How did the Red Sox get their name?
The Red Sox are an old franchise, and as a result were around for a long time before marketing decisions and merchandising determined nicknames and logos. Some of the original teams got their names from the basic uniforms they wore, such as the Cincinnati Reds (originally the Red Stockings) and Chicago White Sox. The team now known as the Red Sox have been referred to as the Pilgrims, Americans, and Somersets (after their owner Charles Somers), but weren’t officially named the Red Sox until December 18, 1907 after then-owner John Taylor noticed that the National League’s Boston team had stopped wearing their customary red stockings. Taylor, who would later name and build Fenway Park in 1912, declared that the American League Boston team would wear red stockings and furthermore be known as the Red Sox. The spelling “Sox” is believed to have occurred when newspapers shortened “Stockings” in order to fit in headlines.
