Cleveland Indians history

In 1901, the American League declared it’s self a competing major league and the Cleveland franchise were  among it’s eight charter members. The Cleveland franchise was originally owned by Charles W. Somers and Jack Kilfoy. Somers lent money to other clubs to keep them afloat, including Connie Mack’s A’s. In order to compete with the National League, the American League began raiding the National League’s clubs for it’s players. One of the stars that jumped was Napoleon Lajoie of the Philadelphia Phillies who signed with the Philadelphia A’s. The Phillies obtained a ruiling from a Pennsylvania judge that the Athletics star be returned to his former NL club. The American League and Mack agreed to send Lajoie to Cleveland. In honor of their new star, Cleveland soon acquired the nickname Naps.

In 1904, the fourth place Indians featured the leagues best offense. Nap Lojoie banged out 49 doubles and batted .367 to win another batting title, he also led the AL in both on-base average at .405 and slugging average at .552. Teammate Elmer Flick scored 97 runs, cracked 17 triples and collected 260 total bases. Cleveland pitcher Addie Joss took the ERA title at 1.59, the first of his five sub-2.00 ERA seasons.

The 1905 season was a disaster in the Forest City. The team finished below .500 and Lojoie was hitting .329, nearly died of food poisoning after being spiked. Nap was back the next season, though, leading the league in hits.

In 1916, Somers sold the team to a syndicate headed by James C. Dunn. Dunn hired new manager, Lee Fohl, and brought in future Hall of Fame player Stan Coveleski and Jim Bagby. Behind their strong arms, the Indians would rise back into contention at the end of the decade.

In 1919, Tris Speaker took over as manager-player. Tris Speaker was the second great Cleveland player to be appointed player/manager. Unlike his predecessor, Nap Lojoie, Speaker enjoyed almost instant success. Under him, the Indians put on a stretch drive that nearly overhauled the White Sox in 1919. Yet Speaker himself slumped, hitting just .296 that year.

In 1920, the Cleveland Indians won their first AL title. Cleveland won the flag thanks to Jim Bagby, who was the last AL right handed pitcher until 1968 to win 30 games, and rookie Joe Sewell, who sparked the Indians with a .329 batting average in August and September. During the season Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman was beaned by N.Y. pitcher Carl Mays on August 16, the next day he died.

Cleveland faced off against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1920 World Series. The Series was marked by several World Series first, including Elmer Smith’s grand slam, pitcher Bagby’s home run, and Bill Wambsganss’s unassisted triple play. The Indians won the World Series five games to two.

After their World Series triumph in 1920, the Indians managed two second place finish’s, but spent most of the decade in the celler. In 1927, Dunn’s widow, Mrs. George Poss, sold the team to group headed by Alva Bradley.

In 1936, Cleveland introduced 17-year-old pitcher Bob Feller. On September 23, Feller set a new AL record when he struck out 17 batters in a game. Another bright spot in Cleveland’s fifth-place finish was Hal Trosky’s league leading 162 RBI’s as he set a new Cleveland club record by hitting 42 home runs.

In 1940, the Indians pulled within one game of winning the AL pennant. On Opening Day, Feller no-hit the Chicago White Sox 1-0. It was the only Opening Day no-hitter in AL history. Cleveland’s mediocre offense was led by young shortstop Lou Boudreau, who hit .295 and drove in 101 runs, and first baseman Hal Trosky, who led the team in home runs with 25. The team’s chances were undermined by a revolution against manager Ossie Vitt in the closing days of the pennant race. The uprising culminated with the players presenting a petition to management demanding that Vitt be fired. The Indians were nicknamed “The Cry Babies”.

In 1941, their much despised manager was let go and replaced by Roger Peckinpaugh. With a young team, the Indians were poised for a solid decade. Unfortunately, the nation entered World War II and Feller went to serve in the Navy, delaying the Tribes success.

