20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)

JAY LAPRETE/AP
Columbus Blue Jackets' RJ Umberger plays against the Phoenix Coyotes during an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio.

When Columbus was awarded an NHL expansion franchise in 1997, it chose Blue Jackets as its nickname to celebrate the city’s Civil War history. During the war, a major training camp for Union soldiers was located on the outskirts of Columbus. The state provided 300,000 troops to the war effort.

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