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Russell A. Carleton

@pizzacutter4.bsky.social
2.3K followers 411 following 375 posts

Baseball Prospectus (emeritus) | author of "The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking" and "The New Ballgame: The Not-So-Hidden Forces Shaping Modern Baseball" (Triumph) | Quad-A Sabermetrician | he/him

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Reposted by Russell A. Carleton
Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
1/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Nick/Dolph was my best friend in first grade. Somehow that is a true statement.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
137/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
136/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
135/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
134/ 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.org
Cleveland Guardians 2026 Media Guide
A 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...
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
134/ 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.
Plaque in Monument Garden at Progressive Field (Cleveland, Ohio) Contains a bas relief portrait of Louis Sockalexis

Louis Francis Sockalexis
1897-1899

A Penobscot Indian from Old Town, Maine. Louis Sockalexis caused a nationwide sensation playing baseball in Cleveland in the Spring of 1897 as the first American Indian to play professional baseball. Sockalexis was considered one of the top collegiate baseball players of his day, earning Hall of Fame honors at Holy Cross. "Sock" was known for his powerful bat, swiftness on the base paths and his legendary long, accurate throws from the outfield. The Cleveland Indians organization is proud to acknowledge Louis Francis Sockalexis, a Native American who has left his mark on Amerca's National Pastime and inspired the nickname used to this very day.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
133/ The team has been backing off the story since 2000. (Plain Dealer 4/24/2000)
Item from Cleveland Plain Dealer (4/24/2000)

Indians revise history of their name

After 32 years, the Indians are no longer saying that the team was named in 1915 in a newspaper contest in which Cleveland fans voted.

In its 2000 media guide, the club states that the Cleveland sportswriters named the team after being asked to do so by owner Charles Somers. The team had been named the Naps in honor of Napoleon Lajoie until he was traded after the 1914 season.

The guide still contends that the writers named the team the Indians with Louis Sockalexis in mind, but back off slightly from the story that the team was named "in honor" of Sockalexis. The word "honor" has been eliminated in two of the the guide's new discussions of Sockalexis.

-- Bob Dolgan
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
132/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
131/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
130/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
129/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
128/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
127/ 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?
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
126/ 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)
Article from Cleveland Plain Dealer (5/19/1978) detailing Louis Sockalexis Day. Headline is "County to hail father of Tribe."
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
125/ By 1975, the Plain Dealer itself was debunking the story. (PD, 10/26/1975)
Article from Cleveland Plain Dealer (10/26/1975):

When did the Cleveland Indians acquire that name? - W.D.T., Lakewood

Jan. 16, 1915. This was 10 days after the club owner, Charles Somers, traded Napoleon Lajoie to Philadelphia. The team's nickname, Naps, no longer fit so Somers asked the sports editors of Cleveland newspapers to suggest a new one and from the list Somers selected Indians. No mention at the time was made about honoring an 1897-1898 player for the nine, a Penobscot Indian, Louis F. Sockalexis, so that oft-repeated reason appears unfounded. The Jan 17, 1915, PD said a Cleveland professional team had been called Indians briefly "many years before." An afternoon paper had called for readers' suggestions; among issues we were able to research, "Indians" wasn't mentioned, but "Some Hams" was -- from the first four letters of Somers' name and the last three letters of the name of manager Joe Birmingham.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
124/ 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)
Excerpt from Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/19/1972)

The Suit claims the use of the Chief Wahoo caricature induces a mocking scornful attitude o the part of the community towards the American Indians.

A spokesman for the baseball team said the name Cleveland Indians was adopted in 1915 in honor of Luis Francis Sockalexis, the first Indian to play for the ball club. He declined to comment on the suit.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
123/ The team didn't mention Sockalexis in any of its own promotional materials until the late 1960s.
aistm.org
An Act of Honor or Exploitation
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
122/ 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.com
The Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians [Lewis, Franklin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Cleveland Indians
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
121/ 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)
Item from Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/1/1931)

The current issue of the Holy Cross Alumnus contains a sentimental little story about Louis Sockalexis, a product of that institution back in the '90s, who might have been the greatest ball player in the world had his personal habits been on the same high plane as his ability.

