MARCH 27, 1902 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. The identity of Chicago‘s National League team is so ingrained it’s hard to imagine the franchise not being called the Cubs. But for the first quarter century of the team’s existence it wasn’t. They were known at various times as White Stockings, Colts, even Orphans – more on that in a moment. Here’s how the Cubs got their name;
The Cubs moniker can be traced to the Chicago Daily News newspaper of this date in 1902. The term for young bears was used by a sportswriter at spring training to describe a team with a bunch of young but promising players. The story’s headline read:
Manager of the Cubs is in Doubt Only on Two Positions
A search of newspaper archives at Chicago’s Newberry Library shows that that March 27, 1902 story is the earliest known use of the term “Cubs” to describe the team. The article mentioned it once more in describing the intentions of the manager:
"Frank Selee will devote his strongest efforts on the team work of the new Cubs this year."
The name caught on, which wasn’t surprising considering the club was known as Orphans at the time.
Here’s how that came about, as a charter member of the National League in 1876 the team was known as the Chicago White Stockings. A few years later star Cap Anson became player/manager. Sportswriters began referring to the team as Anson’s Colts, and eventually just Colts.
Anson was also known as “Pop.” When he left the team in 1897 the team became known as Orphans. Get it? You knew “Cubs” would stick when rival papers such as the Chicago Tribune (which later owned the team) began to use it.
Interestingly, when the Cubs relinquished the name White Stockings, the new American League franchise grabbed it, shortened it, and have been known as the White Sox ever since.
When the National Football League came to town in the 1920’s, the team chose Bears because they played in the home of Cubs.
More info:
The Chicago Daily News, Thursday, March 27, 1902 (Thanks to Newberry Library, Chicago)
The New York Times, “Nicknames of Baseball Clubs,” by Joseph Curtin Gephart,
Retrosheet has a treasure of information
MLB team histories
More info on team names, wikipedia
