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Cursed be these Indians.
Thanks for the "red-face," fellas.
If any Cleveland fans recently read the open letter to Blake Griffin by ESPN's Bill Simmons, some of it may have sounded eerily familiar. Also, if we came away with any new chuck of information, it was this--don't mess with Indians! Simmons hammered this point home while simultaneously doing his best Forrest Gump Jenny impression, screaming "run, Blake, run!"
In fact, I read the entire piece on my phone while I was weaving my way through airport security this evening on my way home from vacation. As Simmons helped me pass the time, I finally boarded the plane as I wrapped up the exciting article. I stashed my luggage, reclined in my seat, and removed my Indians baseball cap and placed it on my knee. It was then I got a little bit irked. Fresh off of my buying my friend a beer we bet when I told him my Tribe wouldn't dare lose a series to his Pirates (a bet that was looking good after the Indians took game one), Chief Wahoo was showing no mercy. He was staring deep into my soul with that menacing smile as if to say "too bad," like a friend who assured you the bar was just one block further, but it was ten in actuality. He didn't care, he just wanted to get someone to make the trip with him. That's when I realized, Chief Wahoo simply doesn't care.
Don't mess with Indians.
So, what does this have to do with our beloved Cleveland Indians, rightful holders of the second-longest MLB championship drought (61 years)? I mean, they were named the Indians way back in 1915 and won the 1920 World Series in the sixth season of that new name. They also won their last championship, the 1948 World Series, under that moniker so what's the big deal?
Well, kids, the answer lies with the aforementioned Indians logo, Chief Wahoo. There have been complaints about Wahoo ever since his creation back in 1933, arguing that his depiction is overtly racist and that it's a completely inappropriate characterization of the Native American people. However, as unflattering as the original Chief Wahoo was, the Cleveland organization decided to add fuel to the fire when they redid the logo for a second time, moving from a typical facial hue to a completely red face. For those of you who are unaware, the term redskin and depictions of Native Americans with redskin is a derogatory attack on Native Americans that can be traced back to as early as the 17th century. Needless to say, they weren't exactly flattered when they saw the beat red Wahoo make his debut in 1951.
But before we get to the present-day Chief Wahoo, we need a quick history lesson.
1915-20.
In their first season with the new name, the Cleveland Indians posted a hideous 57-95 record (don't mess with Indians, remember?). They would, however, go on to win the 1920 World Series before deciding that a capital block "C" wasn't offensive enough to match their team name.
1921-28.
Switching to a colorless portrait view of an Indian, the Tribe would follow up their impressive 1920 championship with a 94-60 record. However, with good karma already shifting away from them, it wasn't good enough to get back to the World Series and marked their best record until they won the 1948 World Series with 97 regular season wins.
1929-32.
Marking the debut of the red Indian, the pre-Wahoo logo guided the Indians to a 81-71 mark in its first year, which was only good enough for third place. Only lasting four seasons, this logo was a symbol of mediocrity, with the Tribe finishing in fourth place the final three seasons.
1933-39.
This is the logo that would eventually become Chief Wahoo. The Tribe posted an unimpressive 75-76 record in 1933, the first year of the Wahoo era.
1940-50.
Surprisingly, the Indians would rebound and go on to post 13 seasons with a better than .500 record out of the 18 seasons featuring a non-redskinned Wahoo (72.2% of the seasons). By contrast, since 1951, the Indians have had a season with a better than .500 winning percentage only 25 times (out of 58 seasons; 43.1% of the seasons).
So it appears that the curse is not necessarily with Chief Wahoo himself, but his redskin depiction.
1951-59.
This is where it all goes wrong.
Three seasons after winning the '48 World Series, the Indians decide to add some "color" to ol' Wahoo in an attempt to spice things up a bit. The Indians post a remarkable 93-61 record, but fall just five games short of the World Series. They post the same record the following year, but once again fall two games short of a championship shot. The team finally won a pennant in 1954, but the redskin Wahoo smiled over the shoulder of Willie Mays instead of Indians that year.
Mays with a little luck from the Chief.
