It's the end of an era, as we know it, with Cleveland Indians baseball. The team announced Friday it is changing the team name to 'Guardians' at the conclusion of the 2021 season. The 'Guardians' will be the fifth name in franchise history joining the Blue, Bronchos, Naps and Indians.
Indians C-E-O and President Paul Dolan announced in December of last year that the team would be changing its' name. The club had been pouring over a list of nearly 1,200 names before deciding on the 'Guardians.'
In a statement released by the team today, Dolan said:
“We are excited to usher in the next era of the deep history of baseball in Cleveland,” Team Owner and Chairman Paul Dolan said. “Cleveland has and always will be the most important part of our identity. Therefore, we wanted a name that strongly represents the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. ‘Guardians’ reflects those attributes that define us while drawing on the iconic Guardians of Traffic just outside the ballpark on the Hope Memorial Bridge. It brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While ‘Indians’ will always be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.”
The club has been called the 'Indians' since 1915. The organization stopped the use of the popular Chief Wahoo logo in 2018 which some folks deemed offensive.
(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
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