Cubs: Team names before they were called the “Cubs”

Chicago Cubs: The name did not become official for a few years after it was introduced in 1902

The franchise was going through another youth movement in 1902. Future Hall of Famer Frank Selee was hired to manage the team of energetic youngsters that year. The press figured the team should be named for their youth, and the Chicago Tribune started calling them the “Spuds.” However, the Chicago Daily News published an article by Fred Hayner on March 27th, 1902, calling Selee’s team the “Cubs.”

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This was the earliest piece of a publication that we know exists of the team being called “Cubs” in the paper. The actual origin of the name according to Jack Bales‘ book Before They Were Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team, the name was conceived during a discussion between Daily News city editor James Gilruth, Charles Sensabaugh, and George C. Rice regarding the team’s nickname.

They did not want to call the team the “Orphans” and came up with “Cubs,” according to Gilruth. (Bales, J. (2019). Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team. McFarland & Company Incorporated.)

Hayner and Rice are the ones often recognized as getting the credit for the name. The name “Cubs” certainly gained attention in 1902, but it would not become their official name for a few years. This would happen during their World Series runs in 1907-1908 under player/manager Frank Chance.

The team would get the bear logos on their uniforms and they would be then officially known as they are today as the Chicago Cubs. After the team won their back-to-back titles, they would remain playing at the West Side Grounds until 1915 until moving to Weeghman Park, which is today Wrigley Field.

So long story short, the Cubs got their current name like they got most of their others, from the minds of newspaper writers and editors. Times were pretty different back then.

Keeping track of all the nicknames from 1898 – 1903 is hectic. Just know that the Cubs will always be the Cubs for the rest of your lives. They have been that for over a century, and the name is so iconic it will never change. Not even owner Tom Ricketts would dare to change it, or whoever owns the franchise after that.