I n d i a n s 5 CONTENTS CHAPTERS An Early Baseball Hotbed 6 Nap’s Chaps 15 The Bill Veeck Era 22 The Curse of Rocky Colavito 29 The Tribe Regroups 36 AROUND THE HORN The Greatest Batting Race 12 World Series Firsts 20 A Banner Year 27 Home Sweet Home 31 Silver-Screen Sluggers 38 Contenders Once Again 43 ALL-TIME INDIANS P Bob Feller 8 C Sandy Alomar Jr 13 1B Jim Thome 14 2B Nap Lajoie 18 3B Al Rosen 23 SS Omar Vizquel 28 LF Joe Jackson 30 CF Tris Speaker 35 RF Manny Ramirez 39 M Lou Boudreau 40 Index 48
6 I n d i a n s AN EARLY BASEBALL HOTBED n 1796 a group of pioneers from the Connecticut Land Company led by Moses Cleaveland a politician land surveyor and former Civil War soldier founded a settlement in Ohio that became known as Cleveland The city grew slowly at first but by the latter half of the 19th century Cleveland was booming thanks to its proximity to two notable waterways the Cuyahoga River to the west and Lake Erie to the north The manufacturing of iron and iron products became big business and Cleveland’s robust economy drew multitudes of immigrant workers giving the city a lasting reputation as a diverse multicultural center The city of Cleveland is also home to the Indians a franchise in Major League Baseball’s American League AL The state of Ohio was one of the first real hotspots for professional baseball it was there in Cincinnati that the very first pro franchise was formed in 1869 And although it wasn’t until 1901 that the franchise that was to become I
In the 1800s Cleveland was nicknamed The Forest City reflecting its status as an important settlement in a region still largely untamed
