There have been many great players who have played Major League baseball over the past century and a half, but there is something special about a player who spends his entire career with a single team. Modern players like Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn are revered far beyond their personal statistics due to their loyalty to a franchise in addition to their incredible prowess on the field.
In Indians history, these players have been few with many of the All-Time greats like Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, Early Wynn and more recently Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez making considerable contributions to other teams as well. While most players who played more than a couple seasons have been around the block once or twice, the following ten players were not only great, but remained Indians from rookie year through retirement.
Before extolling the virtues of the lifers, it is important to note that there are no players from beyond the age of free agency on this list. It is not that it is impossible to stay on one team for good in today’s age, but it has not been a priority in Cleveland by either players or management. The most recent candidate was Rafael Perez, who had the incredible misfortune of not being able to find a job as a left handed match-up man after being released by the Indians after 2012. Currently in Major League Baseball, only eight players have played at least ten years and remain with their original team, the longest tenured being David Wright of the Mets at 11 years and 1,546 games.
10. Joe Birmingham 1906-1914
Blame Grady Sizemore‘s need to continue his career after injury for Birmingham making this list as prior to his return to the big leagues with Philadelphia in 2014, it looked like the Gold Glover would become the first Indian since the 1950’s to play at least eight years in Cleveland and none anywhere else. Instead, another center fielder gets the credit as Birmingham stole 108 bases, hit 27 triples and batted .253 through his nine year career. He was signed at 21 years old in 1906 and from 1907 through 1911 was the Indians starting center fielder, batting .304 with 18 doubles and 51 RBI in that final season. After this peak, Birmingham had a quick decline and although he played in the lower levels until 1920, he was never able to return to form and get back to the Majors, unlike some other center fielders who were determined to keep this list in the days before color TV.
9. Luke Easter 1949-1954
The most questionable player on this list, Easter played his entire MLB career with the Indians, but began with the near MLB quality Homestead Grays in the Negro National League and ended with 11 seasons in AAA for franchises other than Cleveland until he was 48 years old. As an Indian, Easter was a powerful first baseman, blasting 27 or more home runs for three straight seasons from 1950 through 1952 and knocking in at least 97 each year. The fact that he was already 33 when he made his MLB debut was the biggest reason his career was so short as just five years into his MLB career he was only able to play 68 games in 1953. In 1954 he played just six before being let go. Despite this short period, he still managed to hit 93 home runs and knock in 340, slugging .481 through 491 games.
8. Guy Morton 1914-1924
There were quite a few pitchers who came out of nowhere for the Indians in the mid-1910’s who qualified for this list including Fred Blanding and George Kahler, but the best of these pitchers who played their entire career with the Indians was Morton. After two years in the lower levels with Columbus and Waterbury, Morton signed with the Indians in 1914 at the age of 21. He would play 11 seasons there, adding up 98 wins, 830 strike outs and a 3.13 ERA in 1,629.2 innings. While his best seasons were his early years, from 1915 through 1919, he was a big part of the Indians 1920 championship run, starting 23 games that season. While he struggled in his later years, during his prime, he held a 2.59 ERA and struck out 471 over 912.2 innings, great numbers even for the dead-ball era as shown by his 2.7 WAR per season during that span.
7. Jack Graney 1908-1922
Graney was taken from the Wilkes-Barre Barons in 1907 in the Rule 5 Draft, then went on to play 14 seasons for the Indians from 1908 through 1922 including 62 games as a reserve outfielder for the 1920 World Champions. Before that, Graney was the Indians starting left fielder for a decade, ultimately adding up 219 doubles, 148 steals and 420 RBI in 1,402 games. After his playing career, Graney was the second regular (and first former player) ever to jump on a mic for the Tribe when he joined the radio crew in 1932. He would ultimately spend 20 years in the radio booth and one on the television broadcast in 1950, the second year that Indians games were regularly on TV.
