Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Indians Founded in 1902 Indianapolis, Indiana
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Current	Triple-A (1902–present)
Minor league affiliations
League	International League (1963, 1998–present)
Division	West Division
Previous leagues	American Association (1902–1962, 1969–1997) Pacific Coast League (1964–1968)
Major league affiliations
Current	Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–1951, 2005–present)
Previous	Milwaukee Brewers (2000–2004) Cincinnati Reds (1939–1941, 1961, 1968–1983, 1993–1999) Montreal Expos (1984–1992) Chicago White Sox (1957–1959, 1962–1967) Philadelphia Phillies (1960) Cleveland Indians (1952–1956) Boston Braves (1946–1947)
Minor league titles
Class titles (7)	2000 1989 1988 1956 1949 1928 1917
League titles (14)	2000 1994 1989 1988 1987 1986 1982 1963 1956 1949 1928 1917 1908 1902
Division titles (25)	2015* 2013 2012 2006 2000 1995 1994 1989 1988 1986 1984 1982 1978 1974 1971 1963 1962 1961 1956 1954 1948 1928 1917 1908 1902 *Co-champions
Team data
Nickname	Indianapolis Indians (1902–present)
Colors	Red, Black, Gray, White
Ballpark	Victory Field (1996–present)
Previous parks	Bush Stadium (1931–1996) Originally Perry Stadium (1931–1941) Renamed Victory Field (1942–1966) Renamed Bush Stadium (1967–1996)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Indians, Inc.
Manager	Dean Treanor
General Manager	Randy Lewandowski

The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team in Indianapolis, Indiana, which plays in the International League. The Triple-A affiliate of the Major League Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates, the Indians play at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis. The team's mascot is Rowdie the Bear.

Founded in 1902, the Indianapolis Indians are the second-oldest minor league franchise in American professional baseball.

History

Professional baseball was first played in Indianapolis in 1877. After 15 years of various franchises competing in various leagues (including four years in the National League and one year in the American Association), the current Indianapolis Indians franchise was founded as an original member of the American Association in 1902. That year's team won 95 games and the first of 21 pennants.

The ballclub played its early seasons at several ballparks, including two on Washington Street, before Norm Perry, who took ownership of the team in 1929, built a new stadium on 16th Street in 1931, the Indians playing their first game there on September 5, 1931. He named the park Perry Stadium in honor of his brother James who had been killed in a plane crash. That ballpark, which was renamed Victory Field in 1942 and Bush Stadium in 1967, remained the Tribe's home until July 1996.^[1]

Norm Perry sold the team to Frank E. McKinney and Donie Bush in December 1941. Those two men ran the club for 10 seasons.

The Cleveland Indians purchased the team in 1952, but after losing $500,000 on the operation over four seasons, looked to move the team. The Indianapolis community rallied to save the Indians. Funeral director Robert E. Kirby, Chairman of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Athletic Committee, obtained an option to purchase the franchise from Cleveland. A broad-based sale of stock in the team was organized. Stock was priced at $10 per share with a 100-share limit on individual purchases.

Kirby, William R. Kraft, David M. Lewis, Thomas A. Moynahan, and Thomas J. O'Brien got the ball rolling with investments of $200 each, and the certificate of incorporation for Indians, Inc. was received from the state of Indiana on November 9, 1955.

Media promotion of the stock sale was intense. The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News, and the Indianapolis Times ran complete lists of stock purchasers and their addresses.

So successful was the drive that the original 16,000-share purchase authorization of capital stock was increased to 25,000 shares by the Secretary of State on December 5 following stockholder approval on November 30. Eventually the new corporation stopped accepting investments in February after a total of 20,488 shares had been purchased by 6,672 investors. Former Indians player, manager, and owner Donie Bush was named the first President of Indians, Inc. He held that position until January 1969.

