I've replaced my St. Louis team (previously the Cardinals-parody, Spiders, above in this thread). It's now less of a parody, and more of an imagined alternate history. Well, I like this one better.
wikipedia -------As the "Perfectos", the team wore their jersey with a cardinal red trim and sock striping.
[22] Later that season,
St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale included an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of cardinal." Fans liked the moniker "Cardinals" and, the next year in 1900, popularity for the nickname induced an official change to
Cardinals.
[22][30][31][32]
so...
an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of
vermilion."
Named for an unusual color, the Vermilions acquired a bird mascot, the
vermilion flycatcher (a baseball name
)