Sox, as he was known was the first of the great Indian players. He was a member of Pat Tebeau's Cleveland Spiders in the old National League and, says the Holy Cross Alumnus, so great was his popularity that the team's name was changed to Indians and has remained Indians ever since.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
120/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
119/ 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"
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
118/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
117/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
116/ 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.
Syndicated feature from San Francisco Call Bulletin (3/9/1915)

Headline: Remember Sockalexis

Firewater Fixed Him
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
115/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
114/ 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."
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
113/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
112/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
111/ 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.
Article from Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/18/1915)

Many years ago there was an Indian named Sockalexis who was the star player of the Cleveland baseball club. As batter, fielder and base runner he was a marvel. Sockaleixs so far outshone hsi teammates that he naturally came to be regarded as the whole team. The "fans" throughout the country began to call the Clevalanders the "Indians" It was an honorable name and while it stuck the team made an excellent record.

It has now been decided to revive this name. The Clevealands of 1915 will be the "Indians." There will be no real red Indians on the roster but the name recall fine traditions. It is looking backward to a time when Cleveland had one of the most popular teams of the United States. It also serves to revive the memory of a single great player who has been gathered to his fathers in the happy hunting grounds of the Abreakis.

Even before the time of Sockalexis there was another great era of Cleveland baseball history. Patsy Tebeay, the Mugsy McGraw of his day, got together an aggregation of mediocre players, and by the sheet forcefulness of his personality made them a winning team. Never was there a baseball organization which fought so hard or so unscrupulously. There was nothing ladylike or Chesterfieldian in the Tebeau methods. But his team was liked, nevertheless for it won, and that is the main requirement in baseball. Tebeau called his team the "Spiders" and now it has been decided to revive the name and apply it to Cleveland's American Association team.

Rechristened "Indians" and "Spiders" Cleveland's two teams will have high traditions to live up to this season. Every baseball enthusiast of the Sixth City will hope that they may prove worthy of their namesakes.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
110/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
109/ 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?"
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
108/ It didn't last. In late May, Birmingham was fired, 28 games into the season.
baseball-reference.com
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
107/ 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."
Article and cartoon from Cleveland Plain Dealer (4/21/1915)

The cartoon shows Brimingham's "Fighting Face" along with scenes of him feeding players "Ginger" and yelling from the dugout.

The accompanying article ends with "Yes, it's a wonderfully different manager Cleveland fans will be hold in Joe Birmingham than the chap they watched last year."
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
106/ 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?
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
105/ "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."
Article from Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/31/1915) written by Joe Birmingham, manager of the 1915 Cleveland Indians, prior to the season.

Birmingham begins with apologies for the poor showing of the team in 1914.

He then continues: "Now, so far as 1915 is concerned, I am well acquainted with all but three of the players who will make up our training squad of twenty-seven men at San Antonio. In the twenty-four men with whom I am acquainted, I know that I have a bunch of players who like to play baseball. There will not be a man on the squad who will go on the ball field with the spirit that it is merely the day's work. Every one of them will be out there because he enjoys being there and whenever you find that kind of a player you will find a winning player -- no matter what his individual averages may show.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
104/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
103/ 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.
Article from Cleveland Press (1/7/1915)

It's Up To Birmy!

By Frank W. Rostock
Sporting Editor of The Press

Vern Gregg is gone.
So is Ole Olson --
Also Larry.
Doc Johnston will be disposed of before another month has passed.

The disposal of these players, with whom manager Birmingham was unable to work in harmony is putting it squarely up to Birmy to deliver the goods next season -- and is putting it up to Joseph with a vengeance.

He wither will have to "show" next season or tread the same trail taken by Gregg, Olson, aand Larry, and which Doc Johnston is about to follow.

Birmingham will have only one alibi next season -- a gream team. Men pointed out by manager Joe as trouble-makers will not be on hand to bother him. He will have free rein with none to dispute his word. 

A reliable informant told me the team did not hold team meetings to discuss plays and plan campaigns because of the ill-feeling several players bore toward the club manager.

It will now be up to Birmy to take his youngsters in hand, advise them and and convert them into a peppery, fighting ball club.

Cleveland will not expect him to finish first or second and perhaps not third, but every fan will expect to see a fighting ball club when he planks down his hard-earned coin in exchange for a ticket.

It's up to Birmy now. Let's see if the team will be any better off with Olson, Gregg, Larry, and Johnston gone.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
102/ 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)
Item from Boston Globe (1/17/1915)

The Naps Are Dead; Call Them Indians Hereafter

Cleveland, Jan 16 -- "The Naps are dead! Long live the Indians!" The Cleveland American League baseball club will in future be known as the "Indians." The team was given its new nickname by a committee of local sporting writers at a meeting this afternoon.