In 1956, the Indianapolis Indians were 92–62. On May 18, they defeated the Louisville Colonels 24–0. The Indians went on to win the 1956 Junior World Series by defeating the Rochester Red Wings. In Game 2 of the Junior World Series, Roger Maris set a record by getting seven RBIs.^[2]

Max Schumacher joined the Indians front office as ticket manager in 1957. He added the duties of publicity director in 1959, and became the club's general manager in 1961—a post he held through 1997. Max was also named the team's President in 1969 following Bush's retirement. To this day, he continues as President and Chairman of the Board of Indians, Inc. Under his direction, the corporation has turned a profit for 35 straight years.

The team captured three straight pennants from 1961–63, including the International League championship in 1963. (The Indians competed in the American Association until it briefly disbanded after 1962. The Tribe joined the IL for one season before belonging to the Pacific Coast League from 1964 through 1968. At that point the Indians rejoined the American Association.) In 1969, Vern Rapp joined as manager of the Indians for 7 years. During that time, the Indians won two American Association pennants.

The Indians had been affiliated with several Major League clubs over the years including Cincinnati (1939–41, 1961), Boston Braves (1946–47), Pittsburgh (1948–1951), Cleveland (1952–1956), Philadelphia (1960) and the Chicago White Sox (1962–67). Beginning in 1968 they had a working agreement with the Cincinnati Reds that lasted through 1983. In addition to four first-place finishes and one playoff championship in that time period, Indianapolis fans saw numerous members of "The Big Red Machine" come through town. Players like Pedro Borbón, Bernie Carbo, Dave Concepción, Dan Driessen, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Ray Knight, and Hal McRae all donned Tribe uniforms.

The most glorious run in team history came in the 1980s after the team affiliated with the Montreal Expos. In a six-year period (1984–1989), the Indians won four division titles, four straight league championships (1986–1989) and two consecutive Triple-A Classic playoffs (1988–1989) over the champions of the International League. Players such as Delino DeShields, Andrés Galarraga, Marquis Grissom, Randy Johnson, and Larry Walker wore Indianapolis uniforms during those memorable years.

The Indians affiliated again with Cincinnati from 1993–1999. That relationship led to two more pennants and a league championship (1994). In 1998, Triple-A baseball expanded to 30 teams and consolidated into two leagues, with the Indians returning to the International League. After becoming the top affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000, the Tribe won the league championship and went on to capture the Triple-A World Series in Las Vegas. But sub-.500 finishes during the next four seasons prompted the Indians to break from the Brewers and join the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system for the first time since 1951.

Perhaps the most significant change in Indians history came in 1996 when the team moved downtown to a new ballpark. Taking a name from the past, Victory Field, an $18 million project on the west side of downtown and part of White River State Park, opened on July 11, 1996 as the Tribe hosted the Oklahoma City 89ers. The open-air facility features 13,500 permanent seats and a lawn berm around the outfield that can seat up to 2,000 additional fans. The park also features 29 luxury suites. The ballpark was designed by the same architectural firm that designed Baltimore's Camden Yards and Cleveland's Jacobs Field.

The opening of Victory Field took the Indianapolis Indians to a new level. Attendance nearly doubled with more than 600,000 fans coming to the ballpark in each of the first five full seasons. In January 1999, Baseball America dubbed Victory Field "the best minor league ballpark in America." Those accolades were reinforced in 2001 by Sports Illustrated and minorleaguenews.com.^[3][4]

The national commendations and record attendance marks earned the Indians a share of the national spotlight. On July 11, 2001 representatives from all 30 Triple-A teams came to Indianapolis, and a national TV audience watched on ESPN2 as the Triple-A All-Star Game took place in front of a sellout crowd of 15,868.

Twelve Indians players and or managers have enjoyed enough success at the Major League level to warrant induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. Those players are: Samuel "Big Sam" Thompson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Luke Appling, Gabby Hartnett, Randy Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Nap Lajoie, Al López, Rube Marquard, Joe McCarthy, Bill McKechnie, and Ray Schalk. Bob Uecker was recognized as a Ford C. Frick Award-winning broadcaster.

