While “Royals” might seem a rather randomly selected name, it actually was inspired by one of the city’s proudest traditions, The American Royal, a combination livestock exhibition, rodeo, and horse show, which dates to 1899. Coincidentally, three years after the Royals became an expansion Major League Baseball team in 1969, basketball’s Cincinnati Royals were relocated to Kansas City and were renamed the Kings to avoid confusion with the baseball Royals. The Kings moved on to Sacramento, Calif., in 1985.
MICHAEL DWYER/AP
