Original: Inspired by the Cincinnati Red Stockings , the stocking colors of teams in the 1860s onward were a principal device in distinguishing one team from another ( hence team names such as Chicago White Stockings , St. Louis Brown Stockings ( or Browns ) , etc. ) .
Simplified: Teams started to be called the Chicago White Stockings or the St. Louis Brown Stockings because of what colored stockings they wore at the time .