Current roster

Indianapolis Indians roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 46 Wilfredo Boscán 25 Steven Brault -- Brandon Cumpton 26 Tyler Glasnow * 12 Trey Haley * -- Nick Kingham * 15 Guido Knudson 49 Kelvin Marte 45 Curtis Partch 44 Jorge Rondón -- Casey Sadler 37 Rob Scahill * 19 Jameson Taillon * 48 Trevor Williams -- Robert Zarate		Catchers 22 Ed Easley 23 Jacob Stallings Infielders 18 Josh Bell * -- Pedro Florimón  6 Adam Frazier 17 Dan Gamache  7 Alen Hanson *  2 Max Moroff *  5 Gift Ngoepe * 31 Jason Rogers * Outfielders 24 Willy García *  3 Danny Ortiz 13 Antoan Richardson 10 Mel Rojas, Jr.		Manager 27 Dean Treanor Coaches 41 Stan Kyles (pitching) 28 Miguel Pérez (coach) 16 Butch Wynegar (hitting) 7-day disabled list * On Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated April 13, 2016 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → Pittsburgh Pirates minor league players

Notable alumni

• Grover Cleveland Alexander+
• Felipe Alou Manager
• Moisés Alou
• Pedro Alvarez*
• Luke Appling+ Manager
• Tim Barrett
• José Bautista*
• Henry Blanco*
• Aaron Boone
• Bret Boone
• Pedro Borbón
• Mordecai Brown+
• Bernie Carbo
• Sean Casey
• Matt Capps*
• Rocky Colavito
• Dave Concepción
• Mike Coolbaugh
• Cecil Cooper Manager
• Doug Davis
• Eric Davis
• Delino DeShields
• Kerby Farrell, Manager
• Sal Fasano
• Hank Foiles
• George Foster
• Andrés Galarraga
• John Grabow
• Willie Greene
• Ken Griffey, Sr.
• Marquis Grissom
• Bill Hall*
• Carroll Hardy
• J. J. Hardy*
• Corey Hart*
• Tim Harikkala
• Gabby Hartnett+
• Wes Helms*
• Ben Hendrickson*
• José Hernández*
• Oral Hildebrand
• Randy Johnson+
• Howie Judson
• Brooks Kieschnick
• Harmon Killebrew+
• Clyde King
• Ray Knight
• Paul Konerko*
• Napoleon Lajoie+
• Jason LaRue
• Al López+ Player & Manager
• Jerry Manuel Manager
• Roger Maris
• Rube Marquard+
• Joseph McCarthy+
• Andrew McCutchen*
• Bill McKechnie+
• Hal McRae
• Jo-Jo Moore
• Nyjer Morgan*
• Ron Oester
• Ronny Paulino*
• Eduardo Pérez
• Taylor Phillips
• Vern Rapp, Manager
• Pokey Reese
• Johnny Riddle
• Pete Rose, Jr.
• Amos Ramirez
• Glendon Rusch*
• B. J. Ryan
• Reggie Sanders
• Ray Schalk+
• Herb Score
• Marco Scutaro*
• Ben Sheets*
• Razor Shines
• Matt Stairs*
• John 'Champ' Summers
• Mark Sweeney
• Brett Tomko*
• Bob Uecker^
• Frank Viola
• Larry Walker
• Ty Wigginton*
• Don Zimmer Manager

+ = Hall of Fame Inductee

^ = Ford C. Frick Award Recipient

* = Active MLB player or manager

Award Winners

International League MVP^[5]

• Roberto Petagine, 1998 (1B-OF)
• Don Buford, 1963

International League Most Valuable Pitcher^[5]

• Zach Duke, 2005 (SP)
• Ben Hendrickson, 2004 (P)
• Fred Ackley, 1963 (P)

American Association MVP^[6]

• Eric Owens 1995 (2B)
• Champ Summers 1978 (OF)
• Bernie Carbo 1969 (RF)
• Cliff Cook 1961 (3B)
• Herb Score 1954 (P)
• Nanny Fernandez 1949 (3B)
• Les Fleming 1948 (1B)

Allie Reynolds Award (award for top pitcher in the American Association, named in honor of Allie Reynolds)^[7]

• Mark Gardner 1989
• Bob Sebra 1988
• Pascual Pérez 1987
• Joe Hesketh 1984
• Milt Wilcox 1970

Pacific Coast League MVP^[8]

• Duane Josephson 1966 (C)

Titles

Triple AAA Championships The Indians have a perfect record when competing for the Triple AAA Championship; they have won 7 Championships.

