Forty Champions of the Tribe Native Clevelander Russ Schneider has reveled in the successes and lamented the failures of the Cleveland Indians from his earliest childhood. After graduating from high school in 1946 and serving two tours of duty with the U.S. Marines, Schneider acquired a degree in English from Baldwin Wallace University. Following a brief (but uneventful) season as a minor league player, Schneider became a sportswriter and columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He covered the Indians daily from 1964 through 1977 and became nationally known as the chronicler of the Indians' fortunes and history. That experience provided Schneider with the opportunity to meet and befriend the icons of the Tribe--among them, Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and others. This beautiful coffee-table book features forty twentieth-century Indians legends, beginning with the era when they were the Cleveland Blues. Schneider has divided the Indians' history into quartercentury periods, selecting ten players from each as stars of this historic franchise. Illustrator Tom Denny, known for his dynamic and creative images in oil, watercolor, and mixed media, has created portraits and action scenes for each of the forty iconic players. Napoleon Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Jim Bagby Sr. from 1901-1925; Mel Harder, Bob Feller, and Lou Boudreau from 1926-1950; Larry Doby, Rocky Colavito, and Bob Lemon from 1951-1975; and Omar Vizquel, Jim Thome, and Kenny Lofton from 1976-2000 are some of the forty outstanding players selected. Also included are highlights of each player's career, biographical information, and career statistics. Sure to be treasured by sports enthusiasts and baseball lovers everywhere--especially Indians fans--Cleveland Indians Legends is a handsome and informative addition to the history of baseball.

Legends of the Tribe relives the exciting Jacobs Field era of the 1990s along with the complete 100-year legacy of this storied franchise. This book revives the memorable moments of Indians history and includes a stunning collection of more than 200 vintage photos of the great games, players, and events.

Inside MLB profiles each of the 30 franchises in Major League Baseball. Cleveland Indians is a beginner's history of the Indians, covering the beginnings of the franchise, the greatest and lowest moments of the team, and the best players and managers. Fun facts, anecdotes, and sidebars round out the story of each club, allowing your readers to get Inside MLB! Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

The 1954 Cleveland Indians were one of the most remarkable baseball teams of all time. Their record for most wins (111) fell only when the baseball schedule expanded, and their winning percentage, an astounding .721, is still unsurpassed in the American League. Though the season ended with a heartbreaking loss to the New York Giants in the World Series, the 1954 team remains a favorite among Cleveland fans and beyond. Pitching to the Pennant commemorates the ’54 Indians with a biographical sketch of the entire team, from the “Big Three” pitching staff (Mike Garcia and future Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Early Wynn), through notable players such as Bobby Avila, Bob Feller, Larry Doby, and Al Rosen, to manager Al Lopez, his coaches, and the Indians’ broadcast team. There are also stories about Cleveland Stadium and the 1954 All-Star Game (which the team hosted), as well as a season timeline and a firsthand account of Game One of the World Series at the Polo Grounds. Pitching to the Pennant features the superb writing and research of members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), making this book a must for all Indians fans and baseball aficionados.

Cleveland ranks right up there with the Chicago Cubs and the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox when it comes to breaking hearts—its fans have suffered much, wandering in the proverbial desert since tasting postseason success for the second time in team history in 1948—but the Indians have never disappointed when it comes to producing great players and unforgettable moments … and they’re all in this book. Are you an expert on Cleveland Indians history and trivia? Think you know it all? It’s time to find out. Test your skills. Wrack your brain. It’s your Cleveland Indians IQ, the Ultimate Test of True Fandom.

The riveting story of four men—Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige—whose improbable union on the Cleveland Indians in the late 1940s would shape the immediate postwar era of Major League Baseball and beyond. In July 1947, not even three months after Jackie Robinson debuted on the Brooklyn Dodgers, snapping the color line that had segregated Major League Baseball, Larry Doby would follow in his footsteps on the Cleveland Indians. Though Doby, as the second Black player in the majors, would struggle during his first summer in Cleveland, his subsequent turnaround in 1948 from benchwarmer to superstar sparked one of the wildest and most meaningful seasons in baseball history. In intimate, absorbing detail, Luke Epplin's Our Team traces the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, an eccentric and visionary owner adept at exploding fireworks on and off the field; Larry Doby, a soft-spoken, hard-hitting pioneer whose major-league breakthrough shattered stereotypes that so much of white America held about Black ballplayers; Bob Feller, a pitching prodigy from the Iowa cornfields who set the template for the athlete as businessman; and Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues whose belated entry into the majors whipped baseball fans across the country into a frenzy. Together, as the backbone of a team that epitomized the postwar American spirit in all its hopes and contradictions, these four men would captivate the nation by storming to the World Series--all the while rewriting the rules of what was possible in sports.

As the Great Depression brought America to the brink of disaster, a devoted single mother in Cleveland, Ohio, wrestled triumph out of adversity by creating a community activity that would inspire the nation. Josephine Morhard never waited for something to happen. At twelve years old, fiercely independent Josephine left her family’s Pennsylvania farm to start a new life. Coming of age during one of the most devastating times in America, and weathering two bad marriages, Josephine put her personal problems aside to insure a productive future for her daughter and son. But Junior was a volatile boy of eight—until his mother came upon a novel sports idea to encourage discipline, guidance, and self-worth in her son. Out of a dream, an empty lot, and the enthusiasm of other neighborhood kids, Josephine established the first boys’ baseball league in America. Her city—and the country—was watching. Beyond all expectations, the Cleveland Indians rallied behind her project. Indians legends Bob Feller, Jeff Heath, and Roy Weatherly helped hone the boys’ skills; renowned sports reporter Hal Lebovitz became an umpire; and they were given permission to play in historic League Park. All the while, as Josephine’s Little Indians graduated into the Junior American and Junior National Leagues, and finally a Little World Series, she instilled in her boys strong values, good sportsmanship, and an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. Some of them, like Ray Lindquist and Jack Heinen, would become Minor League players. Not one of Mrs. Morhard’s boys would ever forget her. In this stirring biography of an unsung American heroine, Josephine Morhard’s daughter-in-law recounts the extraordinary life and accomplishments of a resilient, selfless, and determined woman. Her inspiring true story—a long time coming—is something to cheer for.

Most baseball fans know Tom Candiotti as a knuckleballer but he began his career as a conventional pitcher in 1983--after becoming just the second player to appear in the major leagues following Tommy John surgery, at a time when only Tommy John himself had ever come back from the operation. Candiotti, whose arm recovered, threw fastballs and curveballs in his first two years in the majors before switching over to the knuckleball for the 1986 season. He would then go on to use primarily the knuckleball for the rest of his career, though he threw a good enough curveball to get hitters out. This biography is based on the recollections of Candiotti himself, his former teammates and managers, newspaper and periodical accounts, and archival resources.