THE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
During their tenure in the American Association from 1902-1952, the Indianapolis Indians reserved first-place on five occasions: 1902, 1908, 1917, 1928, and 1948. Here is a summary of those seasons:
Under manager William H. Watkins, a veteran baseball man and well-known among fans of Indianapolis baseball, the Indians captured their first American Association crown during the league’s inaugural season in 1902. Capturing 96 wins against 45 losses (.681), the Tribe finished in first-place by a paltry 2 games over the Louisville Colonels.
With three outstanding pitchers in 1902, Indianapolis was able to abscond with the league championship. Win Kellum won 25 games against 10 losses (.714) while Tom Williams wracked up 24 wins against 12 losses (.667) and Jack Suthoff assembled a record of 24-13 (.649). In 514 at-bats, deaf-mute first-baseman George Kihm constructed a .296 batting average in 514 at-bats. Outfielders Art Coulter and George “Hoggy” Hogriever put together .290 averages (527 and 549 ab’s, respectively), while shortstop Pete O’Brien hit .295.
In 1908, Charlie Carr held the reigns of the Tribe, bringing his team to a 92-61 record while manning the first-base position and hitting .301 in 522 at-bats. Louisville came in at four games out.
Carr’s ace was Rube “Slivers” Marquard who led the Association in victories with 28 while absorbing 19 losses (.596) in 367 innings of work. To top it off, ol’ Slivers shaved off a few bats as well, plateauing at the 250 strikeout mark, a league high. Walter Slagle was another 20-game winner for the Hoosiers.
Jack Hayden was the league’s leading hitter with his .316 batting average while covering the outfield for Carr. His 18 triples led the league as well, and with 20 doubles to his credit, Hayden had no reason to be hidin’. A young Donie Bush was racking up the runs with a league-leading 99 tallies to his credit while filling in at shortstop.
Only nine seasons later, the Indians against raised a ruckus in the Association, under the leadership of astute baseball man, Jack Hendricks. With a record of 90-63 (.588), the Tribe renewed their league domination...but not by much. Mike Kelley’s St. Paul Saints landed a mere 2.5 games behind. With two 20-game winners, Dana Fillingim (20-9) and Jake Northrop (20-10), Hendricks could adopt a more aggressive strategy for winning. Many fans would assume that his hitters would have had the green light and be directed to go “to whackin’”. But the team wound up with a .248 team batting average that year, a last-place record they shared with last-place Toledo. Among their regulars, the team featured no .300 hitters, making this one of the most impotent teams to win first place in Association history.
1928 saw the Indians take charge under player-manager Bruno Betzel for their next capture of the crown. This time they took a different approach, as the team tied with Minneapolis with the lead in batting average with a hefty .302. Again, Mike Kelley was the man raising his cane while the engine blew by, as his Millers were edged out by a coal car.
Steve Swetonic was their only 20-game winner, but Emil Yde (say EE-dee) and Gorham Leverett both brought 19 trophies to the teepee. Fred Haney and Wid Mathews formed the dense cone of this comet. Haney spent a lot of time at third base, covering the hot-corner in 160 games while swatting a league leading 16 triples. The latter was a feat not lost upon Mathews who did the exact same thing. Haney out-doubled the outfielder, however, 38-28. In addition, Haney stole 43 bases to top the Association.
Meeting up with Rochester for the Junior World Series title, Betzel’s boys proved the superior squad of the high minors. Taking five games out of seven, including a 12-12 tie in 12 innings in game 3, the Indianapolis Indians were, in effect, the reigning masters of baseball at the minor league level, scoring 47 runs on their way down the golden path against the chief representatives of the International League.
Indianapolis fans would have to wait 20 years before their next championship team in the American Association. But it must have been worth the wait. For it was in 1948 that the Indians scaled the coveted 100-win peak. Under manager Al Lopez, the team lost only 54 games, giving them a fat and sassy winning percentage of .649.
First-sacker Les Fleming smacked a .323 average while driving in 143 runs with 28 doubles. Among their regulars, Indianapolis had five players hitting over .300. Pitcher Bob Malloy came away with the league’s leadership in wins with 21. Across 18 complete games in 242 innings (both league hi’s), Malloy struck out 105 while walking 99 and earning an ERA of 4.17 as Lopez’ strongest mound candidate. Despite their fine performance during 1948, the Tribe was unable to surpass the St. Paul Saints during the play-offs and never got to the Junior World Series.
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