military unit from Detroit called the Detroit Light Guard that fought in the civil war … that units nickname was The Tigers.
I’m going to do it league by league.
MLB- Five Best: 1.) Washington Nationals. Could there be a better name for a team in DC? Thank God they didn’t remain the Expos at least… 2.) Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee is a shining example of a team naming itself after a local industry. 3.) Colorado Rockies. Nothing wrong with a little geography here and there. 4.) Houston Astros. Many people don’t know this, but this name makes perfect sense as NASA is centered here. 5.) Minnesota Twins. A nicely done tribute to the Twin Cities, which by the way is what the “TC” on their caps stand for. Yeah, that drove me crazy too for awhile. Five Worst: 1.) Philadelphia Phillies. Hey, we can’t think of a name for our team, so let’s just make it a plural of our city’s name. Worst. Strategy. Ever. 2.) Detroit Tigers. I don’t know about you, but Detroit is the absolute last place I would expect to find a tiger. 3.) Chicago Cubs. See number two. 4.) Kansas City Royals. You know, I am noticing a pattern with all of KC’s teams. Think about it- Royals, Chiefs, even their old Negro League team was nicknamed the Monarchs! How are you at all associated with royalty, Kansas City? When have you ever had any real power which would warrant such nicknames? Just another pathetic marketing scheme. 5.) Anaheim Angels. See number four.
NFL- Five Best: 1.) San Francisco 49ers. Maybe I am being a bit biased as a fan, but I think this modern day gold rush tribute warrants the top spot. 2.) Pittsburgh Steelers. Like the Brewers, the Steelers chose to pay homage to local industry by naming their team after it. 3.) New England Patriots. New England was where the Revolution started, after all. 4.) Dallas Cowboys. As much as I hate them, I have got to admit they have a pretty good nickname. Oh, and Jerry Jones is a moron. Sorry, it needs to be said. 5.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When you think of swash buckling adventures on the high seas, which city first comes to mind? Okay, perhaps not Tampa, but it’s up there, right? Right? Five Worst: 1.) Cleveland Browns. Perhaps the most uncreative nickname of all time- not only are you naming yourself after a color, but the color is completely random and generates all kind of nasty punchlines. Then again, it is Cleveland after all… 2.) Detroit Lions. Because we all know Detroit for Eminem, a faltering automotive industry, Eminem, high rates of depression and crime, Eminem, freezing cold temperatures, Eminem, and an impressive population of wild, ravaging lions. I mean ravaging. 3.) Chicago Bears. See number two- what is it with the Windy City and these creatures? 4.) Green Bay Packers. Would be better if we knew what a packer actually was. 5.) Seattle Seahawks. Would be better if creature actually existed.
NBA- Five Best: 1.) Detroit Pistons. Not only does it fit in with what Pittsburgh and Milwaukee did above, but I needed to repay Detroit somehow for ripping the Lions. This is it. You’re welcome, Detroit. 2.) Boston Celtics. A great tribute to the city’s large Irish population. 3.) Philadelphia 76ers. Similar to the 49ers, it pays tribute to a historical event, and I’m a sucker for history. 4.) San Antonio Spurs. A great tribute to the city’s large cowboy population. 5.) Phoenix Suns. I’ve been to Phoenix, and yup, this name fits perfectly. Five Worst: 1.) Los Angeles Lakers. Good luck finding a lake here, or for that matter any natural groundwater. 2.) New Orleans Hornets. I’ve never been to the Big Easy, but I imagine it’s not swarming with these pests. Correct me if I am wrong. 3.) Golden State Warriors. Yes, I am saying this as a fan, the Dubs have a terrible nickname. Trust me, Oakland is the LAST place you would find competent soldiers. 4.) Orlando Magic. What is so magic about Orlando? This name would fit much better in New Orleans, which has a strong occult scene. 5.) New Jersey Nets. Seriously, what is next? The Hawaii Hoopsters? The Baltimore Ballers? Give me a break.
