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Cleveland Indians All Time Team |
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Louis Sockalexis
Played for Indians from 1897-99
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Penobscot Indian, nicknamed "Chief" by his teammates, Sockalexis allegedly inspired the team's name. Among the first Native Americans to play baseball, the Maine-born native played college ball at the University of Maine, Holy Cross, and Notre Dame before playing for the Cleveland Spiders. The team later took on the name of the Naps (to honor Napoleon Lajoie), but in 1914 took on a fan's suggestion to rename the team the Indians as a tribute to the late Sockalexis. In recent years, this chain of events has been criticized by Native American activists, who charge that the explanation is pure fabrication to cover the racist image of Chief Wahoo. |
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