By the time the Sox moved to Fenway Park -- where they play to this day -- in 1912, their name was the Boston Red Sox. According to Celebrate Boston, the Pilgrims was a nickname that appeared in 1906 or 1907, but was quickly overtaken by the more popular Red Sox nickname that was to become the official name of the club. They say this is certain because of a song by Rory O' More Melody that is about the Sox, but refers to the Pilgrims. That does not make it an official name. Even Celebrate Boston calls it a nickname. The problem is earlier references. It apparently did not stem from '06-'08, as the '03 winners of the World Series were sometimes called the Pilgrims.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, the name appears first in 1903. The site says that the name was more frequently used close to the date Celebrate Boston gave as its origin date. Baseball-Reference agrees with Celebrate Boston as to the nickname being quickly replaced by Red Sox. Even here, there seems to be a conflict as to when the official name became official. Some say 1907. Others say 1908. Contemporary sports columns and other writings are of no help. They used so many nicknames for club so casually that it is impossible to sort it out.
The only explanation for the confusion over the early Red Sox names, and the most likely, is that the club had so many nicknames and they were used so freely that they came to be viewed as official names over time. Looking back it is easy for a sports history writer to confuse the nicknames for official names and report them as such, given the reference material they have. Nonetheless, it appears that the Boston Red Sox were first the Boston Americans, short for Boston American League Baseball Club, and then the Red Sox. The rest of the names are simply nicknames Bostonians gave to their beloved club.
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