NHL- Five Best: 1.) Toronto Maple Leafs. Do you honestly associate Canada with anything else, aside from the sport itself and free healthcare? Didn’t think so. 2.) Washington Capitals. The NHL’s equivalent of the Nats, they only lose to the aptly named Maple Leafs. 3.) Ottawa Senators. Did you know that Ottawa, not Toronto, is the Canadian capital? You can thank the Sens for teaching you that. 4.) Carolina Hurricanes. A slightly dark but still fitting tribute to the areas weather patterns. 5.) St. Louis Blues. Of course, I assume they mean blues music, which St. Louis is a notable hearth of. Five Worst: 1.) Boston Bruins. Many people don’t know what a bruin is- it’s a bear. Don’t let the clever alliteration fool you- this name doesn’t fit. 2.) Calgary Flames. Yeah, we all remember that day it hit 100 degrees in Calgary and the entire city burned down. 3.) Florida Panthers. I am pretty sure there is not a single panther in Florida, and the name doesn’t even sound right to begin with. 4.) New York Islanders. Islanders are people who live on islands, not booming metropolises with over eight million inhabitants. 5.) Atlanta Thrashers. Similar to the Bruins, the Thrashers would like you to believe they are some tough, wild animal. But, no. A thrasher is a small bird, closely related to the mockingbird. Seriously, look it up. I’m not lying.
minnesota always gets hosed on teams and credability. I’ve seen it happen several times such as with the lakers and dallas stars.
I’m a die hard Anaheim Ducks Fan!! They make perfect sense because they were founded by Walt Disney AND are in the burb of LA. I hope they never move because I could never be a ”San Jose Duck” or “Phoenix Duck” fan…just aint right!! GOOOOO DUCKS!!!
The Houston Oilers were the Tennessee Oilers for a couple seasons before changing their name.
But here’s a different twist on team nicknames: a very small name change that made the fit at the new location; When the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, they just dropped the “North” from the name and became the Dallas Stars. “North Stars” fit great when they were in Minnesota, and “Stars” fit great now that they are in Dallas.
An interesting side note about the LA Lakers: Bud Grant (former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings) played for the Lakers for a couple seasons when they were the Minneapolis Lakers. He played from 1949 to 1951, and was part of the 1950 Championship team. He then switched sports and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles (who drafted him first round out of college).
Washington Redskins!
Native Americans no longer run the country.
I’m sure there are many lame mascotts were high schools are concerned. Here in Salt Lake City we have a team called the Jordan Beat Diggers. A proud nic-name I’m sure.
The Yankees’ nickname has nothing to do with geography (though New York was indeed on the side of the Union – the Yankees – in the Civil War). In its early days the team played its games as the Highlanders. But newspapermen often referred to them as the New York Americans, since they played in the American League (as opposed to the New York Giants in the National League). Eventually they started using “Yankees” as a nickname for Americans, and the name stuck.
Although the Seattle Supersonics got relocated and renamed, how did Oklahoma City Thunder get its name? Is OKC (or the State of Oklahoma itself) full of thunderstorms or something?
Gosh, I miss the Sonics; only been to two games at Key Arena. Former Sonics Detlef Schrempf went to my high school and brought it to the 1981 State Championship (his high school jersey and some of his Sonic memorabilia are in the Centralia [Washington] High School trophy case).
vancouver canucks make perfect sense. &
edmonton oilers &
toronto maple leafs &
might as well throw Montreal canadiens in there too.
i lllllllllllllllllloooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!the lakers especillay Koby
I never understood the Tulsa Hurricane. I mean wouldn’t Tulsa Tornado be much more accurate and not to mention alliterative?
How about the “Los Angeles Angels”
or
the “The Angels Angels”
hunh!!?
Well, here are some explanations of some of the “worst” team names as chosen by someone who doesn’t bother checking Wikipedia before posting:
The Cleveland Browns are not named after a color, but after someone named Paul Brown.
The St. Louis / L.A. Rams were originally the Cleveland Rams (I don’t know if there were any sheep in Ohio back in 1936, but it seems more likely than in L.A.).
