Adventures in History!

The 1910's saw the end of the Napoleon Lajoie era and the name change of the Cleveland MLB team from Naps to Indians. This also was the beginning of the dramatic Tris Speaker era. Speaker was player-manager and was leading the team towards glory. Shoeless Joe Jackson, Steve O'Neill and Ray Chapman were other memorable players during this time!

This episode includes the Cleveland Forest City seasons in 1869, 1871 and 1872 as well as the 1879 Cleveland Blues season. It's about 19th century baseball and the earliest years of professional baseball in Cleveland!

James Madison was the 4th US President! As a young man, Madison decided that government was important and so he dedicated himself to learning everything he could about government from history. That body of knowledge became the foundation for the US Constitution when the 13 independent countries in North America became one country, the United States of America when the US Constitution was adopted and ratified by the states in 1787. James Madison was the mover and shaker behind the Constitutional Convention when the US Constitution was created in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked tirelessly to persuade George Washington to attend the Convention because he knew Washington's presence would give the gathering credibility. James Madison was an enormous help for the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. God bless James Madison, a man who served his country well!

The 1940's was a glorious era for Cleveland baseball. The Indians won the MLB World Series in 1948 and the Buckeyes were Negro League Champions in 1945! This decade included the Bill Veeck era, the greatest Tribe owner. Star players for the Indians included Ben Chapman, Steve Gromek, Al Smith, Hank Edwards, Bob Lemon, Allie Reynolds, Jim Hegan, Pat Seerey, Gene Woodling, Don Black, Dale Mitchell, Gene Bearden, Larry Doby, Joe Gordon, Mike Garcia, Satchel Paige, Johnny Berardino, Eddie Robinson, Al Rosen, Early Wynn, Bobby Avila, Ray Boone, Luke Easter, Ken Keltner, Minnie Minoso and many more. Larry Doby was the first black player in the MLB American League with Cleveland. Integration came to MLB and this spelled doom for the Negro Leagues!

This installment pertains to a glorious era in Cleveland baseball history. The highlight is the 1895 Cleveland Spiders season in which they were MLB champions. Their ace pitcher was Cy Young for which the annual award is given to the top pitcher in each league today. The Cleveland Spiders in the 1890's were not only a powerful team, but had some very interesting personalities, including Jimmy McAleer, American Indian Louis Sockalexis, Cupid Childs, Ed McKean, Patsy Tebeau, Jesse "Crab" Burkett and many others!