131 Seasons of the Cleveland Guardians
World Series
Champions
American League
Pennants
A.L. Central Division Titles
1920
1948
1920 1995
1948 1997
1954 2016
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2001
2007
2016
2017
2018
2022
2024
American League Wild Card
2013
2020
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cy Young Award
Winners
1972 - Gaylord Perry
2007 - C.C. Sabathia
2008 - Cliff Lee
2014 - Corey Kluber
2017 - Corey Kluber
2020 - Shane Bieber
Rookies of the Year
1955 - Herb Score
1971 - Chris Chambliss
1980 - Joe Charbonneau
1990 - Sandy Alomar, Jr.
1985 - Ozzie Guillen
2014 - Jose Abreu
MVP Award
Winners
1948 - Lou Boudreau
1953 - Al Rosen
Managers of the Year
2007 - Eric Wedge
2013 - Terry Francona
2017 - Terry Francona
2022 - Terry Francona
2024 - Stephen Vogt
Evans Park, Sioux City, IA
Portion of an historic map of Grand Rapids, showing the location of Recreation Park (bottom center) where the team played their weekday games.
Aerial image showing Alger Park along the banks of Reeds Lake in Grand Rapids, where the team played on weekends.
League Park - the Guardians played here regularly from 1900 through 1931. In 1932 and 1933, they called the new Cleveland Stadium home, but declining receipts and the huge outfield (which players hated) sent them back to League Park in 1934. They played occasionally, and increasingly, at Cleveland Stadium for the next number of years, before moving there permanently in 1947.
Cleveland Municipal Stadiume: AKA The Mistake by the Lake
Jacobs Field, 1994 to present (Progressive Field since 2009)
NOTE: Dates are the individual's total years with the club, and not necessarily only the years they were most prominent.
The 1894 Grand Rapids club - the beginning of today's Guardians
Addie Joss - the Naps' star pitcher who died from meningitis on April 14, 1911
July 24, 1911 - The Naps and the other A.L. clubs play an All Star game in Cleveland to benefit the Joss family (Ty Cobb, third from right, sports a Cleveland uniform)
The Indians, with owner Bill Veeck front and center, parade through Cleveland after defeating the Braves in the 1948 World Series.
8/17/20 - Shortstop Ray Chapman becomes the only MLB player (to date) to die as a result of an on-field incident - he was hit in the head by a pitch from New York's Carl Mays.
Scenes from June 4th, 1974, when the Indians hosted Ten-Cent Beer Night (with no limits). The result was a riot and a forfeit to Texas.
"Go...Joe...Char-Bon-Eau!" Well...he went.
More tragedy - Pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews died in a boating accident during spring training, 1993.
Pedro Cerano - Star of Cleveland teams that saw a brief return to competitiveness in the late 1980s.
(l to r) - Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle and Carlos Baerga: Just 3 stars from a star-studded Cleveland line-up which produced 2 pennants in the mid-90s, but couldn't capture a title.
Links to other Team History Pages
Guardians No-Hitters:
September 18, 1908 - Bob Rhoads, 2-1 over Boston
October 2, 1908 - Addie Joss, 1-0 over Chicago (Perfect Game)
April 20, 1910 - Addie Joss, 1-0 over Chicago
September 10, 1919 - Ray Caldwell, 3-0 over New York
April 29, 1931 - Wes Ferrell, 9-0 over St. Louis
April 16, 1940 - Bob Feller, 1-0 over Chicago
April 30, 1946 - Bob Feller, 1-0 over New York
July 10, 1947 - Don Black, 3-0 over Philadelphia
June 30, 1948 - Bob Lemon, 2-0 over Detroit
July 1, 1951 - Bob Feller, 3-0 over Detroit
June 10, 1966 - Sonny Siebert, 2-0 over Washington
July 19, 1974 - Dick Bosman, 4-0 over Oakland
May 30, 1977 - Dennis Eckersley, 1-0 over California
May 15, 1981 - Len Barker, 3-0 over Toronto (Perfect Game)