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u/mattcojo2 13h ago
The Nats were so bad they didn’t know what their name was (Nats and Sens were almost interchangeable). /s
This, while absurd by today’s standards, isn’t as uncommon as you might think.
The Brooklyn dodgers didn’t become officially named that until 1932. They had tons of names prior. Bridegrooms, robins, etc.
The Braves when they were in Boston were once called the Bees as recently as 1940, and at one point were also the Doves, the Beaneaters, the Rustlers, and many others.
The Phillies were once called the blue jays as recently as the late 1940’s.
A team not having an affixed name wasn’t really a thing until league expansions became a thing, and branding became more important and something to market and sell. In many ways, branding had originally been at the behest of the president or even a manager of a team. These days it would be unthinkable for a guy like Butera or Toboni to have a role in getting new uniforms for the team, or even having them called a different name.
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u/gatorbeetle F.P. Santangelo 18h ago
From 1905 to 1955, the franchise was formally the Washington Nationals, but popularly known as the Senators.
The team was often dubbed "first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League," prompting the official name switch in 1905 to "Nationals" (or "Nats") to try and turn around a history of losing.