In 1946, an investment group formed by Bill Veeck purchased the Cleveland Indians from Bradley’s group. Bob Feller struck out 348 batters in 1946. Feller won 26 games and spun a no-hitter, overpowered hitters with his curve, his slider, and, his blazing fastball.

Under Veeck’s leadership, Cleveland’s most significant achievement was breaking the color barrier in the American League by signing Larry Doby, a former player for the Negro League’s Newark Eagles in 1947, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Just like Robinson, Doby battled racism on and off the field, while posting a batting average of .301. A power hitter, Doby would lead the AL in home runs twice.

In 1948, the Tribe won their first AL flag since 1920. The Indians featured two 20-game winners in Gene Bearden and Bob Lemon, and a 19-game winner in Bob Feller. Owner Veeck was widely criticized for signing Satchel Paige. Paige became the oldest rookie in MLB at the age of 42. Paige quitted his critics by going 6-1 and had an ERA of 2. 47. The offense was led by the 1948 MVP, shortstop, Lou Boudreau, who was the last player/manager to win the award and the last to win a World Series.Boudreau had help from second baseman Joe Gordon, who hit 32 home runs; third baseman Ken Kelter, who had his peak year with 31 home runs, and outfielder Dale Mitchell, who batted .336. The Indians also became the first team in ML history to draw more than two million fans at home.

The Indians ruined the all-Boston World Series by defeating the Red Sox in the first pennant playoff game in AL history. Cleveland proceeded to make a clean sweep of Boston, polishing off the Braves in the World Series, dispite a team batting average of .199. The Tribe beat the Braves in six games on great pitching performances by Beardon, who was the series hero, winning game three and saving the final game in relief of Bob Lemon.

In 1949, Veeck was forced to sell the Indians to syndicate led by William Daley, but left a competitive team that continued to contend throught the 1950s. The team had players such as: Doby, Feller, Minnie Minoso, Luke Easter, Bobby Avila, Al Rosen, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia. The Tribe only won one pennant in the decade finishing second to the New York Yankees five times.

The Indians won a then record 111 games in 1954 and returned to the World Series against the New York Giants. The Tribe was upset by the Giants in a sweep which became famous for Willie Mays amazing over-the-shoulder catch of off the bat of Vic Wertz in game one.

In 1959, fan favorite Rocky Colavito was became the first Indian to record two 40 home run seasons. He smashed four home runs on consecutive at-bats in a single game against the Baltimore Orioles. Despite the heroics of Colavito, the Indians finished five games behind the Chicago White Sox in the pennant race.

Just before the 1960 season, the Indians traded Colavito to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn. This trade upset allot of Indians fans, who blame that trade for the years of frustration for that followed the team for years to come.

During the 60s and the 70s, Cleveland management traded away good young players such as Tommy John, Luis Tiant, Lou Piniella, Craig Nettles, Cris Chambliss and Dennis Eckersley, for very little. Between 1969 and 1979, without a strong farm system, the team had very little success. In 1974, the Indians made history by hiring Frank Robinson as manager, making him the first African American manager in Major League Baseball. His 1976 Indians were the first with a winning record since 1968, but a slow start in 1977 made Robinson another short-lived Tribe manager.

In 1980, Joe Charboneau was voted the AL Rookie of the Year, Cleveland’s third player in franchise history to win the award. In 1981, pitcher Len Barker pitched a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1986, the Indians were back in business with the best offense in baseball, leading the AL in runs for the first time since 1959. Along with star player Andre Thorton, leading the Tribe’s offense were Joe Carter, Cory Snider, Brook Jacoby, Brett Butler and Julio Franco. The Indians improved their record by 24 games, finishing with the franchise’s most wins since 1968.

In 1984, Cleveland voters rejected a plan to build a new stadium. New owners David and Richard Jacobs made it clear that a new ballpark was essential to the survival of the Indians in Cleveland.

