What do you think?
Rate this book
Writing Sports
The Cleveland Indians
First published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1949, Franklin “Whitey” Lewis’s The Cleveland Indians begins with the organization’s early years as the Cleveland Forest Citys, covers the 1920 World Series victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers, and concludes with the excitement of the 1948 pennant race. This early team history covers such Cleveland legends as Cy Young, from his days in Tuscarawas County and Canton and his time with the Cleveland Spiders; Bob Feller, his discovery and development; and Larry Doby, the second African American to play in the major leagues and the first to play in the American League. It also delivers such forgotten and lesser-known stories as professional baseball’s first-ever perfect game, thrown by John Lee Richmond of Worcester against the Cleveland Forest Citys on June 12, 1880; the acquisition of Napoleon Lajoie and the city’s vote to change the team’s name to the Napoleons (Naps) in his honor; and Charles W. Somers and John F. Kilfoyl and the birth of the American League.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 1, 2021
This book has been sitting on my shelf for many years. My current disgust with baseball in general and the Indians in particular fueled my desire for nostalgia so I finally decided to read this 1949 offering.
What a great history of the Tribe! Written by a longtime Cleveland sports columnist (he worked in Cleveland from 1929 until his death in 1958), it really gives a good insider's perspective on the team. His research goes back to the 1860's with a pretty much year to year jaunt through the city's baseball seasons. I was particularly fascinated by the 19th and early 20th century tales.
Undoubtedly spurred to write this due to the Tribe's World Series win of 1948, he really does a nice job of covering that season and the Series. Having been only 28 years since the last Series win for the Tribe, I can just imagine the fun anyone over 35 would have had at the time reading and remembering. And he doesn't sugar coat the problems the team had in the intervening years.
His fast-paced style and use of certain turns of phrases makes this a fun, entertaining, and interesting read. Any fan of Cleveland baseball should certainly get a hold of a copy.
What a great history of the Tribe! Written by a longtime Cleveland sports columnist (he worked in Cleveland from 1929 until his death in 1958), it really gives a good insider's perspective on the team. His research goes back to the 1860's with a pretty much year to year jaunt through the city's baseball seasons. I was particularly fascinated by the 19th and early 20th century tales.
Undoubtedly spurred to write this due to the Tribe's World Series win of 1948, he really does a nice job of covering that season and the Series. Having been only 28 years since the last Series win for the Tribe, I can just imagine the fun anyone over 35 would have had at the time reading and remembering. And he doesn't sugar coat the problems the team had in the intervening years.
His fast-paced style and use of certain turns of phrases makes this a fun, entertaining, and interesting read. Any fan of Cleveland baseball should certainly get a hold of a copy.
February 25, 2017
If you are from Cleveland and have followed the Indians over the years, you will enjoy this book that traces professional baseball in Cleveland from its origins in the 1860s to the 1948 World Series.
Franklin Lewis was a sportswriter for the Cleveland Press, and he writes in a zippy style that sometimes dips into baffling slang but can easily be figured out.
I never considered "pioneer baseball" (Lewis' phrase for the pre-Ty Cobb era) of much interest, yet Lewis kept me interested in developments there. It was nice to read about the successful years of 1920 and 1948, as well as to learn about years the Indians had close runs at the pennant and that in the Thirties they ended up in fourth place a lot. Maybe a bit too much (and yet not enough) about bad blood between Bill Veeck and Lou Boudreau in 1948, but on the whole, an enjoyable book.
Franklin Lewis was a sportswriter for the Cleveland Press, and he writes in a zippy style that sometimes dips into baffling slang but can easily be figured out.
I never considered "pioneer baseball" (Lewis' phrase for the pre-Ty Cobb era) of much interest, yet Lewis kept me interested in developments there. It was nice to read about the successful years of 1920 and 1948, as well as to learn about years the Indians had close runs at the pennant and that in the Thirties they ended up in fourth place a lot. Maybe a bit too much (and yet not enough) about bad blood between Bill Veeck and Lou Boudreau in 1948, but on the whole, an enjoyable book.
March 14, 2014
This book is very special to me because I was raised in Cleveland and used to ride my bike down to Cleveland Stadium and even League Park in the late 1940's to sit in the bleachers for 50 cents. The amazing thing about this particular copy is that I found it in a thrift store and it is a first and only edition, in mint condition, it is autographed by the author, was published in 1949 and was never read. I know that it was never read because the last dozen pages or so were never seperated and in order to finish the book I had to cut the seams. As far as the book is concerned there are few people that have a driving desire to learn about Cleveland baseball in the 1800's, but if the characters of Bob Feller, Cy Young or Tris Specker are of interest or the first black players in the American League including Larry Doby and Satchell Paige are of interest, then this book may have some appeal or provide some memories.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews