Nicknames of Displaced Teams W/Less Importance

[Your Name Here]

 

And howabout this, The San Francisco Giants? OK Ok yeah, NYC sky scrapers and stuff, but how many GIANT sky scrapers do you see in San Fran? In fact (Im sure the San Fran master himself ICS could help me on this one) i think there are height restrictions on the buildings due to potential earthquakes.

finally, someone mentioned the Giants!

Like I said though, the name was devised completely by accident. It had nothing to do with skyscrapers.

[jrh31584]

 

And howabout this, The San Francisco Giants? OK Ok yeah, NYC sky scrapers and stuff, but how many GIANT sky scrapers do you see in San Fran? In fact (Im sure the San Fran master himself ICS could help me on this one) i think there are height restrictions on the buildings due to potential earthquakes.

finally, someone mentioned the Giants!

San Francisco does have this:

[winghaz]

OK, for the fun of it, I'll rate the displaced teams' names:

MLB:

Oakland Athletics: B-. The minus comes because it's a lame name. It gets high points, though, for keeping the Athletics tradition alive.

Atlanta Braves: B. Good name.

L.A. Dodgers: D. The name never belonged in L.A.

San Francisco Giants: C. A generic name, but one that fits more in N.Y. than S.F.

NFL

Arizona Cardinals: B-. Generic.

St. Louis Rams: B-. Also generic.

Washington Redskins: B-. It gets the minus just for being named Redskins.

Indianapolis Colts: C-. A generic enough name, but just doesn't fit in Indy.

San Diego Chargers: B-. OK name.

Note: I'm not including New England Patriots because they left Boston but never left New England.

NBA

Atlanta Hawks: B. Like the Braves, a good name that can go anywhere.

Detroit Pistons: A+. The best keeping of a nickname, going from Fort Wayne to a city (Detroit) where they put pistons in cars.

Golden State Warriors: B-. Generic, and better in California than Philly.

Houston Rockets: A+. Tied for best keeping of a nickname, going to the NASA city. And Rockets never did fit in San Diego.

L.A. Clippers: B-. It's OK.

L.A. Lakers: F. Second-worst keeping of a name. Yep, lots of lakes in L.A.

Memphis Grizzlies: D. I don't exactly think of grizzly bears when I think of Memphis.

New Orleans Hornets: D. The name Hornets would usually draw a B because it's a good name. But because the team was moved from North Carolina, where the name has historical significance, it turned out to be a bad move. The name should have been kept for the Bobcats.

Sacramento Kings: B-. Kings is generic, but doesn't apply to Sacramento. But, since this goes back to the Rochester Royals, it's good to see a regal name kept in the NBA.

Utah Jazz. F-. The worst of the worst. Do I really need to explain thinking about Jazz in Salt Lake City?

NHL

Calgary Flames: A. Flames were great for Atlanta, but they're also great, in different reasons, for Calgary because of the oil industry and the 1988 Winter Olympics. Not quite on par with the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets, but darn near.

Dallas Stars: C, would have been an A if they were changed to the Lone Stars. But, like I said earlier, at least they aren't the Dallas North Stars.

[Claystation360]

I never thought of that....I thought the "official" name of the Dallas Stars was to have the "Lone" in there instead of North, but I guess not. Wouldve made sense.

How bout:

LA Rams - maybe in the hollywood hills?

St Louis Rams - isnt missouri pretty much flat?

The L.A. Rams were the Cleveland Rams before they moved.

Franchise history

1 Cleveland Era (1937-1945)

2 L.A. Rams Part 1: Los Angeles Era (1946-1979)

3 L.A. Rams Part 2: Anaheim Era (1980-1994)

4 St. Louis Era (1995-Present)

P.S. since you know all of that they started in 1936 as a Member of the AFL then joined the NFL in 1937 replacing the st louis Gunners i believe .

[Claystation360]

If the Arizona Cardinals are named for the color instead of the bird, why do they have the bird as their logo?

If they are named for the bird, it doesn't make sense if they play in the Phoenix area yet cardinals don't exist in that area but rather somewhere else in the state.

It's not like the Seahawks or a Phoenix who are mythical birds who could exist anywhere. It's an actual bird.

They Started up on Racine St in Chicago as Morgan's athletic club & later picking up the nickname "Normals" until the founder / owner o'brian pick up some ole hand me down faded marron Jerseys , from U of Chi . Well he later said they were faded to a cardinal red . & from that point on they have been known has the Cardinals . That was 1901 . so dont change something the is that tradinal , plus they logo got picked up with adds on game programs they just put a bird on the cover and different things like this early logo .

& later this one

of course you look at the head of the last one that's the one which ended up on the helmet . in 61 or whenever .

[Claystation360]

If the Arizona Cardinals are named for the color instead of the bird, why do they have the bird as their logo?

What else would they have as a logo? A tree?

I think I would prefer the Cardinals to be the color instead of the bird, in name and logo. Nothing against the bird but the NFL has Falcons, Eagles, Seahawks, etc., would be cool to have a team that was simply a color (I know, I know the Browns but we all know they are the Paul Browns and not the color brown).

I understand what you mean there , But the logo is just as much a part of the name & color . Just Because there are other "bird" teams in the NFL ..will i would have to say the Cardinals have seniority because the next closest Bird team in age to the Cards are the Eagles , they came in the NFL in 1933 & the Cards are 35 years older then they are . So if anything one of the newer teams should have to change first. like the seahawks or ravens .

