While some monikers were slights in the late 19th century, they are not the ones in the news with demands for change.

A Bygone Era:

In many cases, social norms from 100 years ago in books and with names are offensive in today’s world.

Historical references here are according to Scott Allen of Mental Floss and a partial review of Baseball Team Names.

When the baseball industry began, franchises had names like the National League Philadelphia Base Ball Club: ergo, a for-profit company. But it didn’t take long for writers to make edits: For instance, fans read about the Philadelphias, the Chicagos, the Bostons and the Detroits. Of course, those handles told you the team’s location, and the uniforms only had a letter like P for Philadelphia.

The quickest path to a moniker for a scribe was sock color, so the locals began identifying their teams as the Red Sox, the White Stockings or the Redlegs. But the most interesting name came from a female fan who referred to the St. Louis colors as a cardinal shade of red. However, it required the writer who overheard her description call them the Cardinals.

For other scribes, franchises became the city and the league: for example, the Washington Nationals and the New York Americans. But when the Washington organization changed their nickname to the Senators, the writers didn’t buy the gimmick of a fresh start for a perennial losing team.

Making noise today on the Internet about club handles, protesters object to Chief Wahoo’s image for the Cleveland Indians. And their next target on the “endangered list” could be the Atlanta Braves with the tomahawk chop. Yes, today’s standards consider these monikers offensive to Native Americans, and you can count on hearing these arguments every now and then. On the other hand, many locals prefer the nickname they identify with.

Regarding the Indians and the Braves, many Easterners had a fascination with the culture encountered by the nation expanding westward. But they considered Native Americans to be savages. That stated, the name Braves may have had an indirect connection to a Delaware Valley Indian chief and political gamesmanship.