Posted By:
Glen VFound a site on team name origins. Here's what they had for vintage baseball teams...
San Francisco Giants—In the 1880s when the club was in New York and known as the Gothams, manager Jim Mutrie stood up in the dugout after a win and referred to the team as "my Giants."
Los Angeles Dodgers—The club resided in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1890–1957 and was named the Trolley Dodgers in reference to the borough's maze of trolley lines near the Brooklyn Bridge. It was later shortened to Dodgers and the name stuck even after the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
Detroit Tigers—In 1901, players on Detroit wore yellow and black socks. Editor Philip Reid thought they were similar to those worn by the Princeton University Tigers football team.
Cleveland Indians—The Cleveland baseball team, known in the 1890s as the Spiders, had one of the first American Indians in the majors–Louis Francis Sockalexis. Sadly, the term, "Indians" was reportedly given to the team by disrespecting fans around the country. In less than three years, injuries and alcoholism forced Sockalexis out of baseball after only 367 at-bats. In 1915, two years after his death, the name was officially changed to the "Indians." Some say the name was given to honor Sockalexis. Others disagree.
Pittsburgh Pirates—The franchise was called the Innocents until 1891 when it signed second baseman Lou Bierbauer. His old club, the Philadelphia Athletics, and its fans weren't at all happy about the way Bierbauer was "obtained" and dubbed his new club the Pirates because they "pirated" the star player away from them.