[DG_ThenNowForever]

There should be a quota on bird names now? I guess that makes sense, considering there seem to be quite a few bird names for such a physical sport. And really, who wants to be a cardinal? At least Ravens, Falcons, Seahawks, and Eagles are all birds of prey. Cardinals are kind of a nancy nickname. A pretty bird, but an awful mascot, if you ask me. It's like a team being named the Robins, Parakeets, or Songbirds.

[Claystation360]

Yeah , I wont disagree "cardinals" does not make me piss my self. But I am just looking at it from a heritage point . The team has held the name for so long , I would really hate to ever see it change ...even for a "Cleveland-Baltimore deal" that would still defeat the purpose . That Franchise should keep that name period.

but then again talking about weak names , Dolphins are right up there at least you have to worry about a card shytting on you .

[BaltimoreFan]

A local newpaper here had a suggestion right when the Hornets moved to NO. The writer said that the Jazz and Hornets should trade nicknames with the move. Jazz in NO is a given. Also Utah is nicknamed "The Beehive State".

[Slater]

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/nicknames.jsp

How the NFL franchises got their names. Apparently the Chargers weren't named after horsies after all.

[whitllam]

Not many people know the NY Yankees started out as the Baltimore Orioles.

Actually it was Baltimore Orioles -> New York Highlanders -> New York Yankees.

[MisterE]

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/nicknames.jsp

How the NFL franchises got their names. Apparently the Chargers weren't named after horsies after all.

You think the HOF would update the logos on their site. Those Bears and Rams logos are outdated and the Steelers looks like a sketched drawing.

Back on topic, when Lamar Hunt moved his Dallas Texans to Kansas City, he wanted to keep the name Texans. The front office and fans objected to this and held a contest where Chiefs won out. I wonder what the logo would have been since the Texans was a Texas outline with a star on Dallas, while the Chiefs first logo was the states of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska behind a running Chief? Have a big outline of the Great Plain states, with Missouri and Texas outlined in yellow.

[bmoak]

Let's see....

The Quebec Juniors (QMJHL) have a team called the PEI (Prince Edward Island) Rocket (that's singular, not plural). They were originally the Montreal Rocket and were named were Canadiens legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

The QMJHL also has the Gatineau Olympiques, which started as the Hull Olympiques in 1976 and were named for the '76 Montral Olympics. Hull is a suburb of Montreal while Gatineau is definately not.

The Baltimore Clippers of the old Eastern Hockey League had an arena fire midseason and finsished out the year as the Charlotte Clippers. They ended up staying permanently, but switched to the Checkers after a few seasons.

(Side note: Anyone know why landlocked Columbus has a team called the Clippers? Are they named for the "Yankee Clipper" DiMaggio?)

Another subcateogry is teams that saddle their minor affiliates with their inappropriate-for-the-location franchise name. Examples would be the Binghamton Senators, Binghamton Whalers, Binghamton Rangers, PEI Senators, Thunder Bay Senators, Plymouth (ONT) Whalers, Reading Phillies, Cape Breton Oilers, Capitol District (Albany) Islanders, and Colorado Rangers.

[The_Admiral]

A local newpaper here had a suggestion right when the Hornets moved to NO. The writer said that the Jazz and Hornets should trade nicknames with the move. Jazz in NO is a given. Also Utah is nicknamed "The Beehive State".

Right, right, right, it would make so much more sense, but it was the Utah Jazz that won the West in back-to-back years, the Utah Jazz is where Jerry Sloan has been coaching for years and years, the Utah Jazz is where Stockton-to-Malone happened. As much as some people want to declare by fiat that This Is The Way Things Ought To Be, the Utah Jazz are too near and dear to the residents of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front for someone who seems to know better than the rest of us to say "excuse me, you're the Hornets now."

[Your Name Here]

I think that Steinbrenner made his fortune in shipping.

[Skull Position]

Not many people know the NY Yankees started out as the Baltimore Orioles.

Actually it was Baltimore Orioles -> New York Highlanders -> New York Yankees.

...and played in Milwaukee for one year in 1901 I believe?

[rams80]

Not many people know the NY Yankees started out as the Baltimore Orioles.

Actually it was Baltimore Orioles -> New York Highlanders -> New York Yankees.

...and played in Milwaukee for one year in 1901 I believe?

You're thinking of the current Orioles. The 1901 AL Milwaukee franchise moved to St. Louis as the Browns and then they moved to Baltimore in the 50s.

[HatCityEnforcer]

The QMJHL also has the Gatineau Olympiques, which started as the Hull Olympiques in 1976 and were named for the '76 Montral Olympics. Hull is a suburb of Montreal while Gatineau is definately not.

Good point, but there's a hitch with your arguement on the Olympiques...

Hull's a suburb of Ottawa (it's just across the river from it on the Quebec side), not Montreal.

Also, one other minor quibble here...

Plymouth (ONT) Whalers

The OHL Whalers call Plymouth, Michigan home...it's one of the western 'burbs of Detroit proper.

[therebelas]

I'm sorry. I should've written that they didn't add the bird head to their helmet until 1960.

When the New York Gothams' manager was asked by reporters what the secret of his success was, he pointed out his players and said, "These are my great fellows, my giants. They are the people."

Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri: TAMs.

The M was for Mississippi, not Missouri.

[jab8281965]

The NBA owns the rights to the name LA Surf - apparently they have logos and colors and everything copyrighted in case the Clippers ever decide to change their name. I think they have mentioned this before. I've talked to friends at the NBA and they say "we own the rights" but won't confirm the logos and colors.