Fans All Wanted 1 New Name For The Cleveland Indians

The “Cleveland Indians” name that lasted more than 105 years is no more. Taking a new name for the first time since 1915, the storied franchise is now “The Cleveland Guardians.”

The organization announced its new moniker on Friday morning.

The “Guardians” name was selected in reference to the “Guardians of Traffic” — the giant figures carved into the pillars on either end of the Cleveland Bridge. While this new name has a meaningful connection with the city, plenty of Cleveland fans were upset with the decision.

Before today’s announcement, one other potential name was a clear fan-favorite: “The Cleveland Spiders.”

Cleveland’s professional baseball team operated under the “Spiders” name from 1887-1899 — and many fans hoped the franchise would make a return to that retro brand.

For years, the team’s former Indians name and mascot had drawn major criticism for its offensive perpetuation of Native American stereotypes. The franchise removed its cartoon “Chief Wahoo” mascot from its uniforms in 2019 — instead defaulting to a simple block-letter C.

Here are the logos for the new Guardian name:

While the fan reaction to this new name may not be overwhelmingly positive right now, maybe “The Guardians” will grow on Cleveland with time.

But for now, we’ll mourn the loss of a potential “Spiders” return.

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