And that's how the story goes. Mays makes "the catch," Giants win in extra innings, Indians cannot respond and get swept. Wahoo's smile was never brighter.
The Indians hovered around .500 for the rest of the decade, but showed hope in 1959 when they outfielder Rocky Colavito won the AL Home Run crown with 42 dingers.
1960-69.
Following the AL Home Run crown, Colavito was dealt to Detroit which resulted in what many coined "the curse of Rocky Colavito." While the trade did mark the end of the Indians contending for the next 35 years and inspired a book worth of events by Terry Pluto, it does not explain the timeline from the redskinned Chief Wahoo until 1960. In those nine seasons, the Indians won 88 or more games seven different years. "The catch" marked a 4-0 World Series sweep of an Indians team that was an astonishing 111-43 that season (.721). The Indians wasted several quality seasons before finally letting Wahoo wear them down to mediocrity in 1957-58 (153-153 record over those two seasons).
So, while many blame the Colavito trade for cursing the Indians, I simply point to it as one of the many unfortunate occurrences that have resulted from the redskin Wahoo. The 1960's marked nothing but an unfortunate series of trades (Agee, Grant, John) and subpar seasons (only two seasons above .500) for the Cleveland Indians.
Elsewhere in the sports world, the Washington Redskins debuted a new logo, their first majority red "redskin."
In the five year span that this logo was in use, the Redskins posted a record of 16-47-5. It would take two logo changes until the Redskins won double-digit games in a single season again, which happened in 1972 after unveiling a new logo, one that featured absolutely no red on the primary logo (first of its kind). Since then, the Redskins still feature a brown-skinned Indian logo with no red included and have won three Super Bowls (dare I suggest as a result?).
1970-79.
The '70's were pretty much the same as the '60's in Cleveland, only add in the collapse of the steel industry as well. The Indians once again posted only two seasons above .500 out of the ten possible years in the 1970's. Two players suffered unfortunate career endings, with Sam McDowell suffering from alcoholism and Tony Horton developing mental illness from stress. And two pitchers retired with poor career records before they reached 31 years old (Steve Dunning and Wayne Garland) as a result of poor managerial decisions. Yep, much more of the same.
1980-89.
The 1980's saw the extremely solid precedents set by the prior two decades and they were simply too scared to break the mold. Ten seasons, two seasons above .500, pretty much following protocol at this point. There was of course the trade that netted Joe Carter, providing the Indians with an exciting 1986 season. This, however, only set the stage for national failure. Prior to the 1987 season Sports Illustrated put Indians hitters Joe Carter and Cory Snyder on the cover and predicted Cleveland to make it to the World Series that year. Unfortunately, they also squeezed big red on the cover, too, making sure the Indians would lose 101 games in an overhyped season that year.
Look at that asshole smiling in the back.
1990-99.
Things were finally looking up. Despite trading Carter, who would go on to win two championships, they got young talent out of the deal (Alomar, Baerga) that would set the plate for their 1990's dominance. After kicking off the decade with four straight sub .500 seasons, the Indians would record six straight seasons above .500 and five straight playoff appearances. But this was simply Chief Wahoo's way of reminding us how he get started in this business. The Indians won 389 games those first four seasons of his redskinned existence (1951-54), but lost a tough World Series in '54. From 1995-98, the Tribe won 374 games and made the playoffs all four years, but lost two unforgettable World Series in '95 and '97.
Apparently 100 wins in a shortened season (144 games) is good enough to be the only AL team to lose to the Atlanta Braves in 5 World Series tries. A one run lead with two outs to go in game seven of the World Series? It's only good enough for runner up. And those are just the make-you-wanna-puke instances. There are still the classic bone-head trades and mishandling of players. As enjoyable as the late '90's Indians were, it's sad to know that the most successful run in the redskin Chief Wahoo era ('51 to present) never ended with a World Series championship banner.
2000-present.
