Reposted by Russell A. CarletonRussell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/20261/ Time for an update on this thread. If you've come across people who claim that Cleveland's MLB team was formerly called "Indians" as an honor to Louis Sockalexis, the record shows that this is a polite fiction made up after the fact. Let's look at the contemporary historical evidence. 1108
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Nick/Dolph was my best friend in first grade. Somehow that is a true statement. 020
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026137/ It never was. What developed was a fan culture of Chief Wahoo and fans wearing red face and bad stereotype puns and "teepees and tomahawks." I grew up with it. I participated in it. I am left only with the regret that I didn't realize my error sooner. 031
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026136/ I believe that even a bad origin story can be redeemed. In 1915, the name may very well have been taken to try to motivate a last place team or as a cynical cash grab. It could have become a way to bring honor to Sockalexis and to Native Americans more generally. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026135/ The team dropped the Chief Wahoo logo after the 2018 season. They banned "red face" costumes before the 2021 season and then changed the team name to the current "Guardians" after the 2021 season. 121
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026134/ In its 2026 media guide (pg. 8), the now-Guardians state (incorrectly) that the team was first called Indians on the arrival of Sockalexis, but suggests the popularity of the Miracle Braves may have been "another factor."archive.orgCleveland Guardians 2026 Media GuideA media guide produced by the Cleveland Guardians in preparation for the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. This edition, the 126th in the team's history, gave historical statistics and informat... 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026134/ In 2006, the team commissioned a plaque in honor of Sockalexis to hang in the Heritage Park section of Jacobs/Progressive Field, proclaiming that the team name had been "inspired by" Sockalexis. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026133/ The team has been backing off the story since 2000. (Plain Dealer 4/24/2000) 110
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026132/ If he had anything to do with it, the brief moment that Sockalexis had was to amplify an already existing nickname of "Indians" that was a synonym for uncivilized and violent behavior that had been associated with a winning team some 20 years earlier. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026131/ Sockalexis was the focus of racist abuse while playing. The name didn't honor his performance. He was a flash in the pan as a player. He was not a fixture in Cleveland culture. The name was picked hastily and there's no evidence that anyone was even thinking of Sockalexis. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026130/ It was a pleasant myth. As some Native Americans started to ask uncomfortable questions about the Chief Wahoo logo and the "teepees and tomahawks" scoreboard graphics, fans could point to the idea that it was all meant as an honor to Sockalexis. Except that wasn't true. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026129/ The newspaper record shows that references to the myth surged in the late 1970s and into the 1990s. It became the stuff of space-filling "Did You Know?" factoids. That's how I came to know it. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026128/ Reality is that the myth was pieced together after the fact. And in an age where you had to go look up library archives of old newspapers, it was hard to chase down the truth. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026127/ But over time, the Sockalexis story made the rounds. As time got further away from 1897, it became easier to smooth over the edges of the real story. There was a Native American who played in Cleveland, the team needed a name, they picked "Indians." Surely, it was an honor? Right? 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026126/ In 1978, the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners proclaimed "Louis Sockalexis Day" going so far as to write to the Penobscot Nation asking them to develop "another Sockalexis." (Plain Dealer, 5/19/1978) 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026125/ By 1975, the Plain Dealer itself was debunking the story. (PD, 10/26/1975) 121
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026124/ The first time the team publicly claimed Sockalexis as a namesake came in January 1972. It was a response to a lawsuit by a Native American group saying that the name and Chief Wahoo mascot were denigrating to Native Americans. (Plain Dealer 1/19/1972) 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026123/ The team didn't mention Sockalexis in any of its own promotional materials until the late 1960s.aistm.orgAn Act of Honor or Exploitation 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026122/ In 1949, author Franklin Lewis published a book which stated that the name had been taken to honor Sockalexis, though he offered no evidence for the claim.amazon.comThe Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians [Lewis, Franklin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Cleveland Indians 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026121/ The first evidence I found of the Sockalexis myth is from 1931 in the Plain Dealer. It bends the truth significantly. It took 16 years before anyone tried to make the connection. (PD, 1/1/1931) 110
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026120/ It's not that fans had completely forgotten Sockalexis by 1915, but there isn't evidence that people felt strongly enough about him to pay tribute to him. It's more likely that "Indians" was a temporary name of convenience, picked by hurried writers who just wanted the team out of last place. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026119/ 3) There is no evidence that he was a particularly beloved or even noteworthy figure in the city either before or after the name change. 4) There were other former players who were genuinely loved by the city. 5) No one bothered to mention "We're naming the team after Sockalexis" 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026118/ If you want to somehow shoehorn Sockalexis into the story, you have to ignore that 1) Sockalexis was the subject of racist abuse during his time with the team. 2) He was known to suffer from alcohol addiction and it ruined his career. He was mostly seen as a cautionary tale. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026117/ If there was a cultural call-back to be had in the name, it seems that it was more likely to Tebeau, rather than Sockalexis. Twenty years ago, they had been a rowdy group that won the Temple Cup. Maybe a bad team needed a little kick to get itself going. Maybe all of the above are true. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026116/ In the combined archives of the Cleveland Press and the Plain Dealer over the next ten years, Sockalexis's name appeared three times, all in passing. This is odd given that in March 1915, a syndicated feature about Sockalexis was printed of dozens of U.S. newspapers. But not in Cleveland. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026115/ And speaking of Tebeau, he's immediately brought up and praised for his fighting ways, because that helped a group of mediocre players to win. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026114/ There was a time when the team was called "Indians" and made a great record and was quite popular. Cleveland won the 1895 Temple Cup and lost the 1896 Series. Attendance was high. It was all before Sockalexis. The text only makes sense if they're talking about the Tebeau-era "Indians." 110
