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In recent years, a controversy arose about whether the Boston Red Sox had
ever been known as the Boston Pilgrims. From 1901 to 1907, the official team
name was the Boston Americans; a general result of league affiliation. The Americans (Red Sox)
were in the American League, and the Nationals or Beaneaters (today's Atlanta Braves) were in the National League. It
appears that the Boston Pilgrims nickname was the result of a poem and
song. The 1906 season was a dismal failure (49 wins & 105 losses), with two
managers fired, Jimmy Collins and Chick Stahl. On opening day in
1907, Edwin Fitzwilliam sang a poem to
inspire the team at this festive event (April 16th 1907 Boston Globe, first
two paragraphs):
The Pilgrims At Home
(Rory O'More Melody)
The Pilgrims are back on the home ground today.
They've had sad experience since going away ?
They've lost their young captain, kind, honest Chick Stahl
Who got too excited to captain baseball!
"The old king is dead, (so it's) God save the King!"
Jimmie Collins was captain for many a year;
The strain on his strength and his mind was severe,
He twice won the pennant one and from all ?
Believed of his cares, he's playing pennant baseball.
Cy Young is as good as he ever was seen,
And so is big, brilliant and clever Dineen;
Lou Criger is catching and knows where he's at.
He watches the bases as well as the bat!
The Boston Pilgrims nickname was used a lot during the 1907 season. After a
decisive win in Chicago, the August 13th Globe states, "Pursued into their
own lair by the demon Pilgrims, after suffering four separate and distinct whalings at the Hub, those much cuffed-about
[White] Sox today made a stand today at
the South Side preserves to no avail, with the invaders winning 5 to 3." The
August 24th 1907 Globe referred to the team as "fast Pilgrims." A headline
on page 5 of the September 11th 1907 Globe states, "Pilgrims Win
First Game 5 to 0." During the next season, the August 8th 1908
Globe states, "McGuire has used two of his strongest cards since alighting
here, but the Pilgrims have other pitchers of high degree, while Jones
[opposing team manager] has about exhausted his stock of top-notchers." A probable final reference is in the March 29th 1909 Globe, with the headline "Red Sox Pilgrims Now In
Nashville" on page 5.
1907 was another dismal season with 59 wins and 90 losses. Club President
John Taylor decided to revamp the team with new uniforms, new players,
and a new team name, the Red Sox. The December 19th 1907 Globe describes the
event: "Before leaving yesterday Mr. Taylor selected the uniforms to be used
next season, subject to the approval of manager McGuire. Pres Taylor has
suggested red stockings to be a part of the uniforms and thought the Boston
'Red Sox' might sound better to the baseball enthusiasts than the names now
used by many, such as 'the Pilgrims,' 'the Yankees,' etc. The original
Boston team wore red stockings and Mr. Taylor's idea is to practically
reproduce the old colors. Cincinnati has the 'Reds,' and there have
been several 'Red Stocking' clubs, but this is the first time any club has
taken the name 'Red Sox'."
Further discussion about the new team name is described in the December 21st 1907 Globe:
"'Pilgrims' sounded too much like homeless wanderers after the Bostons
tumbled into seventh place, and they have been rechristened. Mr. Taylor says
the bright red hosiery will be the sensation of the coming season. A place
in the first division has been claimed for the 'Red Sox'."
One can infer that having many try-outs and rookie players in 1907 and
1908 may have helped support a Boston Pilgrims team nickname. A real Boston Pilgrim would have been a religious missionary or traveler. An amusing footnote is that during Spring training in 1908, the Red Sox team was temporarily divided
into two separate squads. A Globe reporter (April 12th 1908) referred to the 1st squad as the "Red Sox" and also the "Pilgrims" (Cy Young's Team), and then referred to the 2nd
squad as the "Boston American league second team" (Deacon McGuire's Team). That Spring, the Red Sox were also referred to as the "Americans," the "Bostons," and the "Regulars." It must have been
very confusing in early 1908! History books have also stated that the Boston Americans (Red Sox) were nicknamed The Puritans prior to 1908. This was most likely a
geographic reference, and never a nickname. For instance, Boston versus Philadelphia may have been described as Puritans versus Quakers, and
newspaper readers at that time would have known which teams and cities were involved (May 17th 1902 Boston Globe). Related, northern cities playing in the south were at times described
as "yankees" or "invading yankees" in the newspapers, so the Red Sox were actually called Yankees at times
Bill Nowlin had extensively researched the fact that the Pilgrims was never an official team name of
the Red Sox. Prior to his research, many history books had asserted that the Pilgrims was the official team name, especially in 1903, which he debunked. The Boston Pilgrims was always
just a nickname, used mostly in 1907, and never the official team name.
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