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Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, Inc. Business Information, Profile, and History

Jacobs Field
2401 Ontario Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
U.S.A.

Company Perspectives:

The Cleveland Indians Baseball organization is committed to fielding a championship ball club. Produced in world class facility Jacobs Field, which offers an environment of exceptional service, value and safety, the Cleveland Indians organization engages our community and provides a highly satisfying return for their loyalty and investment.

History of Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, Inc.

An original member of the American League, the Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, Inc. is one of baseball's most enduring teams. Since moving into a new stadium, Jacobs Field, in 1994, the Indians have become one the most successful teams in baseball, and boast a record for consecutive regular-season sellouts. By the beginning of the new century the value of the franchise is second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball.

Origins

Cleveland has had a big league baseball team since 1871. The Forest Citys played in the National Association from 1871 to 1875, when the National League was formed. Cleveland began play in the National League in 1879, becoming known as the Spiders in 1889. Cleveland became home to what many consider the worst ball club in the history of the game. The 1899 Spiders had the misfortune of being owned by Frank DeHaas Robison, who, after purchasing the St. Louis Browns, out of spite transferred the best Spiders to his new team. Cleveland won only 20 games, losing 134. Attendance was so sparse that after July most Spider games were played on the road. The team disbanded at the end of the season.

A New Century, A New League

The Western League, a minor circuit eager to challenge the Nationals, changed its name to the American League in 1900, and looked to expand to larger cities for its first season in 1901. Cleveland was a perfect fit, and a franchise was sold to a group of local investors. A coal baron named Charley Somers became the official owner of the new team. Known briefly as the Blues, then the Bronchos, the team then became known as the Naps, named after their star player Napolean Lajoie. When Somers' finances soured, Lajoie was traded away after the 1914 season, and a new name for the team was needed.

According to popular legend the Cleveland franchise became known as the Indians in honor of a Native American named Louis Sockalexis who had played briefly for the old Spiders in the 1890s. This explanation, however, is more likely to be a justification after the fact than reality. The Cleveland newspapers fielded fan suggestions that included Foresters, Some Runners, Tornadoes, Commodores, Rangers, Sixers, Speeders, and Harmonics, but Indians was not among the published nicknames. The talk of baseball that year was the miracle Boston Braves. When the sportswriters settled on the Cleveland Indians as the team's new name, it was more likely an allusion to the Boston ball club's use of the nickname Braves than to Sockalexis who played only 94 games in the city. Newspapers were reporting the team's new 'temporary' name well before the first mention of a connection to Sockalexis. Then it was recalled that the team had been referred to briefly as the Indians when Sockalexis had made an initial splash with the team. Unfortunately, Sockalexis was more troubled than talented, appearing only in twenty-one and seven games his last two seasons in baseball. After years of hard drinking, he died of a heart attack at the age of 41. Despite Sockalexis's personal troubles, the belief that the Indians were named in tribute to him is deeply held by the ball club and many of its fans. What is not in doubt is that the temporary nickname proved enduring.

In 1916 when Somers was in danger of losing the Indians to the bank, American League President Ban Johnson and a few of Somers' friends met at a Chicago bar to discuss the situation. For no apparent reason, Johnson decided that Sunny Jim Dunn should become the next owner, despite the fact that Dunn could only come up with $15,000. His partner in an Iowa construction business, Paddy McCarthy, thought he could add another $15,000. The bartender offered to kick in $10,000, and he, too, joined the growing consortium. Numerous other investors were solicited until Dunn had $500,000 to purchase the Cleveland team and bail out Somers.

Team Successes and Failures

The Cleveland Indians would know both tragedy and triumph in 1920. On August 17, star shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the left temple by a pitch, and died twelve hours later without regaining consciousness. He is the only major league baseball player to die from an accident on the field. The team rebounded, however, and won the American League pennant, edging out the Chicago White Sox, who were forced to finish the 1920 season without eight of their best players following a gambling scandal that tainted the 1919 World Series. The Indians then defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series to win the team's first championship.

