"B-Team"

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:19 PM -0400 6/23/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>OED has "A-team"  1964, restricted to "U.S. Special Forces."  It doesn't
>have "B-team."  Both these cites refer to the British Army in World War I:
>
>1921  David Ferguson _The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F._  109
>: Before the relief, the "B" team from the 1st Battalion was sent back to
>camp. _Ibid._ 218: The only experienced officers and other ranks who took
>part in the attack were those who had been in the "B" team at Passchendaele.
>
>1931 W. V. Tilsley _Other Ranks_ (London: Cobden-Sanderson) 3: Luckily I was
>on the B Team and so missed it. _Ibid._ 29: The B Team...stayed in reserve.
>_Ibid._ 34: The B Team - a skeleton of officers and other ranks on which a
>new battalion could be formed if the existing one suffered extinction - had
>been picked.
>
>Oddly, neither Ferguson nor Tilsley seem to use "A-team."
>
>Both "A-team" and "B-team" seem to have originated in sports prior to 1915.
>
>JL
>
I don't know for how long they've been doing it, but the terms have
long been used in baseball for split squad games in spring training.
Which sports usage prior to 1915 do you have, Jon?

LH

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