Which Major League Baseball team was once called the Americans?

Prior to getting its current name, the Boston Red Sox were known as the Boston Americans.

In 1901, Ban Johnson formed the American League and declared it equal to the established National League. A team was founded in Boston and for seven seasons its players wore dark blue stockings and were called the Boston Americans because it played in the American League.

The Boston Beaneaters, which played in the National League at the time, wore red stockings. But club management gave up the red in favor of white stocking for health reasons. Management was afraid its players would get infections from the red dye of the stockings if they suffered any leg injuries with open wounds.

In 1907, Americans' team president John Irving Taylor announced his club was adopting red as its official color and took the name Red Sox.

For the 1908 season, the AL team's shirts featured a red stocking across the front labeled "BOSTON". They also wore red stockings, along with white caps. Since then, the Red Sox have had some form of red incorporated into their uniform. In the 1930s, the team started to mix blue into the uniform scheme.

It should be noted that in 1903, the Boston Americans won the first World Series by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three.