The name is a good one, in that it recalls the old fighting days ofthe early American League period, when the Cleveland players of those days were often referred to as the "Indians" in other cities of the circuit. And that's just what Manager Birmingham has promised the fans the forthcoming season -- a "fighting" team.

The old nickname "Naps" became obsolete when Napoleon Lajoie was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
101/ At the end of February (2/28/1915), the Plain Dealer ran a small item seeming to confirm the theory.
Item from Cleveland Plain Dealer (2/28/1915)

Indians to Follow Example of Braves

Following the example of the Boston Braves, the management of the Cleveland Indians intends to have an Indian head on the left sleeve of each of the suits of the Cleveland American league club players. In this way, the officials hope to keep the Indians reminded of what the Braves did last year, jumping from last place to first.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
100/ In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/18/1915) we see this commentary:
Item from St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/18/1915)

Speaking about waking up, the Cleveland Naps have changed their name to the "Indians." Looks like Mr. Somers is after the scalp of the Braves.

Well, the Braves jumped fromt he cellear to the world's championship in one year and there are only about 25 or 30 reasons why the Cleveland Indians can't do the same thing.

However, we wish Mr. Somers the best of luck with his Indians. Winning clubs have ever borne formidable labels as witness the case of the Giants, Pirates, Tigers, and Elephants.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
99/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
98/ 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.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
97/ 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.
Item from the Tennessean (1/18/1915)

Why did they name the Cleveland Americans the "Indians?" - S.O.T

Isn't there a saying to the effect that there's no such thing as a good Indian?"

(item continues to discuss franchise owner Charles Somers debt problems and the reduction in the team's scouting staff)
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
96/ 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)
Item from Washington Post (1/17/1915)

Cleveland Players "Indians;" "Naps" Thrown Into Discard

Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 16 -- The Cleveland American League baseball team will hereafter be known as the "Indians," it was decided this afternoon at a meeting of club officials and baseball writers.

The name "Naps" became obsolete when Napoleon Lajoie went to the Philadelphia Americans.

It was also decided at a meeting to agree on "Spiders" as a name for the Cleveland American Association team.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
95/ 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.
Item from Cleveland Press (1/18/1915)

Now that the Naps have been renicknamed the Indians, we hope they will become very Indian-like and wake up.

A series of real indian war dances is what the Cleveland fans want next season. Let's hope the team will be equal to the task, even if not equal to winning a pennant.

The Spiders are to remain the Spiders and with spidery Jack Knight at their head, out to show better than they did last season.

The Cleveland ball club was anxious to get a nickname that couldn't be converted into a joke. Indians delighted Vice President Barnard.

"They won't be able to poke fun at the Indians." said Barnsey

Oh no, but wait until they begin to lost and see how soon the fans will dub them the squaws.
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
94/ 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
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
93/ 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.
Article from Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/17/1915).

Baseball Writers Select "Indians" As the Best Name to Apply to the Former Naps

With the going of Nap Lajoie to the Athletics, a new name had to be selected for the Cleveland American League club. President Somers invited that Cleveland baseball writers to make the selection. The title of Indians was their choice, it having been one of the names applied to the old National league club of Cleveland many years ago.

The nickname, however, is but temporarily bestowed, as the club may so conduct itself during the present season as to earn some other cognomen which may be more appropriate. The choice of a name that would be significant just now was rather difficult with the club itself anchored in last place.

While picking a name for the Cleveland Al team, the committee also agreed that the Cleveland AA team owned too many names, and that while they were at it, it might be well to agree on just one name for the erstwhile Bearcats. Consequently, the other old nicknames of the Cleveland National leaguers was adopted and henceforth all the local papers will call the AA club the Spiders.

So there you are -- Indians and Spiders
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
92/ 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.
Editorial cartoon from Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1/17/1915

The cartoon was attached to coverage of the name change to Cleveland Indians
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Russell A. Carleton @pizzacutter4.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
91/ 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.
Picture of Cleveland Plain Dealer sports section, 1/17/1915

Banner headline reads: Organized Baseball Fires Broadside at the Federal League. 

The name change to Cleveland Indians is reported below.
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