1. Minnesota Twins, founded 1901
Initially known as the Washington Senators, the group moved from Kansas City to Washington, D.C, which was in need of a new baseball team. The name was changed in 1961 when the group moved again to Minnesota. They are named after the Twin Cities, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. They won the American League pennant in 1965, and the World Series titles in 1987 and 199
2. Oakland Athletics, founded 1901
They were initially known as the Philadelphia Athletics. This team started out strong, with 6 winnings in the American League pennant in 1902, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1914! In 1954, they were acquired by Arnold Johnson, a successful real estate businessman. He moved them to Kansas City, Missouri, and then in 1968 to Oakland, California. They won nine World Series titles.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers, founded 1883
The Dodgers were originally formed as the Brooklyn Grays. Over the years they changed many names, too many to count here, but finally settled on Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958. They won six World Series titles and 22 National League pennants and in 1947, were the first to employ an African-American player by the name Jackie Robinson.
4. Philadelphia Phillies, founded 1883
This team was established as the Philadelphia Quakers but a year later they settled on the name Phillies, making it the oldest continuous franchise in any American sport. They never moved city. What a record! In the beginning, their record wasn't as promising though, with only 17 wins out of 98 games. The next year the tables turned and since then, the Phillies have won two World Series, seven National League pennants, and 11 East Division titles.
5. San Francisco Giants, founded 1883
The Giants started out as the New York Gothams. They moved to San Franciso and changed their name to Giants after one of the team founders, Jim Mutrie, proudly called them giants when they won a game against their rivals Philadelphia Phillies. These two teams were the first Major League Baseball teams to play on the West Coast.
6. Cincinnati Reds, founded 1881.
The Reds were formed as one of the founding members of the American Association. They were the first to win the American Association pennant in 1882. 1971 was the most disastrous one in their history, as it was the only year of the '70s, in which the Reds finished with a losing record. In the previous year, they won 70 games out of 100, making 1971 feel like a fall from grace. Overall, though, they have an impressive record of five World Series titles, nine National League pennants, and 10 division titles, in addition to the 1882 victory mentioned earlier.
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7. Pittsburgh Pirates, founded 1881
The Pirates joined the American Association towards the end of 1881 and started playing in the 1882 season. They were listed as “Allegheny” because their home field was located in Allegheny City. They won their first World Series championship in 1909. This team holds a rather strange record for the longest losing strike for any North American sports team: between 1993 and 2012 they suffered 20 consecutive losing seasons! A hard time to be either a player or a fan.
8. St. Louis Cardinals, founded 1882
Originally established in 1875 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, they changed their name to Cardinals in 1900. As the St. Louis Brown Stockings, they were the first professional baseball team in the city. It is important to note, though, that the Cardinals are not a widely considered continuity of the Stockings. That's because the National League expelled the Stockings after an 1877 game-fixing scandal. The team went bankrupt and was saved by entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe who purchased them in 1882 and made them a founding member of the American Association.
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9. Chicago Cubs, founded 1871
The team first started playing as the Chicago White Stockings. They were the first team to win the National League pennant. One of the first star players of the team, pitcher Albert Spalding, went on to establish Spalding sporting goods company. They were first nicknamed Cubs by the Chicago Daily News in 1902 but the name was officially changed only in 1907.
The team was an inspiration to the 1910 poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon", written from the perspective of a New York Giants fan watching the Chicago Cubs win the game. The poem goes as follows:
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon[a] bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double[b] –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
By Franklin Pierce Adams.
*Tinker, Evers, and Chance are the names of Cub infielders.
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10. Atlanta Braves, founded 1871
Admittedly, there is a big debate about who truly is the oldest team in Major League Baseball. The Chicago Cubs claim they own the title. Be that as it may, the Atlanta Braves are widely considered to be the oldest continually operating baseball team in America. This debate was never officially settled.
Originally the Braves were called the Boston Red Stockings and they were a charter team on the National League that was established in 1876. They played and won the very first game of the National League on April 22, that year.