With the emergence of the New York Yankees in the 1920s, the Indians rarely challenged first place for the next generation. Businessman and president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Alva Bradley became the front man for a group of investors that bought the team in 1928. He is reported to have said, 'I'm the perfect man to own the Indians--I know nothing about baseball!' He was certainly true to his word. He alienated fans by banning radio broadcasts in 1933. He changed managers so often that Cleveland became known as 'the Graveyard of Managers.' Only once under Bradley's ownership, in 1940, did the Indians seriously threaten to win the American League. The team lost the championship to Detroit by one game.

Even the construction of a new ballpark didn't help the franchise. After playing its entire history in League Park, which had been built for the Spiders in 1891, the Indians moved into cavernous Cleveland Stadium on July 31, 1932. With 76,000 seats it was easily the largest baseball facility in the country. After drawing 80,000 for its opening game, the Indians saw attendance drop dramatically. Playing the entire 1933 season in the Stadium, the Indians averaged less than 6,000 fans a game. The following year, to save money, the team returned to League Park for all but Sunday games and holidays.

Following the 1941 season, the Indians were once again in need of a new manager. The youngest member of the team, 24-year-old shortstop Lou Boudreau, wrote to Bradley to express his interest in the job. With nothing to lose, Bradley invited the player to meet the board of directors. Boudreau, a University of Illinois Physical Education graduate with future plans for coaching, spoke to Bradley and his backers. Only one, George Martin, chairman of the board of Sherwin-Williams paints, voted for Boudreau. He liked the young man's confidence and good looks, and argued that the move would spark debate and possibly ticket sales. The board voted again, but this time with a unanimous result. Boudreau was hired as the new player-manager of the Cleveland Indians, much to the surprise of everyone in baseball, not the least of whom were his teammates.

The 'Boy Manager' took over the team in 1942 and wasted no time in showing that he had a lot to learn. International events, however, worked in his favor. America was plunged into World War II, and baseball teams had to scramble to find able-bodied players. Boudreau was exempt from the draft because of arthritic ankles. He was one of the stars of the American League and popular with fans, so there was no thought to replace him as manager, despite less than stellar results. Only twice did the Indians post winning records under Boudreau from 1942 to 1946.

Post-World War II Becomes a Golden Era for Indians

Another change in ownership after the war precipitated a golden era for the Cleveland Indians. On June 21, 1946 the club was sold for $1.6 million to Bill Veeck, Jr., as part of a ten-member syndicate. The son of a baseball executive, Veeck was a self-described hustler eager to run a baseball team in his own way, after years of working for the conservative ownership of the Chicago Cubs. He circulated with the fans to learn what they wanted; he had the public address system fixed; he promised to put Indians' games on the radio, even if he had to give away the rights; he had the women's rest rooms cleaned every two innings; he even allowed fans to keep baseballs that were hit into the stands, an act of generosity foreign to the previous ownership. Veeck ran his team in a manner that was not only ahead of its time, but peculiar to his personality. He might present an orchestra to entertain the fans before the game, or fireworks and circus acts after the game. He gave away nylons or orchids on Ladies Day. He brought in flagpole sitters. He gave away livestock. He gave away used cars. He answered his own phone and took any call that came through to his office. He stood at the turnstiles and shook countless hands. And the fans loved him. The Indians topped one million in attendance for the first time in 1946. The following season, now playing exclusively at the Stadium, they drew more than 1.5 million, second in the American League, despite finishing a distant fourth in the standings.

Veeck would do anything to improve his team or draw a crowd, even if it was controversial. Only 11 weeks after African-American baseball player Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier with the National League Dodgers, Veeck signed 23-year-old Larry Dolby. Robinson, who was 28, had been prepared for Brooklyn by playing a year with the Dodgers' minor league team in Montreal, as well as going through spring training in 1947; but two days after signing, Dolby was playing for the Indians. Although the move was lauded in most quarters, signing Dolby was hardly without controversy. Teammates were distant, a situation not helped when Dolby was unable to eat or room with the team on the road. Opposing players and fans were not above hurling racial epithets. Even umpires were hostile. The best that could be said for Dolby's first year with the Indians, in which he batted only 32 times, was that he endured it.

