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20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports
Most pro team nicknames make sense at some level. But there are a fair number of head-scratching nicknames. Here are 20 with explanations on their selection:
New York Rangers' Ryan Callahan, right, and Anton Stralman (6) celebrate Callahan's game-winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, April 25, 2013. New York won 4-3. (GERRY BROOME/AP)
1. New York Rangers
Aren’t rangers generally associated with the West’s wide-open spaces rather than the concrete canyons of New York? Yes, but what many don’t know is that the Rangers hockey team, which dates to 1926, was originally owned by Madison Square Garden. The Garden’s president back then was G.L. “Tex” Rickard, which prompted sportswriters to call the team “Tex’s Rangers.”