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026113/ The article says that the team "made an excellent record" and "had one of the most popular teams of the United States" During the years when Sockalexis was on the team, they finished 5th, 5th, and then the disastrous 20-134 season and couldn't even draw a crowd in their home park. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026112/ The article talks about Sockalexis being such a wonder that the "naturally came to be regarded as the whole team" and thus, the team was called "Indians." We've seen that this isn't true. There are references to the team as Indians before Sockalexis and that they followed Tebeau to St. Louis. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026111/ And then there is the one mention of Sockalexis in this whole process. On January 18th, the Plain Dealer printed this article, which explicitly calls out Sockalexis. In the third paragraph, it brings up Patsy Tebeau. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026110/ Indeed, the most cynical explanation probably carries some weight too. Attendance was down. The team hadn't won anything in 20 years. Somers needed cash. The last time the team was successful, they were called "Indians." Let's see if that brings a few fans down to League Park. 110
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026109/ The Plain Dealer coverage gives us two additional clues. 1) The new name was twice described as temporary 2) It was temporary because the team was in last place. The team should earn something better. This isn't "great honor." This is "What will get them out of last place?" 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026108/ It didn't last. In late May, Birmingham was fired, 28 games into the season.baseball-reference.com 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026107/ If Rostock was trying to send Birmingham a message with the new temporary team name, it sort of worked. On April 21, the Plain Dealer published an article talking about the change in Birmingham, including a cartoon drawing of his "fighting face." 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026106/ This is hardly the stuff of a manager who plans to come in lighting fires under everyone. Were Rostock and the other members of the committee (and perhaps Somers?) trying to suggest going back to the "fighting" days of another manager, Patsy Tebeau and his Indians? 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026105/ "Fighters" doesn't sound like Birmingham's style. On January 31, the Plain Dealer printed a column written by Birmingham previewing the forthcoming season. He is politely effusive, apologizing for team's poor 1914, and then praises the players for not taking the game as just a "day's work." 110
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026104/ Rostock quotes an anonymous source and speaks of dissent among the team in the pre-season -- along with the departures in the off-season of several players that Birmingham didn't get along with -- and wonders if Birmingham can turn the team into fighters. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026103/ The reference to Manager Joe Birmingham promising a "fighting" team, seems to come from an item in the Cleveland Press (1/7/1915), written by Sporting Editor Frank Rostock. This appeared on the very same page as the call for team name suggestion. Rostock was part of the naming committee. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026102/ But in Boston, they saw something different. The name was a tribute to the earlier days of the team when they were fighters, and that Cleveland manager Joe Birmingham was promising fans a "fighting" team. (Boston Globe, 1/18/1915) 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026101/ At the end of February (2/28/1915), the Plain Dealer ran a small item seeming to confirm the theory. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026100/ In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/18/1915) we see this commentary: 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202699/ The most commonly cited alternate explanation is that it was a call out to the 1914 Boston "Miracle" Braves. They came from last place on July 4th to win the World Series. There's decent evidence for that. The Plain Dealer cartoon makes an explicit reference to the Miracle Braves. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202698/ So how did they land on Indians if not for Sockalexis? One possibility is that in 1915, Indians was a common team name. There was a semi-pro Cleveland Indians football team. There was (and still is) an Indianapolis Indians baseball team. Jim Thorpe had brought the Carlyle Indians to prominence. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202697/ To give some idea of where we were as a culture in 1915 on the subject of Native Americans, this item from the Tennessean (1/18/1915) ought to clear things up. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202696/ National news coverage of the name change was fairly straightforward. Again, with no mention of Sockalexis. A version of this news item was found in a variety of papers. (Washington Post, 1/17/1915) 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202695/ The Cleveland Press didn't publish on January 17th (a Sunday), but had a small, easily missed comment on the 18th about the name change. Again, no mention of Sockalexis. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202694/ The Cleveland Leader coverage (PDF link) also doesn't mention Sockalexis, though again, there is plenty of racism. Notably, the Leader's coverage includes this line: "That's what Manager Birmingham wants to do show the fans a fighting team, one which never quits."web.archive.org 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202693/ The text report in the Plain Dealer was remarkably short and the last third of it dealt with (re?)re-naming the American Association team to Spiders. Sockalexis is not mentioned. 100
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202692/ The Plain Dealer coverage of the name change included... this. Once again, the amount of casual racism this indulges in -- and in the city's paper of record -- is appalling. This was not meant as an honor to anyone. 111
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/202691/ The meeting might have been short. Somers was busy the next day with the legal case concerning the upstart Federal League. He had other things to tend to. In fact, in the Plain Dealer reported the name change on January 17, and the legal case got the banner headline on the sports section. 100