Veeck had no doubts about keeping Dolby, who he felt certain would become a star player. Who he didn't care for was his young player-manager. But when word leaked to the press that Veeck was trying to trade Boudreau to the St. Louis Browns, he was smart enough to embrace the ensuing controversy. Even though the deal had fallen through, he milked it for every drop of publicity before announcing at a press conference, 'Since the people are against trading Lou Boudreau, then I shout fervently that he will not be traded.'

In 1948 Boudreau was motivated to produce his best season. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League as he led the Indians to their first World Series title in 28 years. It was a magical year for the team, as it drew more than 2.6 million fans, a Cleveland record that would not be broken until 1995. Although the Indians would remain one of the top teams in the American League for the next several seasons, 1948 would prove to be the pinnacle of achievement for the Cleveland Indians in the twentieth century.

After the 1949 season Veeck was sued for divorce by his wife and was forced to sell the team to pay for the settlement. Over the next 35 years the Indians would undergo numerous changes in ownership. The team enjoyed a stellar regular season in 1954, winning an American League record 111 games, only to lose to the Giants in the World Series. The Indians would field several competitive teams after that, but would be relegated for long stretches to the bottom half of the American League standings. Attendance in the decaying Stadium never approached the levels that Cleveland had reached under Veeck's leadership. Financially strapped, the Indians were poorly positioned to operate in the costly new era of free agent players that began in the 1970s. Over the years, rumors circulated that the team would be relocated to Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, and other cities. During these years, the Indians could boast of one achievement, at least: in 1974 it became the first major league team to hire an African-American manager, Frank Robinson.

A New Beginning in 1986

In 1986 the Indians were sold to real estate developer Richard Jacobs for $35 million. Although improvement on the field was not realized immediately, the new management team invested heavily in player development and scouting, as well as marketing. The Indians endured setbacks, such as losing a club record 105 games in 1991; but the most devastating moment since the death of Ray Chapman occurred during spring training in 1993 when a boating accident took the lives of pitchers Tim Crews and Steve Olin, and severely injured Bob Ojeda. The final year in Cleveland Stadium was played with a pall cast over it, although the team played well in the second half of the season.

The Indians opened Jacobs Field, a state-of-the-art facility that ushered in a new era of excellence, in 1994. The team was in contention when a players' strike ended the 1994 season, and in 1995 the Indians continued its stellar play, finishing the year with baseball's best mark. The team advanced to its first World Series since 1954, but lost to the Atlanta Braves. As the Indians began to string together five consecutive Division championships, and another World Series appearance, it set attendance records. The 1948 mark was finally broken in 1995 when 2.8 million fans attended Indians' games. The following year the team would break three million and begin a consecutive regular-season sellout streak that would stretch into the next century.

In 1998 the Indians became the first independent publicly traded Major League Baseball team when an IPO raised $60 million. The stock did not, however, perform well. It opened at $15 and soon dropped below $10. As successful as the Indians were, the club still reported a net loss in 1998 of $2.5 million. After Jacobs announced in May 1999 that he intended to sell the team, the stock rose to a level above $20.

In November 1999 the club announced that the team had been sold for $323 million to Ohio lawyer Lawrence J. Dolan. It was the largest amount ever paid for a baseball team, eclipsing the $311 million paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to the Wall Street Journal the price would have been higher if the Indians played in a larger television market. Broadcast revenues for 1998 were only $19 million, compared to the Yankees' $50 million. The sale was approved in January 2000 by Major League Baseball. Shareholders of the Indians voted their approval of the deal the following month. On February 15, 2000, Dolan and family trusts assumed ownership of the team, delisted it from the NASDAQ, and took the company private once again.