• Triple-A World Series
• 2000 – Defeated the Memphis Redbirds, 3–1
• Triple-A Classic
• 1989 – Defeated the Richmond Braves, 4–0
• 1988 – Defeated the Rochester Red Wings, 4–2
• Junior World Series
• 1956 – Defeated the Rochester Red Wings, 4–0
• 1949 – Defeated the Montreal Royals, 4–2
• Little World Series
• 1928 – Defeated the Rochester Red Wings, 5–1
• 1917 – Defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4–1

International League Championships The Indians have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, 2 times, and played in the championship series 4 times.

• 2015 – Lost to the Columbus Clippers, 2–3
• 2005 – Lost to the Toledo Mud Hens, 0–3
• 2000 – Defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, 3–2
• 1963 – Defeated the Atlanta Crackers, 4–1

American Association Championships The Indians have won 8 American Association Championships, and played in the AA Championship Series 18 times.

• 1996 – Lost to the Oklahoma City 89ers, 1–3
• 1994 – Defeated the Nashville Sounds, 3–1
• 1989 – Defeated the Omaha Royals, 3–2
• 1988 – Defeated the Omaha Royals, 3–1
• 1987 – Defeated the Denver Zephyrs, 4–1
• 1986 – Defeated the Denver Zephyrs, 4–3
• 1982 – Defeated the Omaha Royals, 4–2
• 1978 – Lost to the Omaha Royals, 1–4
• 1974 – Lost to the Tulsa Oilers, 3–4
• 1971 – Lost to the Denver Bears, 3–4
• 1956 – Defeated the Denver Bears, 4–0
• 1954 – Lost to the Louisville Colonels, 1–4
• 1950 – Lost to the Columbus Red Birds, 3–4
• 1949 – Defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3
• 1946 – Lost to the Louisville Colonels, 0–4
• 1943 – Lost to the Columbus Red Birds, 0–3
• 1939 – Lost to the Louisville Colonels, 1–4
• 1936 – Lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 1–4

Broadcasting

Howard Kellman is the long-standing "Voice of the Tribe", calling play-by-play for all but two seasons (1975 and 1980) since 1974. He is currently joined by Andrew Kappes, who enters his first season in 2015. Games can be heard on WNDE.

All home games are televised on Hometown Sports & News Channel which is broadcast on digital subchannel 6.2 by WRTV in Indianapolis.^[9]

References

• Indyindians.com <http://www.indyindians.com>.

1. Elena Rippel; Abby Curtin. "Bush Stadium". Discover Indiana. The Public History Program at IUPUI. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
2. Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero, p.80, Tom Clavin and Danny Peary, Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4165-8928-0
3. "Victory Field (Indianapolis) – No. 1 of the Ten Best Baseball Parks 2001". MinorLeagueNews.com. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
4. Wertheim, L. Jon (August 27, 2001). "Sports Town". Sports Illustrated (August 27), (2001). Retrieved 2008-09-06.
5. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/International_League#League_Award_Winners
6. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/American_Association#League_Champions_and_MVPs
7. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Allie_Reynolds_Award
8. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Pacific_Coast_League#Award_Winners
9. "Tribe Home Games To Air Live On HTSN". Retrieved 2012-04-07.

External links

• Indianapolis Indians web site
• Triple-A Baseball Web site
• A Player to Be Named Later, a 2005 documentary film about the Indianapolis Indians.
• Indianapolis Indians Discussion Forum