Cleveland Indians

Since the team began in 1894 the Cleveland Indians jersey has appeared in five World Series Championships. The team hasn’t always been the “Indians,” however. They were originally based in Michigan and called the Grand Rapids Rustlers. In 1900, they moved to Ohio, where they briefly became the Cleveland Lake Shores. This name was changed to Bluebirds in 1901, but that only lasted two years. The team was unofficially called the Bronchos in the latter part of 1902, and then the Cleveland Naps from 1903 to 1914 while the team was being led by star player Napoleon “Nap” Lajoie. The name Indians was chosen in 1915 and has stuck ever since. The Cleveland Indians colors are navy, red, and white, and their jerseys use these three colors. The home uniform is plain white and has blue piping on the chest and sleeves. The name “Indians” is printed in cursive across the chest and the name and number are only found on the back. With this uniform, the Indians players wear a blue cap with a red bill and their “grinning indian logo” on the front. For road games, the Indians wear grey uniforms with blue piping. These shirts have the city “Cleveland” in cursive across the chest. The hat is entirely navy with the Indian logo. The Cleveland Indians use alternate jerseys on occasion. They have a cream colored uniform with “Indians” printed in block letters in an arch on the chest. The matching hat is blue with a red “C” in the center. They also wear an alternate away jersey that has a navy shirt worn with white pants. This jersey has white piping and the name “Indians” in cursive across the chest. Its hat is navy blue with a cursive “I” on the front. The Cleveland Indians won an early World Series Championship in 1920. This was the season following the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal. That gambling and game-fixing blight involved two close rivals: cross-state Cincinnati Reds and division rival Chicago White Sox, so Cleveland’s win was a big victory for baseball fans in the Midwest. Truth be told, Chicago was a fierce contender for the division title that year, but when the fallout for the scandal resulted in eight of the Sox players being expelled, Cleveland was ready to take the division and then the 1920 championship. It was the 1940s, however, before Cleveland returned to the World Series. Led by the great Satchel Paige, the Indians defeated the Boston Braves for the championship title. That was the last time, however, that the Indians won a World Series. The only team with a longer World Series slump is the Chicago Cubs. Current Indians stars include Grady Sizemore, Carlos Santana, Travis Hafner, and Rafael Peréz.