The Jacobs hired John Hart as their general manager and Dan O’Dowd was brought in to run the farm system. In 1992, the Indians were honored as baseball’s “Organization of the Year” by Baseball America and there was no doubt that the Indians was a team on the rise. Cleveland’s new management team smartly gained a measurement of cost control by extending long-term contracts to young players. The Tribe also traded fan favorite Joe Carter to San Diego for Carlos Baerga and Sandy Alomar Jr. Alomar became the Indians fourth Rookie of the Year award winner. Struggles continued in 1991 as the Tribe lost a club record with 105 losses.

In 1993, the Indians said farewell to Cleveland Stadium, but tragedy struck the Tribe on March 22, when a boating accident cost the lives of Steve Olin and Tim Crews, Bob Ojeda was seriously injured.

The Indians opened Jacobs field in 1994 with the ambition of improving on the prior season’s sixth place finish.

In 1995, Cleveland won it’s first ever division title sprinting to a 100-44 record, leading the league in team batting average as well as team ERA. The Indians were led by Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Eddie Murray, Kenny Lofton Dennis Martinez, Sandy Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Orel Hershiser and Jose Mesa. In the postseason, the Tribe swept past Boston in the ALDS and dispatched Seattle in the ALCS, as the Indians made their first World Series appearance since 1954. The World Series would be disappointing for the Tribe as the Atlanta Braves beat the Indians in six games.

In 1996, the Tribe showed the baseball world their 1995 season was no fluke by winning 99 games, the best in the MLB, and again leading the league in team batting average and ERA. The Tribe won their second straight AL Central Division championship. The postseason was not like the year before as the Indians lost to the Baltimore Orioles. Belle and Lofton became the club’s all-time leaders in home runs and stolen bases.

In 1997, General manager John Hart lost Belle to free agency, but gained another star in Matt Williams. Just before opening day, the Indians lost Kenny Lofton and brought outfielders Marquis Grissom and David Justice to Cleveland. The Tribe struggled on their way to a third straight division title with a record 86-75. In the postseason, the Indians beat the Yankees in five games and the Orioles in six, all in dramatic fashion. The Indians faced off against the Florida Marlins in the World Series. The Indians and the Marlins went past the wire, taking game seven into extra innings before the Marlins prevailed in perhaps the most heartbreaking loss in franchise history.

By the 1998 season, Cleveland was clearly the dominant team in the AL Central, winning a third straight division title. Lofton was back and Travis Frymam replaced Williams. After winning the central with a record of 89-73, the Tribe won another ALDS against the Red Sox. The Indians would go on to lose in the ALCS against the New York Yankees.

In 1999, the Indians won 97 games and clinched their fifth straight division flag. Led by Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar, Cleveland set a club record by scoring 1,009 runs. Ramirez drove in 165 runs to break Hal Trosky’s club record set in 1936. Cleveland’s ultimate goal was cut short by the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. After the season, Cleveland management fired manager Mike Hargrove, who is the second winningest manager in the clubs history, and replaced him with Hitting Coach Charlie Manuel.

In February of 2000, the Jacobs era of Indians baseball ended when Lawrence J. Dolan acquired all stock in the Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, Inc. Cleveland led the league in attendance for the first time since 1958.

In 2001, the Indians returned to the top of the AL Central, sporting a record 91-71 to capture their sixth division title in seven years. Jim Thome hit the most home runs in club history by a left-handed hitter (49) and drove in a career high 124 RBI’s. The John Hart era ended when Mark Shapiro took over as general manager.

In early 2005, the Tribe got off to a bad start, before the Indians caught fire and cut a 15.5 game lead in the Central Division down to 1.5 . However the season came to a close after the Indians lost six of their last seven games, missing the postseason by only two games.

In 2007, the Indians finished the season with a 96-66 record, clinching the AL Central Division. Victor Martinez led the team in batting average ( .301), home runs ( 25) and RBI (114). Pitchers Fausto Carmona and C.C. Sabathia both had 19 wins and Steve Borowski saved 45 games. In the postseason the Indians beat the Yankees in the ALDS. In the ALCS, the Indians had a 3-1 game lead against the Red Sox, but then they lost three straight games and the Red Sox prevailed.