Several losing seasons. Tied for the best record in baseball in 2007 only to blow a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Boston Red Sox, who would go on to win the World Series in a 4-0 sweep. I would harp longer on this time period, but you're all old enough to remember and it's the same typical story. At this point, the curse Wahoo holds over the Cleveland Indians resembles a generic comedic sitcom, where the main character digs his hole deeper and deeper all because of some stupid problem he caused in the first place. The redskin Wahoo is the problem and the Indians have dug deeper and deeper. The only thing missing is the 5 minute conclusion where something miraculous happens and the main character's wife/brother/mother/cousin gets him out of deep shit. Appropriate since at this point we need a miracle and I may have to go searching for a decedent of Louis Sockalexis (former player whom the Indians were named after).
Perhaps this extends to other areas of Cleveland sports and is intertwined as well. The Browns have never won a Super Bowl (1966-present) and our beloved Cavaliers have never even won an NBA Finals game (1970-present). Just in 2008, Cleveland Cavaliers fans started a "Paint Cleveland Redd" campaign in an attempt to lure Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd to the city. The Tribe responded appropriately, following up their 96-66 '07 season with an 81-81 '08.
Please refrain from using any version of the word "red" in all future Cleveland campaigns.
So what can we do? Well, there's not much. The Indians have done fairly well in their "throwback uniforms" that feature the old block lettered "C" on their caps instead of the redskinned Wahoo. They have won their last two games featuring such caps, both coming in late May (25th and 31st). Most notable was that May 25th win, as the Indians changed their Stars and Stripes cap for the first time in team history, possibly as a reaction to anger over the Wahoo logo. The only problem is that these jerseys still feature a Chief Wahoo patch on the left shoulder.
Therefore, there isn't much we can do as fans. Maybe join the Native American protesters in the parking lot next time they march against the hideous logo? All I know is that until Indians owner Larry Dolan smartens up, heeds Bill Simmons' advice, and ditches the devil-red Wahoo insignia from the Tribe's uniforms, I'll be watching all future games with the contrast turned up on my television.
*Disclaimer: Any instance in which I use the terms "redskin" or "redskinned" in the preceding article is meant to characterize the Chief Wahoo logo, not offend Native Americans. Additionally, this article was not intended to argue any racism found in the logo, but rather point out historical statistics since the creation of the logo.
Thanks for the "red-face," fellas.
If any Cleveland fans recently read the open letter to Blake Griffin by ESPN's Bill Simmons, some of it may have sounded eerily familiar. Also, if we came away with any new chuck of information, it was this--don't mess with Indians! Simmons hammered this point home while simultaneously doing his best Forrest Gump Jenny impression, screaming "run, Blake, run!"
In fact, I read the entire piece on my phone while I was weaving my way through airport security this evening on my way home from vacation. As Simmons helped me pass the time, I finally boarded the plane as I wrapped up the exciting article. I stashed my luggage, reclined in my seat, and removed my Indians baseball cap and placed it on my knee. It was then I got a little bit irked. Fresh off of my buying my friend a beer we bet when I told him my Tribe wouldn't dare lose a series to his Pirates (a bet that was looking good after the Indians took game one), Chief Wahoo was showing no mercy. He was staring deep into my soul with that menacing smile as if to say "too bad," like a friend who assured you the bar was just one block further, but it was ten in actuality. He didn't care, he just wanted to get someone to make the trip with him. That's when I realized, Chief Wahoo simply doesn't care.
Don't mess with Indians.
So, what does this have to do with our beloved Cleveland Indians, rightful holders of the second-longest MLB championship drought (61 years)? I mean, they were named the Indians way back in 1915 and won the 1920 World Series in the sixth season of that new name. They also won their last championship, the 1948 World Series, under that moniker so what's the big deal?
Well, kids, the answer lies with the aforementioned Indians logo, Chief Wahoo. There have been complaints about Wahoo ever since his creation back in 1933, arguing that his depiction is overtly racist and that it's a completely inappropriate characterization of the Native American people. However, as unflattering as the original Chief Wahoo was, the Cleveland organization decided to add fuel to the fire when they redid the logo for a second time, moving from a typical facial hue to a completely red face. For those of you who are unaware, the term redskin and depictions of Native Americans with redskin is a derogatory attack on Native Americans that can be traced back to as early as the 17th century. Needless to say, they weren't exactly flattered when they saw the beat red Wahoo make his debut in 1951.
