Yes, the Chicago Cubs started out as the Chicago White Stockings, then abandoned that name for the Colts in 1890. Then they abandoned that name for the Orphans in 1898, no doubt to reflect the retirement of Cap Anson. The Cubs name didn't start until 1903.
Meanwhile, in 1894, a team started playing in Sioux City, Iowa, named the Cornhuskers. In 1895, that team would move to St. Paul, Minnesota, and be known as the Saints, alternating between the Saints and the Apostles. All of this took place in a minor league circuit named the Western League. In 1900, the Western League became the American League, still remaining a minor league. Also in 1900, the St. Paul team moved to Chicago and adopted the discarded White Stockings name, since the National League club in the city hadn't used it in a decade.
In 1901, the American League became a major league. The White Stockings name would be used until 1903. After that, the shortened White Sox name was officially used.
Now that the history lesson is out of the way, I'll mention that players from the nineteenth century Cubs teams often get mislabeled with the current White Sox. It's something that I have learned to expect and usually laugh it off. I know my timeline and I'm familiar enough with the players to pick out a nineteenth century Cubs player and a nineteenth century Sioux City or St. Paul player, when they are identified as "White Sox" on their card.
Even though the "registered trademark" name of the White Sox is on the front, what irks me about this card is the back.
If they wanted to be historically accurate, the "Sox" on the from would be "Stockings" or the team would be listed as the Colts. There are even many examples of modern day clothing with the Chicago Colts logo appearing.
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I do miss Upper Deck being a part of the baseball landscape, but situations like this give me pause.
3 comments:
Great history lesson. And interesting to find out what a messed up card this is. Glad I sent something so inspiring/annoying: good fodder for a post.
What I've heard about Cap is that he was quite the racist, which is more annoying.
From everything that I've read about him, I would say yes. Cap's racism is one of the main reasons why the color line was originally drawn in the MLB.
This is a great card and a perfect example of how the two different Chicago White Stockings teams can still get interchanged. It made a wonderful post topic, so I can hardly complain about that!
I'm still sorting through the card you sent over, but I've already smiled multiple times while going through the stack.
Thanks! :-)
Great lesson.
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