Obscure sports trivia

How many past and present professional or collegiate sports teams can you name that were named after a U.S. state bird?

 

Odds would say Phillies and Pirates, but maybe Mets and Cubs at some point in the 1960s? Or some pre-1900 teams.

 

My guess is the Phillies and the old Boston Braves, mid-1930s.

 

The Orioles and the former Atlanta Thrashers come to mind, and I think a few state have a cardinal as their state bird, though I don't know if any of the pro sports teams of that name have it specifically because it's the state bird.
And, and some may know, the Nuggets were born as the Denver Rockets of the ABA. However, per Terry Pluto's book on the ABA, there was actually some discussion of naming the team the Colorado Lark Buntings, but the owner decided to name it Rockets after his trucking business.

 

Yes, the famous 1962 Mets (40-120) finished the season against the ninth-place Cubs, who had also lost 100 games. I looked up 1898, where St. Louis and Washington both lost over 100 games, but their last meeting that season was Aug. 26.

 

The 1928 Braves (103 losses) and Phillies (109) last played each other in a doubleheader on Sept. 8, then finished against the western teams. Let me make sure they didn't repeat that futility, since the Phillies were really good at accomplishing that.

 

Stunningly, the Florida State Bird is the northern mockingbird. How it isn't a snowy egret, an ibis or a flamingo is absurd.

 

Whose career home run record did Babe Ruth break?

 

Roger Connor, I think.

 

Correct, Roger Connor. Though, it wasn’t discovered until later.

 

You're right, the cardinal is pretty common. I don't know for sure, but I would guess the University of Louisville chose the cardinal because of its status as Kentucky's bird. It is also the state bird of Illinois, and Arizona's NFL team did start as the Chicago Cardinals.

 

Mets and Phillies?