CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Baseball fans in Chicago are reacting to the announcement by the Cleveland Indians that the team will be called the Cleveland Guardians at the end of this season.
The team had been under pressure for years to change a name and logo that was considered offensive to Native Americans. The "Guardians" refer to the "Guardians of Transportation," two statues that bookend the Hope Memorial Bridge in downtown Cleveland. The statues are beloved pieces of local artwork.
The name change for Cleveland's baseball team will resonate in Chicago. Cleveland and the White Sox were charter teams in the American League. Cleveland has been a division rival of the White Sox since 1994. It is also the team that the Cubs defeated in the 2016 World Series.
Chicago historian Rich Lindberg said the name change is unprecedented in baseball. Nickname changes have been rare since the end of World War II, and the handful of teams that changed their name did so after moving from one city to another.
The Cleveland AL franchise was originally named the Bluebirds. It was renamed to Napoleons in 1903, which was eventually shortened to "Naps" after star player and manager Nap Lajoie. When Lajoie signed a contract with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1915, the Naps changed their name to the Indians. The name originally honored Louis Sockalexis, a Native American player for the defunct Cleveland Spiders.
Lindberg added that it is stunning for a team to change its name after 107 years without changing cities.
"You see it more in other sports. The New Orleans Jazz became the Utah Jazz. Baseball, more than anything, is a sport of tradition and history," Lindberg said.
He said it will take some time for fans to warm up to the new name.
"Older fans will always think of them as the Cleveland Indians. It's going to take a number of years for this Guardians nickname to be fully embraced by people," Lindberg said.
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