After being called the Naps since 1903, Cleveland’s American League ballclub, plays its first game known as the Indians, a moniker selected from a contest to re-name the team run by a local newspaper. The franchise’s former name, which honored their once-popular player-manager Nap Lajoie, needed to be changed when the 40 year-old second baseman is sold back to A’s, after feuding the team’s current skipper, Joe Birmingham.
On April 15, 1915 — After being called the Naps since 1903, Cleveland’s American League ballclub, plays its first game known as the Indians, a moniker selected from a contest to re-name the team run by a local newspaper. The franchise’s former name, which honored their once-popular player-manager Nap Lajoie, needed to be changed when the 40 year-old second baseman is sold back to A’s, after feuding the team’s current skipper, Joe Birmingham.
Source:
National Pastime