The History of the Cleveland Indians
From Wikipedia
The Beginnings:
Open professional baseball began in Cleveland during the 1869 season and one team was hired on salary for 1870, as in several other cities following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. That leading Cleveland baseball club was the Forest City, a nickname of the city itself. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was often called the Forest Citys. The Forest City club was formed about 1865, when baseball club organization and "national" association membership boomed following the Civil War. Forest City club The Indians Name:
At the end of the 1914 season, owner Charles Somers asked the local newspapers to come up with a new name for the team. They chose "Indians" as a play on the name of the Boston Braves, then known as the "Miracle Braves" after going from last place on July 4 to a sweep in the 1914 World Series. Proponents of the name acknowledged that the Cleveland Spiders of the National League had sometimes been informally called the "Indians" during Sockalexis' short career there, a fact which merely reinforced the new name.[1] In any case, the name stuck. And 34 years later, the Indians went on to defeat that same Braves franchise, 4 games to 2, in the 1948 World Series -- after first winning a one game playoff against Boston's other team, the Red Sox. The victory over the Braves was the franchise's second of two World Series titles; the Tribe also won the 1920 World Series, defeating the Brooklyn Robins 5 games to 2. The Stadiums:
Then called the Cleveland Blues, the team played in League Park until moving to Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1946.
| World Series Champions | ||
| 1948 | Defeated the Boston Braves | 6 Games |
| 1920 | Defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers | 7 Games | League Championships and World Series Appearances |
| 1997 | vs. Florida Marlins in World Series | 7 Games |
| 1995 | vs. Atlanta Braves in World Series | 6 Games |
| 1954 | vs. New York Giants in World Series | 4 Games |
| 1948 | vs. Boston Braves in World Series | 6 Games |
| 1920 | vs. Brooklyn Dodgers in World Series | 7 Games | Division Championships |
| 2001 | American League Central Division | |
| 1999 | American League Central Division | |
| 1998 | American League Central Division | |
| 1997 | American League Central Division | |
| 1996 | American League Central Division | |
| 1995 | American League Central Division | Retired Numbers |
| 3 | Earl Averill | OF |
| 5 | Lou Boudreau | SS |
| 14 | Larry Doby | OF |
| 18 | Mel Harder | P |
| 19 | Bob Feller | P |
| 21 | Bob Lemon | P | All-Time Leaders |
| Games Played | Terry Turner | 1,619 |
| Runs Scored | Earl Averill | 1,154 |
| Hits | Napoleon Lajoie | 2,046 |
| Doubles | Tris Speaker | 486 |
| Triples | Earl Aveill | 121 |
| Home Runs | Jim Thome | 265 |
| RBI | Earl Averil | 1,084 |
| Steals | Kenny Lofton | 444 |
| Games Pitched | Mel Harder | 582 |
| ERA | Addie Joss (Based on 1,000 or more innings) | 1.89 |
| Saves | Doug Jones | 129 |
| Shut Outs | Addie Joss | 45 |
| Innings Pitched | Bob Feller | 3,827 |
| Wins | Bob Feller | 266 |
| Strikeouts | Bob Feller | 2,581 |
| Complete Games | Bob Feller | 279 | Largest Deficit to Overcome for a Win |
| 12 Runs (2001) ** | Vs. Seattle Mariners (first team in 76 years, 12 - 0 and 14 - 2) | 15 - 14 (11) | Cy Young Winners |
| 1972 | Gaylord Perry | RHP | Most Valuable Player Award |
| 1953 | Al Rosen | 3B |
| 1948 | Lou Boudreau | SS |
| 1926 | George Burns | NA | Rookies of the Year |
| 1990 | Sandy Alomar, Jr. | CA |
| 1980 | Joe Charboneau | OF |
| 1971 | Chris Chambliss | 1B |
| 1955 | Herb Score | RHP | Gold Glove Winners |
| Omar Vizquel* (8) | 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 | SS |
| Roberto Alomar (2) | 1999, 2000 | 2B |
| Travis Fryman (1) | 2000 | 3B |
| Matt Williams (1) | 1997 | 3B |
| Kenny Lofton (4) | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 | OF |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. (1) | 1990 | CA |
| Rick Manning (1) | 1976 | OF |
| Ray Fosse (2) | 1970, 1971 | CA |
| Vic Davalillo (1) | 1964 | OF |
| Jimmy Piersall (1) | 1961 | OF |
| Minnie Minoso (1) | 1959 | OF |
| Vic Power (4) | 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 | OF | Home Attendence |
| 2000 | 3,456,278 (Lead Majors) | |
| 1999 | 3,468,460 (All time Franchise Record & Lead Majors) | |
| 1998 | 3,424,217 | |
| 1997 | 3,404,750 | Consecutive Home Sellouts |
| 455 Games*** | June 12, 1995 to April 2, 2001 | Most Walks |
| 857 | Jim Thome | |
| - | Tris Speaker | Most Consecutive Home Run Games |
| 7 | Jim Thome | 2002 |
* Current player
** Tied Major League Record
*** Major League Record
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