But before we get to the present-day Chief Wahoo, we need a quick history lesson.
In their first season with the new name, the Cleveland Indians posted a hideous 57-95 record (don't mess with Indians, remember?). They would, however, go on to win the 1920 World Series before deciding that a capital block "C" wasn't offensive enough to match their team name.
Switching to a colorless portrait view of an Indian, the Tribe would follow up their impressive 1920 championship with a 94-60 record. However, with good karma already shifting away from them, it wasn't good enough to get back to the World Series and marked their best record until they won the 1948 World Series with 97 regular season wins.
Marking the debut of the red Indian, the pre-Wahoo logo guided the Indians to a 81-71 mark in its first year, which was only good enough for third place. Only lasting four seasons, this logo was a symbol of mediocrity, with the Tribe finishing in fourth place the final three seasons.
This is the logo that would eventually become Chief Wahoo. The Tribe posted an unimpressive 75-76 record in 1933, the first year of the Wahoo era.
Surprisingly, the Indians would rebound and go on to post 13 seasons with a better than .500 record out of the 18 seasons featuring a non-redskinned Wahoo (72.2% of the seasons). By contrast, since 1951, the Indians have had a season with a better than .500 winning percentage only 25 times (out of 58 seasons; 43.1% of the seasons).
So it appears that the curse is not necessarily with Chief Wahoo himself, but his redskin depiction.
This is where it all goes wrong.
Three seasons after winning the '48 World Series, the Indians decide to add some "color" to ol' Wahoo in an attempt to spice things up a bit. The Indians post a remarkable 93-61 record, but fall just five games short of the World Series. They post the same record the following year, but once again fall two games short of a championship shot. The team finally won a pennant in 1954, but the redskin Wahoo smiled over the shoulder of Willie Mays instead of Indians that year.
Mays with a little luck from the Chief.
And that's how the story goes. Mays makes "the catch," Giants win in extra innings, Indians cannot respond and get swept. Wahoo's smile was never brighter.
The Indians hovered around .500 for the rest of the decade, but showed hope in 1959 when they outfielder Rocky Colavito won the AL Home Run crown with 42 dingers.
1960-69.
Following the AL Home Run crown, Colavito was dealt to Detroit which resulted in what many coined "the curse of Rocky Colavito." While the trade did mark the end of the Indians contending for the next 35 years and inspired a book worth of events by Terry Pluto, it does not explain the timeline from the redskinned Chief Wahoo until 1960. In those nine seasons, the Indians won 88 or more games seven different years. "The catch" marked a 4-0 World Series sweep of an Indians team that was an astonishing 111-43 that season (.721). The Indians wasted several quality seasons before finally letting Wahoo wear them down to mediocrity in 1957-58 (153-153 record over those two seasons).
So, while many blame the Colavito trade for cursing the Indians, I simply point to it as one of the many unfortunate occurrences that have resulted from the redskin Wahoo. The 1960's marked nothing but an unfortunate series of trades (Agee, Grant, John) and subpar seasons (only two seasons above .500) for the Cleveland Indians.
Elsewhere in the sports world, the Washington Redskins debuted a new logo, their first majority red "redskin."
In the five year span that this logo was in use, the Redskins posted a record of 16-47-5. It would take two logo changes until the Redskins won double-digit games in a single season again, which happened in 1972 after unveiling a new logo, one that featured absolutely no red on the primary logo (first of its kind). Since then, the Redskins still feature a brown-skinned Indian logo with no red included and have won three Super Bowls (dare I suggest as a result?).
1970-79.
The '70's were pretty much the same as the '60's in Cleveland, only add in the collapse of the steel industry as well. The Indians once again posted only two seasons above .500 out of the ten possible years in the 1970's. Two players suffered unfortunate career endings, with Sam McDowell suffering from alcoholism and Tony Horton developing mental illness from stress. And two pitchers retired with poor career records before they reached 31 years old (Steve Dunning and Wayne Garland) as a result of poor managerial decisions. Yep, much more of the same.
