Cleveland Indians

Lore & Background

The franchise originated in 1896 as the Columbus Buckeyes (also known as the Columbus Senators), a minor league club based in Columbus, Ohio that played in the Western League. The team relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, midway through the 1899 season, where they were known as the Grand Rapids Prodigals. In 1900, the franchise moved to Cleveland and was called the Cleveland Lake Shores. The Western League itself was renamed the American League prior to the 1900 season while continuing its minor league status. When the American League declared itself a major league in 1901, Cleveland was one of its eight charter franchises. Originally known as the Cleveland Bluebirds, or Blues, the team was also unofficially called the Cleveland Broncos in 1902. Beginning in 1903, the team was named the Cleveland Napoleons, or Naps, after team captain and manager Nap Lajoie. Lajoie left after the 1914 season, and club owner Charles Somers requested that baseball writers choose a new name. They chose Cleveland Indians, which remained in use for more than a century. Common nicknames for the Indians were "the Tribe" and "the Wahoos", the latter referencing their longtime logo, Chief Wahoo. After the Indians name came under criticism as part of the Native American mascot controversy, the team adopted the current name, Guardians, beginning with the 2022 season. From August 24 to September 14, 2017, the team won 22 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in American League history, and the second-longest winning streak in MLB history. As of the end of the 2025 season, the franchise's overall major league record is 9,940–9,443–91 (.513).

In Their Own Story

The bus pulls into the parking lot at 6:40 p.m. and the sound hits before the sight does: a low, rolling murmur from the lower bowl, the thud of a bat on a barrel, the distant slap of a grounder in the short. You step out and the air is cold, carrying the mineral tang of Lake Erie off to the left. The stadium lights are just coming up, painting the outfield grass in a warm amber that makes the water look like hammered bronze. A kid in a Guardians cap, maybe nine, tugs his dad's sleeve and points at the pitcher's mound. "Dad, is that the spot where Feller used to throw?" His dad crouches down, grins, and says, "That's the spot." They walk in together, joining the river of navy and red flowing through the turnstiles, and the game is about to begin, and it is always about to begin, and that is the whole point.

Reader's Guide

The team has won two World Series championships, in 1920 and 1948. The 1948 championship is the most recent. The team's longest winning streak is 22 consecutive games in 2017. The team's name was changed from Indians to Guardians in 2022.

Did You Know?

• The team's name comes from the Guardians of Traffic sculptures on the Hope Memorial Bridge.
• The team won World Series championships in 1920 and 1948.
• The team's 22-game winning streak in 2017 is the longest in American League history.
• The franchise originated in 1896 as the Columbus Buckeyes in the Western League.