Just when I thought I was liking you…
…you had to pick on the Browns.

Brown is a very nice color. It goes with just about everything.

It’s the orange I can’t stand (where did they get that?!?!).

The team we now know as the Atlanta Braves went thru their own flux of creative misnomers on their way to their current culturally sensitive tom-a-hawk choppin’ selves – at various points of their time in Boston, they had all of these relevant names -Boston Red Caps, Boston Beaneaters, Boston Doves, Boston Rustlers, and Boston Bees, in addition to the Boston Braves, which at least historically made some sense, for the reference to the Boston Tea Party.

Before the Chicago Cubs adopted their current name, they were known by the most fearsome name of the Chicago Orphans.

Bob already mentioned the Dodgers, although they weren’t actually called the Dodgers until 1913, and then that was just for one season. They resumed the use of the Dodgers name in 1931. Before the Dodgers name was first used, they were the Bridgegrooms and then the Superbas. From 1914 to 1930 they were the Robins.

My beloved Pirates started off as the Allegheny Innocents.

Philadelphia Phillies started off as the Quakers, no brawls in their games, I suppose.

And what is it with St Louis and the color brown? The baseball Cardinals started out as the Brown Stockings – now there is a name just waiting to be abused.

Turning to Football…from 1922-1929 the Dayton Triangles were members of the NFL, now that will strike fear into the other team, “We’re named for a geometric shape!”

And of course, we can’t forget the colorful Pottsville Maroons, previously of Toledo and Kenosha.

The Duluth Eskimos made a brief NFL appearance.

You mentioned the Memphis Grizzlies having no ties to the area, but actually the Memphis team in the old WFL, 1974 and 1975, was known as the Grizzlies.

And finally, how about the Columbus Blue Jackets? I mean, what the heck is a Blue Jacket?

And of course, well before Cleveland had this terrifying color, St. Louis had it – the St Loius Browns – another team sure to drive fear (or hilarity) into the hearts of their opponents.