The Cleveland Guardians began in Grand Rapids as a charter member of Ban Johnson's revamped Western League.  They played there from 1894 through 1897, but what they were called isn't clear - sources variously refer to them as the Rustlers, the Rippers, the Gold Bugs and the Bob-O-Links.  After poor showings on the field and even worse showings at the gate, the club relocated for 1898 to St. Joseph, MO, where the played as the Saints.  Bad fortune followed, because it turned out that St. Joseph couldn't support a club any more than Grand Rapids.  They relocated again, mid-season, to Omaha.  Failing there too, they began the 1899 season in Columbus, playing as the Senators. But, coming full circle, they moved back to Grand Rapids mid-season. 

For 1900, knowing he planned on taking his newly-christened American League major in 1901, Johnson moved the team to Cleveland to become the Lake Shores.  They went by Blues in 1901, Bronchos (that's the way they spelled it) in 1902, and then adopted the nick-name Naps in 1903 in honor of their star second baseman Napoleon Lajoie. With Lajoie's departure before the 1915 season, team owner Charles Somers asked the local sportswriters to come up with a new name.  They chose Indians; legends about the name being chosen to honor Lou Sockalexis, a Native American who played for the old Cleveland Spiders of the National League in the 1890s were created later, possibly to give the name choice a veneer of legitimacy. 

For most of the 20th century, the team was an afterthought in the American League, but was never quite so bad for such long periods to warrant their treatment as a punch line - players weren't "traded" to Cleveland, they were "exiled" there, and so forth.  They won the series in 1920 and again in 1948, but were swept by the Giants in 1954 after compiling 111 wins during the regular season.  Despite powerful teams and a spate of division titles in the mid-to-late '90s. 

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The arrival of manager Terry Francona in the new century's second decade and the development of young stars like Corey Kluber, Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor (though each would eventually move on) saw the club return to a general period of competitiveness. 

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The franchise has endured more than it's share of personal tragedy as well - In 1911, star pitcher Addie Joss succumbed to meningitis, in 1920 shortstop Ray Chapman died shortly after being hit in the face with a pitch, and during spring training in 1993, pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed in a motor boat accident in Florida.  

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Over the years, the club occasionally came under fire for continuing to use the name Indians.  Whether or not the name was racist, as some alleged, some of the club's logos certainly had been in their depiction of Native Americans.  In 2022, ownership made the decision many had seen coming for some time - it was time to change the club's name.  The name Guardians was chosen in homage to well-known art deco statues of the same name which had graced the city's Hope Memorial Bridge since the 1930s. 

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Certain of the club's "Indians"-era logos are reproduced here for historical purposes. 

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The main purpose of this page is to illustrate those players, managers and coaches who have been the most prominent in the franchise's history.  Links below will take you to galleries highlighting each, by position.  Generally, an individual is included if he spent at least 2 full seasons (consecutive or cumulative) as a starter, relief pitcher, closer or manager. For coaches, I've generally used 5 years of service as the bar.  None of this is scientific, though, so there are exceptions.  Where possible and practical, I used pictures of actual baseball cards because that it is the medium through which I, and I suppose many others, first discovered the game. Where necessary, I designed my own images.  Images of actual baseball cards were obtained at the Card Cyber Museum, and for my own designs I used photos found at host of different sites, but none moreso than the wonderful forum at Out of the Park Developments.  

I claim no rights to, or ownership of, any of the photographic images I've used on these pages.   You are welcome to use them yourself.  All I ask is that that if you use any of my personal creations, you give credit to this site.