O/T (kind of) I'm not that smart, but......

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by tcdyess

The Yankees really blew it this year. It was 100 years ago that the Highlanders were renamed to the Yankees. Remember the great job the Red Sox did last year for 100 years of Fenway? Is it just me, or are the Yankees missing a golden opportunity to celebrate 100 years of the most storied franchise in history and cash in on a complete marketing/merchandise campaign with all the fan fare? I even emailed them last fall and told them they should model themselves after the year long celebration of Fenway. (As big a Yankee fan that I am, I went to Fenway last year and enjoyed all the history that I saw, it was amazing and I know some board members actually had items on display inside Fenway...) Think of the history that could have been displayed at the stadium and all the Highlander jerseys and hats that could have been sold. Again, I know I'm not that smart, but.......

Tim

Well Tim, I'm not a Yankee fan but I think you have a wonderful idea & I agree that they are missing a golden opportunity to celebrate the 100 year history in perfect historical fashion-it's odd that they wouldn't think of this. And it would be awesome to see them play in Highlanders jerseys and hats-or throwbacks of the whole uniforms at least for a game. Great idea, I think you are that smart

Sincerely, Clayton

[Runscott]

In 'The Book of Base Ball, 1911', they are only referred to as the Yankees - no mention whatsoever of 'Highlanders'. Perhaps it's the fuzziness of the date changeover that has kept them from doing anything.

[Teamsets4u]

Baltimore Orioles 1901-1902
New York Highlanders 1903-1912
New York Yankees 1913-present

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Teamsets4u

Baltimore Orioles 1901-1902
New York Highlanders 1903-1912
New York Yankees 1913-present

Not sure where the 1913 number would come from if they were the Yankees in 1911 - my guess is that someone more recently picked 1913 without really knowing when the change took place. But if the franchise recognizes '1913' as the official name change, I suppose they should begin celebrating.

This Baseball Fever thread has some interesting stuff on the name changeover.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showth...k-Yankees-quot

[Tcards-Please]

The 1911 T205s have them listed as the Yankees. Did that nickname not become official until 1913?

[arc2q]

I believe in that era teams had official nicknames and alternative but more popular commonly-used nicknames...or no official nickname and a bunch of commonly used nicknames. 1913 was likely the year the name 'Yankees' became official but it had been used for several years prior, thus explaining why it was on a 1911 baseball card.

Even more confusing is the history of the Dodgers team name...they had a host of various commonly-used nicknames before Dodgers became official (for example, the Superbas) and the history of when one name began and the others ended is murky.

Particularly convoluted is the history of baseball in Washington. Everyone is surprised to find out that even the Washington Senators of the 1900s - 1950s were officially known as the Washington Nationals even though they ceased being referred to as the Nationals around the turn of the century. The Nationals name currently used has a longer and more official, arguably, lineage than the Senators moniker.

[Jlighter]

I really don't think the name is that important.

The Yankees basically had three nicknames.

New York Americans
New York Highlanders
New York Yankees

There are Newspapers referring to them as the Yankees as early as 1904. But all of them could have been used to refer to them.

[tcdyess]

This is off the Yankee website........ clearly states "officially renamed yankees in April 1913..... I really think they missed the boat on this one.....

http://mlb.mlb.com/nyy/history/timeline1.jsp

Tim