NewsNation

How many of these MLB teams from 100 years ago do you recognize?

Addy Bink

FILE - A rain-covered logo is seen at Fenway Park before Game 1 of the World Series baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

(NEXSTAR) – Opening Day is upon us, meaning 18 MLB teams are gearing up to take the field Thursday after a delayed Spring Training sparked by labor negotiations. While the rules of the game are largely the same, the teams you’ll see taking the field have changed since Opening Day 1922.

When players took the field for the 1922 season, there weren’t even 18 teams in the league. Instead, there were eight a piece in the American League and National League, according to ESPN, far less than the 30 in the league today.


While most of those team names are the same as today, seven have changed their name or home city. All seven are still franchises today. Here’s a look at those teams:

St. Louis Browns

Babe Ruth (right) watches as an award is presented by Rear Admiral W.F. Fullam to George Sisler, manager of the St. Louis Browns, designating him the most valuable man in the 1922 baseball season on Sisler Day, June 10. (Getty)

In 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis with new owner Robert Lee Hedges, a carriage-maker. He renamed the team to the St. Louis Browns, a nod to the Cardinals’ former name, the Brown Stockings, according to the St. Louis Browns Historical Society.

The team would play its last game in 1953 when the team was sold to Baltimore. The franchise then became the Orioles.

Cleveland Indians

Previously known as the Cleveland Naps until 1915 when they adopted the “Indians” moniker.

Last year, the team changed its name to the Cleveland Guardians after years of controversy and pressure from the MLB.

Brooklyn Robins

Debuting in 1890 as the Bridegrooms, Brooklyn would soon earn the nickname Trolley Dodgers, which was shortened to just Dodgers, according to the MLB. In 1914, the Dodgers changed their name to the Robins in honor of team manager Wilbert Robinson. After his 1932 retirement, the team went back to being the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In the 1950s, the team moved to Los Angeles, becoming the Los Angeles Dodgers we know today.

New York Giants

Of course, Brooklyn fans weren’t the only New Yorkers left broken-hearted when their team decided to leave town ahead of the 1958 season. Willie Mays and the 5-time champion Giants abandoned upper Manhatten for their own new home in sunny California.

As the New York Times reported at the time, the unanimous vote included the condition that both the Dodgers and Giants go through with the move, which they did. In the process, one of the game’s great rivalries transferred to the West Coast.

Washington Senators

President Warren Harding, throwing out the 1st ball at the opening game of the American League season, Senators vs. Yankees, in Washington, April 13, 1922. (AP Photo)

While originally founded as the Washington Nationals Baseball Club in 1859, the team was going by the Senators moniker by the early 1900s. Then in 1905, the team effectively became the Nationals. Still, for the next five decades, the MLB says newspapers referred to the team as the Senators, Nationals, and Nats interchangeably.

Philadelphia Athletics

Founded in 1901, the Philadelphia Athletics would remain in Pennsylvania until 1954. The team was then sold to Arnold Johnson and moved to Kansas City, Mo.

The team’s next owner, Charlie Finley, requested permission to move the Athletics to Dallas-Ft. Worth in 1962, but was denied, according to the MLB. Six years later, the A’s moved to Oakland.

Boston Braves

Originally founded as the Boston Red Stockings, the team was known as the Boston Braves by 1912, the MLB says.

In the early 1950s, after losing much of its fan base to the Boston Red Sox, the Braves moved to Milwaukee. Again citing dwindling fan support, the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. Since the move to Georgia, the Braves have won two of the franchise’s four World Series championships, including the most recent in 2021.

SLIDESHOW: Photos of Opening Day 1922

President Warren G. Harding – pictured in the front row, second from the left – with his secretary of state, Charles Evans Hughes – front row, second from the right – at opening day in 1922. Harding threw out the first pitch of the game between the Washington Senators and New York Yankees. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-npcc-06035]
A view of the crowds at opening day, 1922. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-npcc-06029]
A runner waits on first during opening day, 1922, at an undisclosed stadium. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-npcc-06030])

Have you figured out which teams playing today didn’t appear in 1922? No problem, we’ve got you covered. Those teams who weren’t part of the league 100 years ago, either as their current moniker or as one of the six teams above, are:

Thursday’s first day of the 2022 regular season marks the 146th Opening Day in MLB history.