MLB News: Cleveland to Drop “Indians” from Team Name

[rasputin]

I think that's right...Black Hawks being the other?

Yes! Hardly anybody knows that Black Hawk was an individual, not some tribe.

[bundabergdevil]

I suppose you could consider it that way, but that's not the answer I was looking for.

Looks like the Bills consider it that way. From the interwebs (wiki):

n 1947 a contest was held to rename the AAFC Bisons, which was owned by James Breuil of the Frontier Oil Company. The winning entry suggested "Bills", reflecting on the famous western frontiersman, Buffalo Bill Cody.

From the Bills:

That winning entry was sent in by James F. Dyson whose essay compared the team to a band of "Buffalo Bills."

The AAFC collapsed after its 1949 season, but Wilson breathed new life into the name of the organization when he chose it for his own organization.

The original Buffalo Bill was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West. In 1883, he began performing his own show, Buffalo Bill's Wild West, across the country. Buffalo Bill was an American scout who fought for the Union in the Civil War and served the U.S. Army in the Indian Wars. He received a medal of honor in 1972, and it is his name by which Buffalo's football team is recognized. Wilson gave the organization its lasting nickname at the very beginning, on November 30, 1959.

[wilson]

Looks like the Bills consider it that way...The AAFC collapsed after its 1949 season, but Wilson breathed new life into the name of the organization when he chose it for his own organization.

The original Buffalo Bill was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West. In 1883, he began performing his own show, Buffalo Bill's Wild West, across the country. Buffalo Bill was an American scout who fought for the Union in the Civil War and served the U.S. Army in the Indian Wars. He received a medal of honor in 1972, and it is his name by which Buffalo's football team is recognized. Wilson gave the organization its lasting nickname at the very beginning, on November 30, 1959.[/I]

Should've been the Buffalo Wilsons.

[weezie]

I thought I'd weigh in with how they became the Indians. In the early 1900's, the team was generally referred to as the Naps, for their manager, Napoleon Lajoie...

Truly, nicknames are not what they used to be. That one was terrific.

...Hardly anybody knows that Black Hawk was an individual, not some tribe.

Please, oh please don't let the Blackhawks change their name! As I Detroiter, I loathe them but to change it just would not be right.

[wilson]

...Please, oh please don't let the Blackhawks change their name! As I Detroiter, I loathe them but to change it just would not be right.

Wouldn't be that hard to update the logo and keep the name. I've seen a few mockups in recent years of what it might look like. This one, for example, works great in my opinion:
g50pSTUvQEyibZcQYUS1Ug.jpg

[rsvman]

Wouldn't be that hard to update the logo and keep the name. I've seen a few mockups in recent years of what it might look like. This one, for example, works great in my opinion:
g50pSTUvQEyibZcQYUS1Ug.jpg

In fact, much cooler than the original.

[PackMan97]

Next up, getting rid of the Tarheels!

[brevity]

So, here's a trivia question: name the two teams among MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL who are named for individual persons.

Charlotte Bobcats?

(Trust me, trivia can be tricky. Maybe stick the word "current" in the question.)

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Charlotte Bobcats?

(Trust me, trivia can be tricky. Maybe stick the word "current" in the question.)

I was thinking of the same one but it was phrased "are," indicating present tense, rather than "have been" or "were."

[budwom]

irrelevant aside: the Black Hawks jersey is (IMO) among the most beautiful in sports...

[cspan37421]

I remember when Cleveland's Cavs were so woeful* they were informally known as the Cleveland Cadavers. It makes me laugh to this day. Anyway, that nickname isn't being used, so ...

Or how about the Baseball Team of Cleveland? What? BTC is already taken?

To recognize the R&R HoF, they could be known as the Cleveland Rockers. They could sport a pyramid on their caps ... or if that's too much red meat for conspiracy theorists, they could use rocking chairs instead (in which you could take a Nap, Mr. Lajoie!)



* and yet, Weezie, our Pistons later ended up with their James Edwards and some guy named Bill Laimbeer

[budwom]

They could be called the Full Clevelands and dress accordingly.

[fidel]

Cleveland Grovers?

[weezie]

...This one, for example, works great in my opinion:
g50pSTUvQEyibZcQYUS1Ug.jpg

Hmmmm. Guess I'm just too old school. That new one looks, uhhh, yikes.

But then again, nothing is cooler than this one:

https://images.app.goo.gl/PcAxVEzBk2m77adJ9

[Tripping William]

Cleveland Grovers?

Imagine the ball caps:

517F6D02-6DA1-4DDA-A688-4C7DA051A954.jpg

[wilson]

Imagine the ball caps:

517F6D02-6DA1-4DDA-A688-4C7DA051A954.jpg

[resident Muppet obsessive enthusiastically pledges to buy one]

[snowdenscold]

I thought I'd weigh in with how they became the Indians. In the early 1900's, the team was generally referred to as the Naps, for their manager, Napoleon Lajoie. (Team names were more fluid and less official back then.) Lajoie was not going to be with the team in 1915, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (I think that's the newspaper) sponsored a contest to re-name the team.

The winning entry was Indians, sent in by a fan who liked Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot Indian who had played for the Cleveland Spiders in the National League in the late 1800's. The name "Sockalexises" or "Sockalexi" wouldn't have worked, I guess.

So, here's a trivia question: name the two teams among MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL who are named for individual persons.

I recall my dad telling me years ago the Kansas City Chiefs were named after the mayor or someone like that who had the nickname “chief” and that the team name wasn’t really a Native American reference... now I need to go look that up to see if it’s true...


Edit: seems to check out. Obviously lots of Native American influence in this Mayor Bartle guy taking that nickname for himself, but I found several articles which point to him (as an individual) as the team name source.

[LasVegas]

I recall my dad telling me years ago the Kansas City Chiefs were named after the mayor or someone like that who had the nickname “chief” and that the team name wasn’t really a Native American reference... now I need to go look that up to see if it’s true...


Edit: seems to check out. Obviously lots of Native American influence in this Mayor Bartle guy taking that nickname for himself, but I found several articles which point to him (as an individual) as the team name source.

How about the Kansas City Beefs? Cow mascot!

[rasputin]

How about the Kansas City Beefs? Cow mascot!

Injury report: mascot is nursing a calf.

[sagegrouse]

Just so no stone is left unturned, there is a Common Black Hawk, which breeds in Arizona and whose range extends south to Venezuela and Peru, and a Great Black Hawk, whose range extends from Mexico to Northern Argentina.