Was New York’s team called the Yankees or Highlanders in 1912?

From SABR member Keith Olbermann at MLBlogs.com on April 20, 2012:

Kudos to the Red Sox for taking the concept of the mega-ceremony to a new level. Whereas the Yankees closed the old Stadium in 2008 by putting a comparatively small group of all-time greats on the field at their old positions, the Olde Towne Team went the egalitarian route, and for once, bigger really was better. 

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I will protest, however, on behalf of historical accuracy, the continual references right now to how the opponents in both today’s game and the first ever at Fenway exactly a century ago were the New York “Highlanders.” This is one of those misunderstandings of history that never seems to get straightened out. Yes, the New York American League team was colloquially known as “The Highlanders” when it was moved from Baltimore in 1903. And yes, the name “Yankees” wasn’t formally adopted until 1913.

That does not mean the 1912 New York team wasn’t known as the Yankees. In fact the name was in common use no later than 1907.

Read the full article here: http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/2012/04/20/wonderful-ceremony-but-they-werent-the-highlanders/

 

From SABR member Mark Aubrey at Baseball Nuggets on April 20, 2012:

Today we celebrate 100 years of baseball at Fenway Park.  Many people have been tweeting, talking, and blogging about it.  Great history.  I do take exception to Keith Olbermann’s assertion that the team from New York that day wasn’t the Highlanders.  Taking a look at the Library of Congress’s wonderful Chronicling America site we find this gem…

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Looks like the Highlanders to me. … I guess that each newspaper called the team by a different name.  Sort of like the way that Fox News and MSNBC treat issues today.

I’ll give Mr. Olberman the Yankees moniker that day if he’ll agree that they were also the Highlanders.

Read the full article here: http://baseballnuggets.blogspot.com/2012/04/fenway-park-opener-1912.html



Originally published: April 20, 2012. Last Updated: April 20, 2012.