Principal Competitors: Cincinnati Reds; Pittsburgh Pirates; Detroit Tigers.

Related information about Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians (nicknamed The Tribe) are a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They currently are in the Central Division of the American League. The spectacular Sockalexis, a Native American, had played in Cleveland 1897-1899.

On the contrary, when the "Naps" sent longtime leader Napoleon Lajoie to the Philadelphia Athletics at the end of the 1914 season, owner Charles Somers asked the local newspapers to come up with a new name for the team. 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. 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 Tribe had also won the 1920 World Series, defeating the Brooklyn Robins 5 games to 2. The Forest City club was formed about 1865, when baseball club organization and "national" association membership boomed following the Civil War.

In 1871 the the Forest Citys of Cleveland joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first professional league, as did the Forest Citys of Rockford, Illinois. Cleveland was thus the NA's western outpost in 1872 and the Forest City's failed in turn, playing a full schedule to July 19 followed only by two games versus Boston in mid-August.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Y_1872.htm

National League era

In 1876, the National League supplanted the N.A. The team played mainly in the middle of the pack for six seasons but it was ruined by trade war with the Union Association in 1884, when its three best players moved for the money: Fred Dunlap, Jack Glasscock, and Jim McCormick. That franchise only lasted a couple of years, but another St. Louis franchise would deal a devastating blow to another Cleveland team some 15 years later.

Cleveland went without major league ball for only two seasons, before joining the American Association in 1887, after that league's Allegheny club had jumped to the N.L. They acquired the unique nickname Spiders, a tag supposedly inspired by their long-limbed players.

The Spiders survived a challenge from an entry in the one-season Players' League in 1890. Led by native Ohioan Cy Young, the Spiders became a contender in the mid-1890s, when they played in the Temple Cup Series (that era's World Series) twice, winning it in 1895. The team began to fade after that, and was dealt a severe blow under the ownership of the Robison brothers.

The Robisons, despite already owning the Spiders, were allowed to also acquire a controlling interest in the St. Louis Cardinals franchise in 1899. The disastrous 1899 season would actually be a step toward a new future for Cleveland fans, the very next year.

Seeking to capitalize on general public disillusionment with the National League, Ban Johnson changed the name of his minor league, the Western League, to the American League and shifted the WL's Grand Rapids club to Cleveland, taking over League Park in 1900. Somers generously lent money to other team owners, including Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's, to keep them afloat. One of the players that jumped was Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, a Philadelphia Phillies star who signed with the Philadelphia Athletics. In honor of its popular new star Cleveland soon acquired the nickname Naps.

Early on, Cleveland finished in the middle of the pack before contending for the championship in 1908, but the retirement of Cy Young, who returned to Cleveland as part of its American League franchise in 1908, and the untimely death of Addie Joss was a harbinger of things to come for Cleveland. Despite the strong hitting of Tris Speaker and Shoeless Joe Jackson, the Naps failed to rise above third place for most of the next decade, and jokes about "Naps" as a synonym for "sleeps" began to circulate. Dunn hired a new manager, Lee Fohl, and brought in two young pitchers, future Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski and Jim Bagby. Behind their strong arms, the Indians would rise back into contention at the end of the decade.

Tris Speaker took over the reins as player-manager in 1919 and the team started the 1920s strong. With Speaker hitting .388, Jim Bagby's 30 victories and solid performances from Steve O'Neill and Stan Coveleski, the team went on to win the pennant and defeat the Brooklyn Robins 5-2 in the World Series for their first title. That August, shortstop Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch to the head from Yankees pitcher Carl Mays.

Shortly afterward, in September 1920, the 1919 Black Sox scandal in which eight Chicago White Sox players were charged with throwing the 1919 World Series had begun to unravel. Cleveland won the series 5 games to 2 after shutting out Brooklyn 3-0 at League Park (then called Dunn Field).

