The Cincinnati Reds, a baseball team that traces its roots back to the first-ever professional franchise in 1869, took its name from clothing worn by players.

The 1869 team was named the Red Stockings after the bright red knee-high socks worn by the players, known then as ballists. Since 1869, Cincinnati’s baseball team name has always had some variation of the word red.

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So, how did the Cincinnati Red Stockings become the Cincinnati Reds? Here’s what to know.

Who were the Red Stockings?

The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, baseball’s first openly-paid team of players, recorded a perfect season, with a record of 57-0. The Cincinnati team was so good it scored an average 40 runs a game playing teams on the East and West coasts.

The Red Stockings continued their winning ways in 1870, and then folded over finances.

Player-manager Harry Wright and his brother, George Wright, an all-star player, left in 1871 for Boston. There, the brothers carried the Red Stockings’ name to help found a Boston team by that name. The Boston Red Stockings eventually became the Boston Braves (not to be confused with the Boston Red Sox), according to MLB.com.

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Name shortened to Reds

A new Cincinnati team was a charter member of the National League in 1876, again carrying the Red Stockings name, according to an MLB.com article. The team was kicked out of the league in 1880 for selling beer and playing games on Sundays, but joined the American Association for a stint. The Reds came back to the National League in 1890 with a shorted name, the Reds.

The name stayed the Cincinnati Reds for more than 70 years until the 1950s. Sen. Joseph McCarthy was whipping up anti-Communist hysteria across the country, and newspapers headlines often called Communists “reds.” So, the Cincinnati ballclub decided to separate itself from the Reds name.

According to MLB.com, the club removed the mention of Reds from its home jerseys in 1956 and went with just the wishbone-C. The ’56 road jerseys featured nothing but a Mr. Redlegs mustachioed logo on the left side of the chest. That era only lasted for one season before the gray uniforms had the simple wishone-C.

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The team was known as the Cincinnati Redlegs for the next six years. However, the name was never popular among fans, and most baseball announcers and writers didn’t use it. The Cincinnati Reds name was restored by 1959, and “Reds” returned to the uniform inside the wishbone-C in 1961 − the same year the team returned to the postseason as NL pennant winners.

The Reds team has incorporated Mr. Redlegs, Rosie Red and Gapper mascots to go with the traditional clean-shaven Mr. Red. The name Rosie Red is an ode to the Rosie Reds philanthropic fan group started in 1964.

Enquirer reporter Jeff Suess contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why are the Cincinnati Reds called the ‘Reds’? Looking at the origin