Actually, no - they were originally the Red Stockings (1869), and then the Reds. They didn't become the Red Legs (or Redlegs) until the 1950's, when "Reds" was a dirty word (thanks to Joe McCarthy). I think they changed it back around 1959 or 1960.Phyrkrakr wrote:[
That's too close to Cincinnati for me, who were originally the "Red Legs".
Other teams that changed their name without changing their city: The Phillies played as the Philadelphia Bluejays (one word) for a few years in the 1940's. The Boston Braves were the Boston Bees in the 1930's. And the Houston Astros were, before they moved into the Astrodome in 1965, the Houston Colt .45's (they dropped the .45's after the first year, although I think not officially, and were just known as the Houston Colts in 1963 and 1964).
Of course, if you wanna go back to the 19th century, there's a plethora of names - the Cardinals were previously the Browns, the Maroons, and the Perfectos (not necessarily in that order) before becoming the Cardinals. The Dodgers were the Trolley Dodgers and the Bridegrooms. The Red Sox were the Beaneaters. The Cubs were the White Stockings, the Colts, and the Orphans.
And, lapsing into the 20th century, the Cleveland Indians were, for a short time, known as the Cleveland Naps - making them the only team ever to be named for one of their players - Nap Lajoie. It'd be like the Cardinals suddenly calling themselves the "St. Louis Alberts".