Original Team Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Answer: Washington Senators

A charter member of the American League in 1901, the Washington Senators decided that the good people of D.C. had suffered their ineptitude long enough. After the 1960 season, they packed up and moved to Minnesota, changing their name to the Twins in recognition of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Answer: Syracuse Nationals

The Sixers were born in 1963 when the Nationals of Syracuse were bought by two Philadelphia businessmen and moved south to Philadelphia. The Warriors were already in Philly, but around this same time were leaving for San Francisco, taking Philly-born great Wilt Chamberlain with them.

The Philadelphia Stars were a team in the old United States Football League, while the Saratoga Nationals never existed.

Answer: Minnesota Northstars

The Dallas Stars started as the Minnesota Northstars in 1967, and while some sportscasters would call them the Stars for short, this was never their official name. They remained there before moving to Dallas and becoming simply the Stars(officially) after the 1992-93 season. Rumor has it that briefly they were considering becoming the Lonestars, but it never came to fruitition.

The Desperados are a member of the Arena Football League.

Answer: Kansas City Chiefs

While in Dallas, the Texans fared very well, but facing competition in town from the new Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, owner Lamar Hunt decided it was best for his team and the entire American Football League if he moved his franchise. He did, to Kansas City, and renamed the Texans the Chiefs.

They would be the most successful of the AFLs franchises, winning the AFL title 3 times, representing the AFL in the first Super Bowl against the NFLs mighty Green Bay Packers. The Denver Broncos were an original AFL member as were the New York Jets (although called the Titans in their early years).

The Houston Texans have only played for seven years.

Answer: Baltimore Orioles

In 1901, the Baltimore Orioles began play as a charter member of the American League. They lasted for two seasons before being bought. The franchise was bought by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery, and moved to Manhattan. They played in a park situated on a high hill at 168th St. and Broadway, and became known then as the "Highlanders".

In 1913, the Highlanders officially changed their name to the Yankees. Superbas is a former name of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Knickerbockers, aside from being New York's NBA team, were a team that played in the very first baseball game in 1846.

Answer: Pirates

For their first seven seasons, the Steelers were known as the Pirates. Many early professional football teams took the same name as the pro baseball team in the city they represented, such as the New York Giants. Owner Art Rooney decided to change the name to "Steelers" in 1940 to forge a closer link with the hard working, blue collar citizens of Pittsburgh and their steel industry.

The Maulers were Pittsburgh's USFL team, and the Panthers are the University of Pittsburgh's team. The Rivermen are a minor league hockey team from Peoria, Illinois.

Answer: Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Pistons moved to Detroit in 1957 from Fort Wayne, Indiana, because owner Fred Zollner wanted to be able to compete financially with teams from the larger cities such as Philadelphia and Boston.

Answer: Americans

The Boston Americans were one of the original American League franchises. Over time, fans and media began to refer to them as "RED SOX" because this was a prominent uniform feature. It became official in 1908. The Bees, Doves, and Beaneaters are all old names for the Braves who started in Boston, moved to Milwaukee at the end of the 1952 season, and on to their home in Atlanta after the 1965 season.

Answer: St. Patricks

When the Leafs began play in 1917, they actually had no name. They were referred to as the Torontos or Blueshirts, but neither was the official name. They officially became the "Arenas" in 1918, simply because the arena they played in owned them. They were renamed the "St. Patricks" in 1919 in recognition of the city's growing Irish population. Beginning in 1927, they were the "Maple Leafs", as coach, general manager, and part owner Conn Smythe wanted a close association with Canada and it's maple leaf symbol.

He paid no attention to the grammatical inaccuracy of the name.

Answer: Seattle Pilots

The American League's Seattle Pilots only lasted one season, 1969 in Seattle, before a ton of problems sent them packing to Milwaukee, where they became the Brewers starting in 1970. Interestingly, the Milwaukee Brewers were one of the charter American League franchises in 1901, but only lasted one season, and ended up in St. Louis, where they were the Browns (who left St. Louis after 1953 for Baltimore, where they became the Orioles).

The Braves were a National League team, who came from Boston and later left for Atlanta, and the Spiders were Cleveland's old National League entry, a team that starred Cy Young but were gone after 1899.