In 1889, one of the first ball clubs in the MLB made its debut. Their name was the Cleveland Blues. After setting the record for the most losses in one season, 134, the Blues changed their name to the Spiders to start the 1900 season. In 1901 the American League was formed, and the Cleveland Spiders were transferred to the American League. Again, in 1902 the Spiders changed their name to the Broncos. In that same season, the Broncos acquired greats Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie and Bill Bernard. The Broncos had great seasons until 1910.

Nap Lajoie was so great that in 1903, after being the Broncos for only one season, they changed their name to the Cleveland Naps. However, those greats either were traded or retired and the Naps were left with nothing except for young star called "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

In 1910, they changed their name to the Indians which they would be forever. At the end of the 1911 season, they were 17 1/2 games out of 7th place. Joe Jackson's .408 batting average was well higher than the teams' winning percentage. Luckily the bad luck stopped in 1915 when great players were acquired, and Cleveland went on the rise.

In 1920, Cleveland won the World Series, and Bill Wambsganns made the first unassisted triple play. Not much happened until the 1949 season, when the squad began a nine year streak of excellence. In 1951, the Indians won their third pennant propelled by power hitters Larry Doby, Luke Easter, Al Rosen, and Vic Wertz. In the 1960s, the Indians picked up Frank Robinson but still couldn't win. The Indians have finished in the bottom half of the league until about 1995. In 1997, the Indians lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins. The Indians are now a good team, and they are definitely a future threat.