Following the 1920 championship, the team did not reach the heights they had achieved in 1920 in the rest of the decade. Speaker and Coveleski were aging and the Yankees were rising with a new weapon: Babe Ruth and the home run. In 1936, Cleveland introduced a 17-year old named Bob Feller, a pitcher with a dominating fastball. By 1940, Feller, along with Ken Keltner, Mel Harder and Lou Boudreau led the Indians to within one game of the pennant. The team was wracked with dissension, with some players (including Feller) going so far as to request that owner Alva Bradley fire manager Oscar Vitt. Feller, who had pitched a no-hitter to open the season and won 27 games, lost the final game of the season to unknown Floyd Giebell of the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, the nation entered World War II and Feller went to serve in the Navy, delaying the Tribe's success.

1947-1959: Bill Veeck and the 'Big Four'

In 1946 Bill Veeck formed an investment group that purchased the Cleveland Indians from Bradley's group. Patkin's appearance in the coaching box was the sort of promotional stunt by Bill Veeck that delighted fans and infuriated the front office of the American League.

Under Veeck's leadership, Cleveland's most significant achievement was breaking the color barrier in the American League by signing Larry Doby, formerly a player for the Negro League's Newark Eagles in 1947, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers.

In 1948, needing pitching for the stretch run of the 1948 pennant race, Veeck turned to the Negro Leagues again and signed pitching legend Satchel Paige amid much controversy.

In 1948, veterans Boudreau, Keltner, and Joe Gordon had career offensive seasons, while newcomers Larry Doby and Gene Bearden also had standout seasons. The team went down to the wire with the Boston Red Sox, winning a one-game playoff, the first in American League history, to go to the World Series. In the series, the Tribe defeated the Boston Braves four games to two for their first championship in 28 years.

In 1949 Cleveland again contended before falling to third place. On September 23, 1949, Bill Veeck and the Indians buried their 1948 pennant in center field before a game, the day after they were mathematically eliminated from the pennant race.

In 1949 Veeck was forced to sell the Indians to a syndicate headed by William Daley during a difficult divorce, but left behind a competitive team that continued to contend through the early 1950s, featuring Feller, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia (also known as the Big Four). In 1954, Cleveland won a then-record 111 games and returned to the World Series against the New York Giants. The team was upset by the Giants in a sweep and the 1954 series became famous for Willie Mays amazing over-the-shoulder catch off the bat of Vic Wertz in Game 1.

Just before opening day in 1960 Colavito was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn. Akron Beacon Journal columnist Terry Pluto documented the decades of woe that followed the trade in his book The Curse of Rocky Colavito. Pluto has written other books on the Indians, most notably, Our Tribe : A Baseball Memoir.

In 1966 Daley's syndicate sold the team to frozen food millionaire Vernon Stouffer www.hrm.uh.edu/home.asp?PrintPage=1&PageID=187 of Stouffer Foods and the team appeared to be well financed. Stouffer had some non-baseball related financial setbacks though and consequently the team was cash-poor.

In the 1960s, the team also sent Tommy John, Luis Tiant, and Lou Piniella packing, receiving little in return. In 1977 Mileti's group sold out to a syndicate headed by trucking magnate Steve O'Neill and which included Gabe Paul, who had been an executive with the Indians, Reds and Yankees.

The 1970s were little better as the team traded away players Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss and Buddy Bell. The nadir was the ill-conceived Ten Cent Beer Night promotion at a 1974 game against the Rangers which ended in a riot and forfeit. The next year the team featured Frank Robinson as MLB's first African American manager (he was also one of the last player-managers), but he was fired in 1977. One of the few bright spots in this time frame occurred on May 15, 1981, when Len Barker pitched a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Another cause for optimism was outfielder Joe Charboneau being named American League Rookie of the Year in 1980. Also, in 1989, the Indians became the central part of the movie Major League, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Corbin Bernsen.

