To honor former player-manager NAPOLEON LAJOIE, in honor of whom the CLEVELAND GUARDIANS (previously known as the Cleveland Indians) baseball team was named the Naps from 1903 to 1911.
The team was founded in 1901 as a charter member of the American League and was originally known as the Blues. The Molly McGuires were the team’s official name from 1912 to 1914, but they were still often referred to as the Naps.
In the 1890s, when the Amerindian LOUIS “CHIEF” SOCKALEXIS played for the old National League CLEVELAND SPIDERS, the Indians were known as the Indians, thanks to sportswriters’ suggestions.
When John Kilfoyle and Charles Somers, the team’s initial owners, bought the team in 1901 they began to build a farm system to help them enhance their play.
Although they played in LEAGUE PARK on East 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, the team was only a genuine contender for the championship in 1908.
As a result of Lajoie’s trade, the “Indians” nickname, and the team’s sale to a Chicago-based company led by James Dunn, major changes occurred in 1915-16.
Players like TRISTRAM “TRIS” SPEAKER, the team’s player-manager, were able to turn things around on the field; the Indians won their first pennant and the World Series that year.
The squad ended in the first division most of the time in the 1920s and 1930s, but only twice did they threaten for the pennant.
CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM was built in 1927 by a Cleveland syndicate, which included the Van Sweringen brothers, Newton D. BAKER, and Alva Bradley (who served as president until 1946).
In July 1931, the Municipal Stadium, which was meant to be accessible by automobile, was inaugurated. In 1932, the Indians played their first game at League Park, and they remained there until 1947.
Due to personal animosity between manager Oscar Vitt and his main players (called “Cry Babies”), who were dubbed the “Cry Babies,” the team finished in second place in 1940.
The Indians were owned by Chicago industrialist Bill Veeck from 1946 to 1949 before being sold to an Ellis Ryan and Hank Greenberg-led Cleveland consortium following the 1949 season.
The team’s greatest era was during his time with the team. As the team’s performance on the field steadily improved under Veeck’s direction, he increased attendance by bringing an unbridled excitement and imaginative flair to promotional efforts.
Under player-managers, Lou Boudreau and subsequently Al Lopez, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, and Early Wynn, among others, consistently challenged the New York Yankees for the pennant.
Following an 8-3 victory against the Red Sox in a one-game pennant playoff, the Indians went on to upset the Boston Braves in the World Series, led by Boudreau.
It was under Lopez’s leadership that the team won the pennant in 1954 and established a record for regular-season victories (111), but it went on to lose the World Series in a humiliating four-game sweep to the New York Giants.
The Indians struggled with consistency and competitive respectability from the 1960s onward. Instability in the ownership of the organization led to a decline in attendance, frequent managerial changes, and the breakdown of the farm team and scouting system.
In 1953, Ryan sold it out to Myron Wilson, who then sold it to William Daley for a tidy profit. Gabe Paul served as president and general manager from 1961 to 1985, when he was forced to quit.
The squad was first owned and run by VERNON STOUFFER in 1966, and then by Nick Mileti a decade later. Both men lost money on the speculation that the team would be relocated.
Hiring baseball’s first black manager, Frank Robinson, as a player-manager in the mid-1970s failed to halt the decreasing trend.
Steven “Steve” O’Neill took over the club in 1978, but by the 1980s, O’Neill’s heirs were looking for new proprietors. They bought the squad from the previous owners in 1986, and it has been in their ownership ever since then.
Two winning seasons under new ownership and new president Peter Bavasi were followed by the Jacobs brothers’ revitalization of the Indians farm system in the mid-1980s.
There were three Class A teams, three Class AA teams, and one Class AAA team when they relocated to Gateway Stadium in 1994 from Jacobs Field at Jacobs Field in Buffalo.
The 1994 re-alignment of the American League teams put the Indians in the newly established Central Division, which increased their chances of participating in the playoffs for the pennant by a significant margin.
Due to a major league players’ strike in 1994, the 1994 season was canceled.
Manager Mike Hargrove and his key players, including Orel Hershiser, Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton, and Carlos Baerga, helped the Indians win the Central Division by 30 games in the 1995 season, which was cut short due to lockouts.
It was the first time in big league history when Albert Belle hit 50 home runs and 52 doubles, while bullpen pitcher Jose Mesa set a new record for consecutive saves with 38 in a row.
The Indians made it to the World Series for the first time in 41 years after beating the Boston Red Sox in the divisional round and the Seattle Mariners in the league championship series, but they were ultimately defeated by the Atlanta Braves in four games to two in the championship series
It was revealed in December 2020 that the team’s name would be changed from Indians owing to its derogatory tone within a few seasons.
The Indians traded away the four starting pitchers who threw at least 200 innings in 2018 in separate deals between 2019 and 2021.
Only Jose Ramirez and Roberto Perez remained from the 2016 World Series roster after Cleveland dealt Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets in January of 2021 along with star shortstop Carlos Carrasco.
The Cleveland Guardians were revealed as the team’s new name in 2021, in honor of the HOPE MEMORIAL BRIDGE outside Progressive Field.
The 2022 season would be the first time the new name will appear on jerseys and other branded things with the new name.
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