This article is about the history of professional baseball clubs in Washington, D.C. For other uses of Washington Nationals or Washington Senators, see Washington Nationals (disambiguation)

Washington Nationals (disambiguation)

The Washington Nationals are a current National League baseball team, formerly known as the Montreal Expos.Washington Nationals may also refer to these other Washington, D.C.-based baseball teams:...

 or Washington Senators (disambiguation).

There have been several baseball teams that have played as the Washington Senators, including:

• an American League baseball team based in Washington, D.C. from 1901 to 1960, that moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1961 and became the Minnesota Twins
  Minnesota Twins
  The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
  
  .
• another American League baseball team that played from 1961 to 1971, then moved to Dallas-Fort Worth for the 1972 season and became the Texas Rangers
  Texas Rangers (baseball)
  The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
  
  .

Note: Because the original Senators' relocation to Minnesota and the expansion Senators' arrival occurred in the same year (1961), and both had the same name, it is a very common mistake to confuse or combine the two baseball franchises. In photographs of unknown date from the 1950–1970 timeframe, the following guidelines may be helpful to identify which franchise is pictured:

• The original Senators club used dark blue as its primary color, with a thick, sans-serif, red or white block "W" on caps.

• The expansion Senators club mainly used caps with a stylized cursive "W," first in blue with a red letter (1963–1967), then in red with a white letter (1968–1971). This cap is not unlike one currently worn by the Washington Nationals
  Washington Nationals
  The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
  
  . In 1961–1962, the expansion Senators wore dark blue caps with a sans-serif block "W" outlined in white, nearly identical to the caps of the original Senators save for a red button at the top of the cap.

Varying shades of the Senators' red, white and blue colors are still used by their successor teams (Minnesota and Texas), and the Washington Nationals adopted these colors with gold accents upon their 2005 move from Montreal. For their caps, the new Nats adopted a tilted version of the second Senators' cursive W logo, and used both franchises' base colors, wearing red at home and blue on the road.

19th century baseball in Washington

• Numerous major league teams played in Washington in the 19th century.
  • The National Association Washington Olympics
    Washington Olympics
    The Olympic Club of Washington, D.C., or Washington Olympics, was an early professional baseball team.When the National Association of Base Ball Players permitted openly professional clubs for the 1869 season, the Olympics were one of twelve to go pro...
    
     played in 1871 and 1872.
  • The National Association Washington Nationals (NA)
    Washington Nationals (NA)
    The Washington Nationals were the first important baseball club in the nation's capital. They played part of one season or parts of two seasons in the National Association, the first professional league, so they are considered a major league team by those who count the NA as a major league...
    
     played in 1872.
  • The National Association Washington Blue Legs
    Washington Blue Legs
    The Washington Blue Legs, or less commonly known as the Washington Nationals, were a professional baseball team established in Washington, D.C., and played their home games at the Nationals Grounds and the Olympics Grounds...
    
     played in 1873.
  • The National Association Washington Nationals (NA)
    Washington Nationals (NA)
    The Washington Nationals were the first important baseball club in the nation's capital. They played part of one season or parts of two seasons in the National Association, the first professional league, so they are considered a major league team by those who count the NA as a major league...
    
     (a new incarnation) played in 1875.
  • The Union Association Washington Nationals (UA)
    Washington Nationals (UA)
    The 1884 Washington Nationals were a member of the Union Association. They were managed by Mike Scanlon and finished in seventh place with a record of 47-65. Their home games were played at Capitol Grounds...
    
     played in 1884.
  • The American Association Washington Nationals
    Washington Nationals (AA)
    The Washington Nationals of 1884 were a short-lived baseball team in the American Association. They won 12 games and lost 51. Their home games were played at Athletic Park in Washington, D.C. They are also known as the Washington Statesmen....
    
     played in 1884.
  • The National League Washington Nationals (1886–1889).
  • Washington Senators (1891–1899): the American Association Washington Statesmen of 1891 became the National League Washington Senators of 1892–1899. The American Association was incorporated into the NL after 1891 and its Washington club continued operation in the combined League.