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CLEVELAND, Ohio – How did the Cleveland Indians become the Cleveland Guardians?
In this story, there are quotes from the team’s Friday press conference with tribal owner Paul Dolan and company president Brian Barren. But most of the information in this story comes from MLB sources that I contacted later.
THE END OF THE CHEF
In retrospect, the team probably should have dropped the name when they dumped Chief Wahoo on January 29, 2018.
The teams have what Barren calls “a three legged stool.”
1. A letter mark: For the Tribe, it’s Block-C.
2. A word mark: The nickname, Indians.
3. The Logo: When Chef Wahoo was put on the bench, they had nothing to replace him. Block-C did not work. Neither did the logo of the “I” script that they rolled out several years ago. A good logo is worth millions for a franchise, which boosts merchandising sales.
Think of the NY logo for the Yankees. The Blue Jay for Toronto or a monk swinging a baseball bat for the San Diego Padres.
“With Chief Wahoo’s sunset, that three-legged stool has become two-legged and it’s hard to sit on,” Barren said.
It was more than an image problem. It was a money issue. It’s a big part of the name change story that is often overlooked. They had no idea what type of logo would work with the Indian name in the current political climate.
WHY THE EMERGENCY?
“The hardest part was the decision to change the name in December,” Dolan said. But to claim that the team weren’t working on the name change before that is incorrect.
It all started with a phone call from Dolan to Barren days after George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020 – and the civil unrest that followed. Dolan wondered if it was time to change his name. Barren said he wasn’t sure, but it was time to think about it.
The team quietly began to meet with various Native American groups nationally and locally, at least six of them. On July 2, 2020, the NFL Washington Redskins announced they were dropping their nickname, in part due to pressure from corporate sponsors.
There were members of the Tribe front office who promoted the name change on social grounds for several years. The team also didn’t want their corporate sponsors to feel pressured into giving up special interest group advertising.
In terms of major league sports, Cleveland is the smallest market with NFL, NBA, and MLB teams. Corporate sponsors can easily switch from the Tribe to the Browns or the Cavs. It was also a consideration about the name change.
Thirty hours after Washington announced it was dropping her name, the tribe followed up with a tweet saying they were investigating a name change, but no decision had been made.
Cleveland Indians president of business operations Brian Barren stressed that the team wanted to keep the same color scheme and script. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
THE BIG QUESTIONS
Dolan and the front office were faced with these three questions:
1. Should they change their name?
2. If so, change it to what?
3. Does the new name work in terms of branding, marketing, fans, etc. ?
Once the tribe tweeted on July 3 about a possible name change, it was difficult to get back to the Indians – although Dolan and Barren insist no final decision had been made. Nonetheless, the tribe had a leadership group led by Alex King, Nicole Schmidt and Jason Wiedemann who began to seriously work on what it takes to change an MLB name.
Dolan and Barren overheard friends at other businesses warning them to “slow down” as they changed a name that had been in place for 106 years.
Dropping the Indian name was painful, but it was even more difficult to find a suitable replacement. The team was tired of the culture wars. The tribe was like a second nickname, but it aligned too closely with the previous name.
One of the “Guardians of Traffic” sculptures on the Hope Memorial Bridge photographed July 23, 2021. The work was completed by sculptor Henry Hering and architect Frank Walker in 1932.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
TYPES OF NAMES
The tribe has grouped together categories of names:
1. Animals: Tigers, cardinals, blue jays, rays, etc.
2. Colors: White Sox, Reds, Red Sox, etc.
3. Characters / objects: Twins, Padres, Brewers, Angels, etc.
As they spoke to fans and civic leaders about a possible new name, they first asked what people thought when they heard the word “Cleveland.”
“We heard things like the loyalty, pride and resilience of being from Cleveland,” Barren said. “They are protecting our city. They protect the earth and everything related to it. It all became part of what the Guardians really started to evoke from an emotional standpoint.
They wrote these words: Pride. Elasticity. Loyalty. Protective.
“We asked which of these potential brands reflect these attributes of what fans (say) are important,” Barren said.
It stunned the animals and the colors. He left objects / characters.
BRAND ISSUES
There were people who lobbied for the Spiders.
“The spiders were an interesting consideration early on in the process,” Barren said. “There were pros and cons. On the downside, you’ve had teams struggling on the pitch. There were also great teams of Spiders. … But the last time we had a major league baseball team from the Spiders, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. ”
The Cleveland Spiders were 20-134 in 1899. But a key factor was that the University of Richmond got the nickname of the Spiders. This created branding issues. It could be expensive.
