a much-deserved World Championship, the bar had been raised for Cleveland baseball. In spite of its friendly confines and neighborhood appeal, League Park could no longer deal with the crowds that wanted to see the hometown boys play ball. American League stars like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, and a host of others generated more ticket requests than could be handled. An alternative to the historic park at 66th and Lexington had to be found.
A combined effort from civic boosters and the city manager’s office built the huge stadium downtown, right off the Lake Erie shore. It was their belief that a stadium located a bit north of the business district would be an economic boon for the city. They had no way of knowing in 1928 that the Great Depression was about to paralyze the entire country.
Now, though, the Philadelphia Athletics were in town to christen the new stadium. An incredible crowd of 79,000 was on hand to see Robert “Lefty” Grove match pitches with Cleveland’s curveball wizard, Mel Harder. Special trains brought several thousand fans from as far away as Pittsburgh. Athletics owner Connie Mack had put together a champion club with players including center fielder George “Mule” Haas, catcher Mickey Cochrane, left fielder Al Simmons, right fielder Bing Miller, and slugger Jimmy Foxx at first base. This would be a formidable test for the Indians and their new home.
The pregame ceremonies were well planned. The invited guests included the rarely smiling commissioner of baseball Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American League president Will Harridge, Ohio governor George White, and Athletics owner Tom Shibe. Governor White threw the first pitch to Cleveland mayor Ray T. Miller. A large number of former Spiders, Naps, and Indians were in attendance. They were introduced by another ex-ballplayer, Jack Graney, now the Indians’ radio play-by-play man. Graney had a long career in Cleveland baseball, starting with the Naps and lasting long enough to retire as an Indian. He became the first ballplayer to climb into the radio booth and describe the action on a full-time basis. He introduced the old favorites one at a time. There was Cy Young, the great pitching star of the 1890s. Young had been a major factor in bringing home the Temple Cup in 1895. He had won a phenomenal 511 games during his long career. His catcher, Charles “Chief” Zimmer, came out, pleased to be recognized some thirty years later. In his day, Zimmer wore the thinnest of gloves on his catching hand, nothing like the mitts worn by the current Indians catchers. One could only imagine how he held on to Young’s fastballs.
Graney then called out members of the Cleveland Naps. They were led by Napoleon “Larry” Lajoie, the game’s finest second baseman. A huge roar came from the crowd when Larry jogged onto the field. From 1902 through 1914 he had been the face of Cleveland baseball; hence the team name, “Naps.” Next were Lajoie’s outstanding teammates, third baseman Bill Bradley and right fielder Elmer Flick. Both were local products, still making their homes in the Cleveland area.
Graney finished the introductions by calling out three heroes of the 1920 World Series, Elmer Smith, Bill Wamby, and player-manager Tris Speaker. In the pivotal fifth game at League Park, Smith walloped the first bases-loaded home run in World Series history. During that same game Wamby executed a spectacular unassisted triple play, a feat that has never been duplicated in post-season play. Speaker had been the catalyst throughout the entire World Series, making one tremendous play after another. The ovation for the three stars was deafening.
The ceremonies came to an upbeat conclusion and all that was left was to play a baseball game. What a game it was! At this point in the season, the two clubs were fighting hard for second place.
Grove and Harder were untouchable inning after inning. Reporters noted that the center-field bleachers were filled with several thousand men wearing white short-sleeve shirts. They claimed the batters were distracted by the white background and could not see the ball leaving the pitchers’ hands. Another factor in the lack of hitting might have been the sizzling fastballs thrown by Grove and the razor sharp curves of Mel Harder.
The Indians lineup did not quite match up to the hard-hitting Athletics. On the other hand, the outfield—local hero Joe Vosmik, Earl Averill, and Dick Porter—could more than hold its own. First baseman Eddie Morgan could hit fairly well, along with shortstop Johnny Burnett. Luke Sewell, the younger brother of former Indians shortstop Joe Sewell, was catching.
With both pitchers on top of their game, the innings piled up with neither team able to score. At one point Harder struck out the side, setting down the A’s sluggers Cochrane, Simmons, and Foxx in order. The game would go seven full innings before the Athletics put a run on the brand new center-field scoreboard. In the top of the eighth, Max Bishop led off with a walk. Mule Haas sacrificed him to second. Then Mickey Cochrane hit a shot up the middle that just got by Harder’s outstretched glove and Bishop raced home for the only run of the game. In the bottom of the ninth Eddie Morgan launched a drive to deep right field, but Bing Miller glided back and made the play to end the game. The newspapers would mention that Morgan’s drive would have easily cleared the short right-field wall at old League Park.
That was another time, though. A new era in Cleveland Indians baseball had begun.
Chapter 1
CHANGE OF THE GUARD
Cleveland baseball in the 1920s turned out to be a brief stop in the penthouse followed by a quick trip to the ground floor. The 1920 Indians captured a pennant and went on to whip the Brooklyn Robins in a thrilling World Series. Owner James C. Dunn had built a championship team with the likes of Tris Speaker, Stan Coveleski, Jim Bagby, Elmer Smith, and Joe Wood. The World Series champs seemed poised to dominate the American League for at least the next few years.
In 1921 the club performed well enough but fell victim to the New York Yankees and their superstar in the making, Babe Ruth. For the season the twenty-six-year-old Ruth hit an inconceivable fifty-nine home runs and notched 170 RBIs. The entire Cleveland team hit fewer than forty homers. The Indians won ninety-four ball games, good only for second place. Speaker had a terrific year, though, batting .362 and leading the Major Leagues with fifty-two doubles.
Jim Dunn knew quite well that changes needed to be made to compete with the Yankees. In 1916, when he purchased the Cleveland franchise, Dunn overhauled the roster. A total housecleaning was not in order; nevertheless, some new talent had to be acquired. His initial move was a disaster. He traded first baseman George Burns and right fielder Elmer Smith to the Boston Red Sox for light-hitting first baseman John “Stuffy” McInnis. In 537 at bats, McInnis walloped a total of one home run and seventy-eight RBIs.
To go along with astoundingly bad trades, Dunn had serious issues with his health. A bout with the flu sidelined him for several weeks. The Cleveland owner was fifty-six, somewhat overweight, a cigar smoker, and a faithful visitor to the speakeasies in greater Cleveland. In May 1922 he became ill with heart problems, having to return to his home in Chicago for treatment. On June 9, 1922, Jim Dunn passed away in his sleep. His death was a terrible blow to the Cleveland franchise that had flourished under his leadership. The club was inherited by Edith Dunn, his widow. Her first decision was to install Ernest Barnard as team president, responsible for all operations. “Barny” had been with Cleveland for many years and was a competent executive. Then again, he lacked the flair and nose for talent that his former boss possessed. The Indians dropped to fourth place, barely staying above the .500 mark.
Despite the outstanding play of Speaker, the Indians continued to deteriorate. The 1924 season saw the ball club fall to sixth place with a record of sixty-seven wins and eighty-six losses. Attendance at League Park dropped off significantly: the Indians drew 481,905 fans, for an average of 6,425 per game. In 1923 attendance had equaled 558,856, or 7,165 each game. The difference between the two years was an alarming 76,951, a reduction of nearly 14 percent. The Yankees and Tigers drew over one million fans each, while Cleveland was near the bottom in attendance figures.
The