The Angels were originally the Los Angeles Angels, playing in Dodger Stadium, and named after the city (Los Angeles means The Angels). Kind of redundant, but to me it makes more sense than the Padres. Are those San Diego ballplayers all family men, or are they trying to be Spanish priests?
The Green Bay Packers were originally run by a meat packing company in Green Bay.
The Orlando Magic is an allusion to the “Magic Kingdom”, that is, Walt Disney World, which is somewhere near there.
Nice Details Mike, I think It’s True About The part where you say that there are 100,000 lakes in Minnestota? I guess…
Not only is Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes, Minneapolis is the City of Lakes and that is where the name Lakers comes from.
Houston Rockets. Because Houston is popular for their space programs. “Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
Denver Nuggets. For the amount of gold in Colorado from the Gold Rush.
Those are the less obvious ones.
It is weird that WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment but the CEO doesn’t consider anyone of his talents to be called, “wrestlers.” He preferred them to be called, “entertainers.”
Arizona cardinals are originaly from Chicago. Chicago had the cardinals and the bears why bears idk but cardinals are the state bird
@Joe Grisso, the New York Islanders are thus named because their team is based in Long Island, which in fact is an island, however they would also be aptly named if they played in Manhattan, yet another Island
no one seemed to mention any soccer teams. well, i’ll shout out a few
Most teams are named after the city or neighbourhood they play in, but then there’s Arsenal, the red-shirted London team…
They were founded as “Dial Square FC” by employees of The Royal Arsenal Company in Woolwich (a city in the Greater London borough), shortly after changing their name to Royal Arsenal, then Woolwich Arsenal, and finally removing the Woolwich and using the name since 1913
of course this is all something that anyone could have looked up on Wikipedia but thought I’d contribute
The Dallas Stars look like a perfectly chosen name unless you know that they were the NORTH Stars.
They used to play in the North Star state of Minnesota. It is known as the North Star state because it used to be the northernmost state and has a point almost centered in the northern border of the country aimed north.
First I explained where Pirates comes from, don’t know if that is Yahoo or lazy people. Penguin(not Penquin) is perfectly logical because it’s ICE HOCKEY, you go with a COLD name(also the old Civic Arena was said to look like an Igloo, which was it’s nickname).
Calgary Flames, WORST HOCKEY NAME. First the background, they were the ATLANTA Flames. Oh yes let’s honor SHERMAN BURNING THE CITY. What IDIOT came up with that? Anyone really familiar with the Civil War will tell you even the North was upset with him. Then you move to a cold city and keep the name? Makes no sense, although at least it isn’t as sick sounding.
Here are some more strange nicknames:
http://www.bofads.com/stories/nicknames.htm
The Kansas City Royals got there named based on the American Royal Livestock show which is held in Kansas City.
Another obvious choice is the Baltimore Orioles. The state bird of Maryland.
If you’ve ever tried to cross a street in LA, you know that Dodgers is a perfect fit for a name, not trolly, but traffic Dodgers.
If you’re interested in the stories behind team nicknames, there’s a book ‘The Names of the Games’ by Mike Lessiter that details how names were chosen. The book was published in 1988 though, so the newer franchises and re-located teams aren’t mentioned.
New Orleans Saints = perfect name for this traditionally Catholic city. Also, the team was founded on All Saints Day in 1966.
The New England Patriots duh the Pilgrams settle in Massachusetts and they were patriotic
what about the boston red sox? that makes no sense.
the phillies were actually called the bluejays at one point. but then they changed back.
I’ve always thought that MLB and NFL should require that a team that moves should leave the name with the city and rebrand themselves for the new location. The Oilers did it. Every other franchise should as well or just stay where they are.
The New York Giants. (They’re technically in NJ)
Well the Lakers used to be the Minnesota Lakers which Minnesota has 10000 lakes, everyone knows that. but if you didnt ya The lakers werent ALWAYS at california!
In Australia we have a local rugby team called the Jindabyne Bush Pigs.