1994-2001: A new beginning

Indians General Manager John Hart and team owner Richard Jacobs finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. The 1989 motion picture Major League featured the Indians as a worst-to-first story: the 1993 Indians ended their era at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 76-86, which was last in the American League East Division. The team opened the 1994 season with a new stadium, Jacobs Field, and with it came the success and the spirits of their movie counterparts. The 1994 MLB Season ended prematurely, with a Players Union strike; The team went on to defeat the Boston Red Sox in the Divisional Series; and the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, reaching the World Series for their first time since 1954. besides winning 100 games, they also led Major League Baseball in batting average and led the American League in team ERA. The fans responded and the Indians, who had been perennially near the bottom in ticket sales, sold out every home game after June 12th and set a Major League Baseball record with 455 consecutive sellouts from 1995 to 2001.

The Tribe took the AL Central Crown again in 1996, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles (three games to one) in the Divisional Series. Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Tribe shocked the baseball world by beating the heavily-favored New York Yankees in the Divisional Series (3-2). After getting payback for 1996 against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, the Tribe went on to finish a bittersweet season against the Florida Marlins. In a dramatic series, which featured (among other oddities) one of the coldest games in World Series history, Indians fans were reminded that the Curse of Rocky Colavito was not, in fact, dead: with the Indians in the lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven, the Marlins managed to tie the game. The Marlins went on to clinch the title in the bottom of the eleventh, with Edgar Renteria driving the game winning RBI just past the glove of Indians pitcher Charles Nagy. The Indians were the first team to carry the lead into the bottom of the 9th inning of the 7th game of a World Series and still lose.

In 1998, the Indians fell short of returning to the World Series for a third time in four seasons, being beaten by the New York Yankees in the ALCS. In 1999, the Divisional Series was the stage for one of the biggest collapses in MLB postseason history; The debacle cost Indians manager Mike Hargrove his job.

In 2000, the Indians got off to a mediocre start, going 44-42 at the break. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as they ended up five games behind the Chicago White Sox in the Central division and missed the wild card by one game to the Seattle Mariners. In 2000, Larry Dolan bought the Indians for $323 million from Richard Jacobs, who, along with his late brother David, had paid $35 million for the club in 1986.

2001 saw a return to prominence for the Indians. After losing Manny Ramirez and

2001-present: The Shapiro years

In the 2001 offseason, GM John Hart resigned and his assistant Mark Shapiro took the reins. This sent Cleveland fans in an uproar, and the Indians struggled through 2002 and 2003, posting losing records both years.

In 2002, Shapiro traded fan favorite pitching ace Bartolo Colon for then-unknowns Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore. He also acquired Travis Hafner in a trade with the Texas Rangers involving Ryan Drese and picked up Coco Crisp from the St. Louis Cardinals for aging starter Chuck Finley.

In 2004, the young talent finally started to hit its stride, and the Indians were a terrific offensive team and even beat the New York Yankees 22-0. They blew more than 20 saves that year, and the Indians finished with an 80-82 record.

In early 2005, the offense was anemic, and couldn't score runs like the year before. However, the season came to a heartbreaking end as the Indians went on to lose six of their last seven games, five of them by one run, and missed the playoffs by only two games.

During the 2006 offseason the Indians traded the popular Coco Crisp along with David Riske and Josh Bard to the Boston Red Sox for reliever Guillermo Mota, third base prospect Andy Mart辿, catching prospect Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named later and cash, and Arthur Rhodes to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Jason Michaels. Free agent pitchers Kevin Millwood and Scott Elarton signed with other teams, and Shapiro signed Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson to replace them. After falling out of contention for a playoff spot, the team dealt veterans Eduardo Perez, Bob Wickman, Ben Broussard, and Ronnie Belliard for younger players and minor league prospects, and top prospects Jeremy Sowers and Mart辿 were called up from Buffalo and given starting assignments.

