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Thursday, October 15, 2009
What the Hell Happened to the Ruby Legs?
Posted By Rebecca Walsh on October 15, 2009, 2:34 PM
Ruby Legs? Dodgers? Phillies? ---
Philadelphia Phillies @ the LosAngeles Dodgers. The two teams fighting for the National League pennant, and NL representative in the World Series. Game 1 of the best of 7 series starts tonight @6pm on TBS.
But what the hell happened to the Ruby Legs? Why LosAngeles “Dodgers” and Philadelphia “Phillies?”
The Dodgers were originally from the coolest non-city in America, Brooklyn. In 1890s Brooklyn, trolley cars were the mode of public transportation. Brooklyn natives were forced to 'dodge' the trolleys in the busy streets. Thus they became the “Dodgers.” The nickname followed the team to LosAngeles.
"Phillies" is more or less an homage to residents of Philadelphia, being that they often refer to themselves as being “from Philly.” The Phillies were originally the Philadelphia Quakers. In 1883 the new owner paid $400,000 for the team and changed the name to “Phillies” in support of the name of the city.
Prior to becoming the “Phillies” the team replaced the “Worcester Ruby Legs” from Worcester Massachusetts, who struggled with attendance and were dropped from the league following the 1882 season.
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