And, although I suspect that they are now defunct, there was a rugby team called the Leeton Phantoms. So what would you call the women’s team? The Leeton Dianas, of course.
This stuff was a “state the obvious” article, it hurt to read it was so obvious.
Some team names that fit perfectly
Phillies (duh)
Dallas Mavericks the whole “cowboy” ethos continues (Cuban as an owner too)
The Rockets were originally from San Diego but the name works even better for Houston
The Anaheim Ducks, like all things in Anaheim they are named after a Disney character(s)
The Chargers were actually named after Baron Hilton’s credit card company, “Charge”-rs
The Ottawa Senators and Washington Nationals come to mind.
The Celtics remind us of the large Irish-American Population in Boston
And the Padres work because San Diego had California’s First Mission.
cool! i never knew that!
my high school names for teams fit pretty good. we’re from a small town called Medina, New York, and it got started in the 1800′s as a pit stop on the Erie Canal. and so along the canal you would see people with horses, and medina has a lot of country still today, and a lot of people ride horses around here and own them, and so the Medina Mustangs fits perfect. and our swim team is even called the Medina Seahorse, the mustang from the sea… haha. just thought i’d share some information with you all. well thanks for the great post.
@Iciey sorry, it’s not koby, it’s Kobe, you spelt his name wrong, if you really love him , do the respect to him and learn how to spell his name.
I beg to differ BEAST the New England Patriots can’t be called that because of the settlers because if anything the pilgrims were ex-patriots or dissenters. Although after the MA Militia etc and the revolutionary war there were probably some patriotic types around.
Haha I used to think it was cuz the team was in LA, so they just added “kers”, making it the LAkers.
Is nicknames the same as team names?
I guess the Knicks were all out of ideas.
Did you know the Minnesota Lakers were the first NBA team the Globetrotters challenged. The Lakers lost.
“4.) New York Islanders. Islanders are people who live on islands, not booming metropolises with over eight million inhabitants.”
They play on Staten Island. It makes sense and it is an island. I like that you noticed the St. Louis Blues though. I think that is a great name.
Answering some questions from the comments:
The Green Bay Packers are named after a packing company in the city.
To the guy who ranked the nicknames for all the major sports leagues: Nice, but you forgot to put the Saints on your best nicknames list. Also, not only are there Panthers in Florida, but Florida has its own SPECIES of Panther found nowhere else in the world.
Finally, I’ve got a question: Why are they called the Vancouver Canucks? What’s a Canuck?
I think everyone should also look at like college teams where you have some great examples of the land reflecting on the teams and some not so good ones i.e. the Florida Gators and the Wisconsin Badgers and the Nebraska Corn Huskers for good… but then there are the USC Trojans…Trojans really?
oh and also GO HOUSTON COLT 45′s (that is what they were called before they were the Astros
Portland Trail Blazers is a perfect name.
Seattle Supersonics come to mind too (named after a jet)
And while on the topic of the Sonics I think the Oklahoma City Thunder is a horrible name… even the Tornado’s would have been better!
Bring the NBA back to Seattle. (:
Hmmmmm…… Milwaukee Braves….. Now the Atlanta Braves. I guess from the Indians in Wisconsin? The Braves are originally from Milwaukee now in Atlanta.
Green Bay Packers -
According to Packers.com, in 1919-21, the Indian [meat] Packing Company put up money for jerseys, and permitted the use of its athletic field for practice. Either by bankrupcy or renaming, the Acme [meat] Packing Company became involved.
Atlanta Braves -
Were the Milwaukee Braves which were the Boston Braves.
Oklahoma City Thunder -
Oklahoma is in the heartland of Tornado Alley – situated roughly between the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains. The Storm Prediction Center is located in Norman. According to Wikipedia: The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, including Norman, is one of the most tornado-prone areas in the United States.
Sheffield Wednesday is nicknamed “The Owls” because the football stadium is at Owlerton.
However Sheffield United has the monicker “The Blades”, so-called because of Sheffield’s worldwide reputation of steel production.