6. Ray Chapman 1912-1920
The Indians first great short stop was a fan favorite during the late 1910’s as he was a terrific defender, annoying base runner and an impressive slap hitter. Chapman was signed by the Major League squad in 1912 after three low level seasons with Springfield, Davenport and Toledo and over the next nine seasons accrued 238 steals, 162 doubles and a .278 average. After falling just short of the pennant in 1919, the Indians were leading the way in the AL in 1920 when Chapman was struck in a head by a Carl Mays pitch and died shortly after. Compounding the tragedy was that, according to the written account, “The Pitch that Killed” Chapman was considering retiring after the 1920 season if they won the World Series. Of course, the Indians did win the World Series, but it would be without Chapman.
5. Al Rosen 1947-1956
Rosen was originally signed out of high school by the Indians in 1942 and played just one year in the minors before reporting for the military. This certainly shortened his career, but he still enjoyed a solid prime including four consecutive All-Star appearances and the last Indians MVP award. From 1950 through 1955, Rosen and Larry Doby were the most potent pair or power hitters in the AL and while Doby would go on to have a longer career, get his number retired and be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Rosen retired at the age of 32 after the 1956 season. While he had the talent to continue on, injuries and a decline in talent allowed him to leave the game early, playing his entire career in Cleveland. After working in the private sector, Rosen came back to baseball and did work in the front office for the Yankees and Giants among other teams.
4. Mel Harder 1928-1947
The longest tenured Indian by two years, Harder was one of the best pitchers in team history, although he was often pushed back in the rotation by superior arms. From 1930 through 1938 Harder threw in at least 30 games each year and overall made 29 or more starts in eight seasons. A four time All-Star, Harder is one of the top pitchers in baseball history not to be included in the Hall of Fame. Immediately after the Indians released him as a player in 1947, Harder became the team’s pitching coach and helped them to win the 1948 World Series. He stuck around for decades after including a couple short stints as the Indians manager in the 1960’s. As a player, Harder falls fourth on this list. As a human being, encompassing his entire life, he would move up to number two thanks to his incredible lifelong effort and loyalty.
3. Bob Lemon 1941-1958
The list will round out with three Hall of Fame pitchers, fitting given the Indians history in that particular part of the game. Lemon being the lesser of the three is no insult however, as he still played 15 MLB seasons, went to seven consecutive All-Star games, won the World Series in 1948 and 207 games in his career with the Tribe. Initially signed as an outfielder in 1938, Lemon spent his first five years after being signed out of high school in and out of the minors honing his swing. After returning from World War II, he transitioned to the mound and became one of the greatest Indians pitchers ever. From game one through game 615, Lemon played every single game in an Indians uniform although, unlike the next two players on the list, he did have a lengthy coaching and managerial career outside of the city of Cleveland following his playing career.
2. Addie Joss 1902-1910
Joss was the best pitcher in baseball at a time when pitchers were producing numbers that would never be seen again in baseball history. Because of this, he still holds the record for lowest career WHIP (0.968) and is second in career ERA (1.88 behind Ed Walsh) in addition to marks at eighth best in MLB history in single season ERA (1.16 in 1908) and fifth in single season WHIP (0.806 in 1908). Joss played in the minors in Toledo in 1900 and 1901 before coming to Cleveland in 1902. There he played for the Naps until his untimely death in April of 1911.
1. Bob Feller 1936-1956
Was there any question who number one was going to be? Feller was born in Iowa, but signed with the Indians and made his debut at the age of 17, never playing for a college or minor league team at any point. While he did play around with some off-season All-Star teams, Feller never played for any professional team outside of Cleveland during his 18 year career that spanned from 1936 through 1954. He missed most of four years due to his time in the Navy in the early 1940’s, but came back to win the World Series in 1948 and chisel his name on top of just about every single Indians pitching record that exists from strike outs to wins. Even after retirement, Feller was a fixture in Indians fantasy camp and elsewhere around the team until he died in the Winter of 2010. While he didn’t have the option for free agency, Feller never fought with the team, even when he was converted into more of a reliever for his final two seasons and with his extreme loyalty, it is hard to imagine him ever leaving the Indians for any reason.
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