Show Clubs Changed Nicknames I Nat's Mail Is Confused With Senators' Senators Naps Became Injun Tribe By GEORGE KIRKSEY United Press Sports Writer r NEW V YORK Feb 14 Nicknames 14 of American league clubs have changed less frequently than those in the National league Three American league clubs always have been known by their original nicknames They are the St. St Louis Browns Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics The other five clubs have changed their monikers once each From 1903 to 1914 New Yorkers were called the Highlanders or Hill Hill- toppers but when the club moved to tho the Polo grounds the label was changed to Yankees which immediately immedi immedi- immediately atel came into favor When they moved to their new home it was honored with the name Yankee stadium Until 1916 Cleveland players were called the Naps In honor of their peerless second baseman Napoleon Lajoie When James C. C Dunn purchased purchased purchased pur pur- chased the club a a. contest among the fans picked the name Indians Washington's official name Is 15 the Nationals but the tile club is more moro frequently called the Senators Clark Griffith changed the tho teams team's name from from Senators to Nationals because of the confusion in re receiving receiving re- re maiL noail The ball clubs club's mail mall vent ent to tho the senate and vice Ice versa Despite all aU effort to make Nationals Nationals Na Na- Nationals the teams team's only appellation appellation appellation appella appella- tion sports writers and tans fans usually usually usually ally term the capitals capital's team the Senators Detroit was first known as the Wolverines but this name was cumbersome cum cum- for headlines and too lengthy for oral use So the name Tigers was given the team because of the custom of ot wearing black hose with orange stripes or vice versa Boston became known as ne the Red Sox in 1904 after John I. I Taylor a member of ot the family which owns the Boston Globe became president of ot the club The teams team's uniforms had been trimmed in red and white since 1901 1801 so Taylor thought Red Sox was a good headline name andin and andin andin in addition combined color After the old Chicago Nationals discarded the name White Stockings Stockings Stock Stock- Stockings ings which they had popularized during the Pop Anson era the name was picked up by Charles Comiskey Comiske when ho organized the Chicago American league club He shortened shortened shortened short short- ened It to White Sox Sex After the Black Sox scandal of 1919 there thereas was as agitation to change the teams team's name but The Old Roman clung to the name The Philadelphia Athletics also got Jot their name from froni a National league club the old Athletic club of Philadelphia which expired in 1886 Later a ahito white hito elephant was adopted as the teams team's sym sym- be bolo bol There Bro are two versions of how the As A's became known as the White Whito Elephants Tho The one ono most popularly accepted is that friends of Connie Macks Mack's brother Gene were ero discussing the Athletics et- et lea ics in front of a store window indo in which a n white elephant was on display Pointing to the plaster elephant one of the group said That hat Is what the have on their hands St Sl Louis' Louis nickname the tho Browns grew out of the uniforms of the tho old St. St Louis club of tho the American as association association as- as which trimmed its It suits in brown and wore sore brown stockings |