1980-89.
The 1980's saw the extremely solid precedents set by the prior two decades and they were simply too scared to break the mold. Ten seasons, two seasons above .500, pretty much following protocol at this point. There was of course the trade that netted Joe Carter, providing the Indians with an exciting 1986 season. This, however, only set the stage for national failure. Prior to the 1987 season Sports Illustrated put Indians hitters Joe Carter and Cory Snyder on the cover and predicted Cleveland to make it to the World Series that year. Unfortunately, they also squeezed big red on the cover, too, making sure the Indians would lose 101 games in an overhyped season that year.
Look at that asshole smiling in the back.
1990-99.
Things were finally looking up. Despite trading Carter, who would go on to win two championships, they got young talent out of the deal (Alomar, Baerga) that would set the plate for their 1990's dominance. After kicking off the decade with four straight sub .500 seasons, the Indians would record six straight seasons above .500 and five straight playoff appearances. But this was simply Chief Wahoo's way of reminding us how he get started in this business. The Indians won 389 games those first four seasons of his redskinned existence (1951-54), but lost a tough World Series in '54. From 1995-98, the Tribe won 374 games and made the playoffs all four years, but lost two unforgettable World Series in '95 and '97.
Apparently 100 wins in a shortened season (144 games) is good enough to be the only AL team to lose to the Atlanta Braves in 5 World Series tries. A one run lead with two outs to go in game seven of the World Series? It's only good enough for runner up. And those are just the make-you-wanna-puke instances. There are still the classic bone-head trades and mishandling of players. As enjoyable as the late '90's Indians were, it's sad to know that the most successful run in the redskin Chief Wahoo era ('51 to present) never ended with a World Series championship banner.
2000-present.
Several losing seasons. Tied for the best record in baseball in 2007 only to blow a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Boston Red Sox, who would go on to win the World Series in a 4-0 sweep. I would harp longer on this time period, but you're all old enough to remember and it's the same typical story. At this point, the curse Wahoo holds over the Cleveland Indians resembles a generic comedic sitcom, where the main character digs his hole deeper and deeper all because of some stupid problem he caused in the first place. The redskin Wahoo is the problem and the Indians have dug deeper and deeper. The only thing missing is the 5 minute conclusion where something miraculous happens and the main character's wife/brother/mother/cousin gets him out of deep shit. Appropriate since at this point we need a miracle and I may have to go searching for a decedent of Louis Sockalexis (former player whom the Indians were named after).
Perhaps this extends to other areas of Cleveland sports and is intertwined as well. The Browns have never won a Super Bowl (1966-present) and our beloved Cavaliers have never even won an NBA Finals game (1970-present). Just in 2008, Cleveland Cavaliers fans started a "Paint Cleveland Redd" campaign in an attempt to lure Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd to the city. The Tribe responded appropriately, following up their 96-66 '07 season with an 81-81 '08.
Please refrain from using any version of the word "red" in all future Cleveland campaigns.
So what can we do? Well, there's not much. The Indians have done fairly well in their "throwback uniforms" that feature the old block lettered "C" on their caps instead of the redskinned Wahoo. They have won their last two games featuring such caps, both coming in late May (25th and 31st). Most notable was that May 25th win, as the Indians changed their Stars and Stripes cap for the first time in team history, possibly as a reaction to anger over the Wahoo logo. The only problem is that these jerseys still feature a Chief Wahoo patch on the left shoulder.
Therefore, there isn't much we can do as fans. Maybe join the Native American protesters in the parking lot next time they march against the hideous logo? All I know is that until Indians owner Larry Dolan smartens up, heeds Bill Simmons' advice, and ditches the devil-red Wahoo insignia from the Tribe's uniforms, I'll be watching all future games with the contrast turned up on my television.
*Disclaimer: Any instance in which I use the terms "redskin" or "redskinned" in the preceding article is meant to characterize the Chief Wahoo logo, not offend Native Americans. Additionally, this article was not intended to argue any racism found in the logo, but rather point out historical statistics since the creation of the logo.
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