The 2006 campaign for the Tribe has been a major disappointment. Already the bullpen has blown 18 saves and the team as of August 10, 2006 is 27 games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers and 18.5 games behind the wild card-leading Minnesota Twins. All we have are utility players," meaning players who were kept on the roster because they played several positions, but none of them particularly well.

On June 4, 1974 the Indians hosted "Ten Cent Beer Night", but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to drunken and unruly fans.

In 1981, Lon Simmons, then broadcasting for the Oakland Athletics, told his listeners, "The A's leave after this game for Cleveland. not that they were afraid of the Indians, then having a typically terrible season, but that the city would be terribly unpleasant.

That same season, Graig Nettles, a New York Yankees third baseman who played with the Indians prior to being traded to the Yankees (he begun his Major League career with the Minnesota Twins), took the intercom of the team's charter flight, and said, "We will soon be landing in Cleveland. Please set your watches back 42 minutes."

A fictionalized version of the Indians were the subject of a 1989 movie, Major League, which starred Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger. Sequels followed in 1994 and 1998.

Bob Hope held a small share of stock in the Indians and took part in the ceremonies when the Indians played their last home games at Cleveland Stadium in 1993.

Cleveland hometown hero/comedian Drew Carey poked fun at the rest of baseball while he promoted his new sitcom The Drew Carey Show in 1995. In the promos he often uttered the now-famous line:

Finally, it's your team that sucks!

The 455 number retired for the Cleveland Indians is in reference to the fans of the city of Cleveland, who sold out Jacobs Field for a Major League Record 455 consecutive games between 1995 and 2002.

On August 5, 2001, The Indians completed the biggest comeback in MLB History. Thus, it became know by baseball fans as The Impossible Return.

On August 31, 2004, The Indians beat the New York Yankees 22-0. It was the largest loss the Yankees have suffered since they fell to the Indians on July 29, 1928, 24-6.www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/2771855.html

On July 4, 2006, The Indians beat the New York Yankees 19-1. Pitcher Jake Westbrook started both of the blowout games against New York.

On September 2, 2006, infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff became the third player to hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat and the first player to do so on his first major league pitch.

Baseball Hall of Famers

Elected mainly on basis of performance with the Indians

Earl Averill
Lou Boudreau
Stan Coveleski
Larry Doby
Bob Feller
Elmer Flick
Addie Joss
Nap Lajoie
Bob Lemon
Al Lopez
Joe Sewell
Tris Speaker
Early Wynn

Other Hall-of-Famers associated with Indians, however briefly

Steve Carlton
Dennis Eckersley
Ralph Kiner
Eddie Murray
Hal Newhouser
Phil Niekro
Satchel Paige
Gaylord Perry
Sam Rice
Frank Robinson
Hoyt Wilhelm
Dave Winfield
Cy Young

Retired numbers

3 Earl Averill, OF, 1929-39
5 Lou Boudreau, SS, 1938-50; Coach 1947-63
19 Bob Feller, P, 1936-56
21 Bob Lemon, P, 1941-58; Coach, 1960
42 Jackie Robinson, retired throughout all Major League Baseball
455 The Fans, for selling out Jacobs Field 455 consecutive times

Current roster

Minor league affiliations

AAA: Buffalo Bisons, International League
AA: Akron Aeros, Eastern League
Advanced A: Kinston Indians, Carolina League
A: Lake County Captains, South Atlantic League
Short Season A: Mahoning Valley Scrappers, New York-Penn League
Rookie: GCL Indians, Gulf Coast League
Rookie: DSL Indians, Dominican Summer League

Chronology

Key Dates:
1901: Cleveland begins play in the American League.
1915: Team becomes known as the Indians.
1920: Indians win first World Series.
1946: Franchise sold to Bill Veeck, Jr.
1948: Indians win second World Series.
1986: Indians sold to Richard Jacobs.
1994: Jacobs Field opens for play.
2000: Indians sold to Lawrence J. Dolan.

Additional topics

Company HistorySports Organizations & Sports Teams

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