Guardians, Spiders, and Rockers seem to be the top three common names. The Rockers were the name of the old WNBA franchise in Cleveland. Then there are the Colorado Rockies in the National League. It was all negative.
A FRESH NAME
“We wanted to find a starting point where it’s a clean slate,” Barren said. “We have a lot of room to grow with the Guardians moving forward.”
While the Guardians statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge in downtown Cleveland were part of the inspiration for the name, the team liked the way the “Guardians” reflect what they think the Clevelanders think of. ‘themselves.
The team had to come up with something with the Marvel comics. The only major professional team called “The Guardians” is the New York Guardians of the XFL, a football league that didn’t even play last season.
“You’re not going to come up with a name that someone doesn’t use today,” Barren said. “You have to make deals with others. “
These agreements are like toll booths, and there were fewer of them on the Guardians’ Route than many other names under consideration. That’s part of the reason there wasn’t a fan vote. Names that fans would want might not work in trademark terms.
They got serious about the Guardians about eight to twelve weeks ago, and they’ve started working to make it a reality.
“Obtaining final clearance on the name (was the last piece before the announcement),” said Dolan, who wanted the name to be kept private until the team announced it and got their message out. first.
Jose Ramirez as imagined wearing a Cleveland Guardians jersey.
DO NOT CHANGE EVERYTHING!
Some fans wondered why the team came back with the same red, white and blue color scheme. Moreover, the Guardians script is very close to the Indians.
“It was important for the fans to keep the color scheme,” Barren said. “We’ve had it for over 80 years. We have had the script for over 75 years.
Indians and Guardians in the script looks very close on the front of the uniforms. They made a few small changes from Block-C to Guardian-G, but it’s barely noticeable.
It’s a billion dollar business. Changing team names is expensive, which is why they didn’t want to take any chances. As one source told me, the team “wants a name that will last 100 years.” This narrows your options. We can’t do this every five years.
Cleveland Guardians “Fastball” logo.
ABOUT THE LOGO
The tribe says it has gone through more than 100 logos. They really like the Cardinals logo, the two red birds on the bat. So they wanted the new Guardians logo to start with a ball or bat. They settled on a baseball. Then they added the Guardian wings to the bridge.
The team doesn’t say it, but the logo was rushed. These things take time. In addition, teams have more than one logo. The Cavaliers have three. The Cavaliers spent 17 months on their last logo.
So the current logo is the first, but there will likely be more.
TAKE A DECISION
The team didn’t want the name issue hanging over them in 2022. But it took them at least six months to start producing merchandise and changing signage in the park. If they waited any longer, things might not be ready for next season. Announcing it now also allowed fans to let off steam and ultimately more accepting of the name.
They knew that no matter when the name went public – or what name was chosen – many fans would be angry. They are still injured by losing the name of the team of their youth.
The team doesn’t care if fans are wearing Tribe clothing for games this year or in the future.
“I’m 63,” Dolan said. “They’ve been Indians since I’ve known them, probably 4 or 5 years old. We’re not asking anyone to give up their memories or the franchise story. They will always be there and for people my age.
RATHER RECENT TERRY COLUMNS
New Tribe Nickname: Safe, Boring
What the Cavs should do with Collin Sexton
How Olympian Butch Davis got messed up by the IAAF.
Hey Terry, what about Nick Chubb?
More bad news for Cavs / Kevin Love
The fate of Brady Quinn’s draft, then a painful NFL reality.
What about the ownership structure of the tribe? The name of the team? Wages ?
What the Indians are up to all these pitchers?
The tribe may have drafted someone special from Gavin Williams
Hey Terry: What about the Browns hype? Nick Chubb?
Learn more about the Guardians
Guardians announced as new team name in 2022
See the instant social media reaction to the new name
Guardians? The team went for safety and boredom – Pluto
Watch the announcement video narrated by Tom Hanks
Why is Hanks telling the announcement video?
How did we get here? From Indians to Guardians: a timeline
Hear our knee-jerk reaction to the new name: Podcast
When will Guardians merchandise go on sale?
Renaming Indians for Bridge Guardians resonates artistically and culturally
Dolan on switch: “We are not asking anyone to give up their memories”
Indigenous community celebrates change and hopes schools follow suit
Prominent Clevelanders, Ohioans Speak Out on New Name
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