A Championship for Cleveland
Week by Week with the 1920 Indians
By Dave Scott
When Americans entered 1920, they knew their world would change. Women would be voting. Liquor was banned (these two issues were linked in more than a few ways). The world had recently suffered through World War I and a pandemic unfairly labeled the Spanish flu. Automobiles, Coca Cola, recorded jazz music and movies were the technology of the day and becoming so wildly popular there were predictions that every American family could dream of enjoying them.
There were hints that baseball would be changing, too. Fans heard nasty rumors that the World Series had been fixed and many people were inclined to believe that scandalous talk because baseball players had always been suspected of throwing games. In New York, the beer baron who owned the lowly New York Yankees hoped to compete for his first championship with a pitcher-turned-slugger acquired from the Boston Red Sox. His name was Babe Ruth and he had just swatted an astonishing 29 homers the prior season.
Things looked bright in Cleveland and many might have thought the good times would never change. David Rockefeller and Mark Hanna had forged major industries in the city, bringing wealth and consistent employment that would last for generations. The wealth was so significant, baseball fans on their way to the ballpark would often pass what was known worldwide as Millionaires Row, a stretch of Euclid Avenue on the city’s East Side. It was minutes away from League Park at the corner of Lexington and East 66th streets. Remnants of the park still stand in a stylishly restored facility that also serves as a community Park.
This blog will take that trip to the ballpark in a figurative sense to retell the story of the World Champion 1920 Indians. The format will serve as a 1920 Game of the Week, allowing us to follow the pennant race and visit the history of the city and region that is 100 years old. I start with the belief that this story cannot be well told by simply calling balls and strikes. I’ll also give the larger picture of what Northeast Ohio looked like before almost all of us were born.
After this introduction, I will start with “previews” of what was expected of the 1920 Indians and issues facing baseball entering the season. Then each week will feature a particular game that provides me a chance to write about an important feature of that season. You can bet on reading about Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and probably some other players you have never heard of and games you never even knew happened.
Look for new posts every Wednesday, starting March 25. Go here: https://medium.com/@davidascott_96906/the-spitter-starts-sliding-out-of-baseball-6837e72bd5a3?source=friends_link&sk=8188e674a925dff25ae6b5c6141ca1a6
My plans remain tentative but I have also noticed that the Akron Pros won the first title for what would become the National Football League in the fall of 1920. I’ll decide about taking on that task after learning how this project goes.
Readers may participate any way they like, including sending me notes about what they like, what they didn’t appreciate and what I might consider for future weeks. I’m at DavidAScott@gmail.com.
Play Ball!
Dave Scott was a newspaper writer and editor for 40 years. He is a lifelong baseball fan and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research for decades, although SABR records might indicate I skipped my dues on occasion!
