20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports

In 1919, Earl “Curly” Lambeau, an original Packer player, convinced his employer, the Indian Packing Company, to buy the team uniforms and let it practice on company property. As a result, the team started off as “the Indians,” but soon switched to “Packers,” a name that caught on in local press accounts. The name made even more sense after the Atlas Packing Company took over the team as it became a charter member of the National Football League. There was some interest in 1922 in calling the team the “Big Bay Blues” because of their blue and gold uniforms, but Packers remained the more popular choice, and after a financial reorganization in 1933, the franchise officially became the Green Bay Packers, Inc. It wasn’t until 1950, however, that a decision was made to switch from blue to green jerseys, which made more sense given the city’s name.