The Cleveland Indians was founded in Michigan in the year 1894 and was initially known as the Grand Rapid Rustlers. In 1900 the team moved to Cleveland and was named The Cleveland Lake Shores. In 1901 Cleveland changed its name to Bluebirds. The new team was owned by Charles Somers, a wealthy industrialist. Lajoie joined the Bluebirds after some legal wrangling with A’s of Philadelphia. He was a talented player and an instant hit with the fans. Lajoie was named manager in 1905 and it helped improve the team’s fortunes. They just missed the pennant in 1908. In 1914 came to be known as the Cleveland Indians. In 1916 Somers sold the team to James Dunn. In 1920 the Cleveland Indians beat White Sox and Yankees to claim its first pennant. The players of note were Bagby, O’Neill and Coveleski. After this the team was in a state of hiatus for the next 28 years.
1936 to 1946 is regarded as the Bob Feller era. In the 30’s they finished third or fourth most of the time. The Cleveland Indians acquired a new superstar pitcher Feller. He set a record of 17 strikeouts in a single game and led the league strikeouts from 1938 to 1941. In 1940 they came within one game of the pennant. In 1941 the Indians had a young team and a new manager Peckinpaugh, but the team finished fourth.
In 1946 the Cleveland Indians was purchased by Veeck’s investment group for $1.6 million. Patkin was hired as coach. The team moved to the massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1947. This stadium set a record for attendance in 1948 when 84000 fans watched the match against Boston Braves. Veeck helped erase the color barrier by signing Doby. Doby led the League twice in the number of homers. Veeck signed aging star Paige at the age of 42 and surprisingly he did well with a 6-1 record, 2.48 ERA, 45 strikeouts and two shutouts. In 1948 the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Braves to claim their first championship in 28 years. The notable players of this time were Doby and Bearden. Veeck sold the team in 1949 to Ellis. Despite rapid changes in ownership, the Indians has a powerhouse team composed of Feller, Doby, Minoso, Easter, Avila, Rosen, Wynn, Lemon and Garcia. Unfortunately Cleveland won only a single pennant in the decade and finished second to NY Yankees five times. The best season in the franchise history was in 1954 when they finished with a record of 111-43. Their winning percentage of 1954, 0.721 is still an American League record. The Indians returned to the World Series and faced the Giants, but were upset by them. Willie Mays’ famous over the shoulder catch off the bat of Wertz is yet remembered by the fans.
From 1960 to 1993 the Indians had a 30 year slump. All they could manage was third place in 1968, six fourth places in 1960, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990 and 1992 but the rest of the time they were almost always at the bottom of the standings. In 1957 a new general manager Lane joined. Lane traded players heavily and tread on many toes in the process. The 70’s were a shade better for the fortunes of the Indians. The 80’s proved only to be marginally better for the Indians. In 1990, a proposal for a new stadium was approved and with a new stadium, all they needed was a winning team. The general manager Hart made a number of new moves and they did bring success. He hired Hargrove to manage and hired Lofton who averaged 0.285 and 66 stolen bases. They were named the organization of the year in 1992.T
The general manager Hart and the owner Jacobs managed to turn the team’s fortunes around. In 1995 they won their first ever divisional title. The players who contributed to this sterling performance were Belle, Thome, Ramirez and Nagy. They defeated Boston Red Sox in the Division Series and Seattle mariners in ALCS to clinch a World Series berth, their first since 1954. Sadly they lost to the Atlanta Braves. They were the AL Central champions in 1996 but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the Division series. In 1996 every ticket for home games were sold out before the opening day. In 1997 they took their third AL Central title but lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins. 2001 saw a return to the playoffs. They won the central division with a 91-71 record.
The years 2002 to 2010 was regarded as the Shapiro era. He rebuilt the team by easing out veterans and signing on youngsters. They got nowhere in 2002, but in 2003 under the new manager Wedge they did show some improvement. The Indians finished with a record of 81-81. New players such as Knapp, Carrasco, Donald and Marson, Price, Hagadone, Masterson, Barnes and Talbot were inducted. They finished last with a record of 65-97. Wedge and the entire coaching team were replaced. Acta was inducted as the 40th manager of the Indians. In February 2010, Shapiro was promoted as team President and the Dolan became the new Chairman/CEO. Chris Antonetti filled the general manager role.
The Cleveland Indians have shown in the past that they were a team to reckon with and their future prospects look bright.
