Cleveland Indians - The Depression Era (1930-1939)  
   
 

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        Yr P W L   Yr P W L   Yr P W L               1930  
        1930 4 81 73   1933 4 75 76   1937 4 83 71               Decade  
        1931 4 78 76   1934 3 85 69   1938 3 86 66               Click  
        1932 4 87 65   1935 3 82 71   1939 3 87 67               on Logo  
                  1936 5 80 74                            
                                                       
   
  Titles:  None Top Indians Players of the Thirties  
     
  BallPark: League Park II / Municipal Stadium (starting in 1932) Pitchers:  
    Mel Harder (45.52) -   97  
  Team Name: Indians Wes Ferrell (24.21) -   55  
    Willis Hudlin (16.28) -   51  
  Owner:  Johnny Allen (17.58) -   37  
  Alva Bradley   Bob Feller (19.1) -   33  
    Oral Hildebrand (13.72) -   29  
  General Managers: Clint Brown (11.56) -   25  
  Billy Evans (1930-1935) Monte Pearson (7.4) -   21  
  C.C. Slapnicka (1936-1939) Denny Galehouse (6.39) -    8  
    Lloyd Brown (7.17) -   5  
  Managers: Thornton Lee (4.9) -    4  
  Roger Peckinpaugh (1930-1933)    
  Bibb Falk (1933) Catchers:  
  Walter Johnson (1933-1935) Frankie Pytlak (9.12) -   39  
  Steve O'Neil (1935-1937) Luke Sewell (1.25) -   15  
  Ossie Vitt (1938-1939) Billy Sullivan (2.31) -   11  
       
  No Hitters:  First Basemen:  
  Wes Ferrell (1931) Hal Trosky (23.91) -   59  
    Eddie Morgan (12.12) -  34  
  Hall of Famers:    
  Bob Feller Second Basemen:  
  Earl Averill Odell Hale (16.36) -   52  
    Roy Hughes (1.99) -   16  
  MVP:  Johnny Hodapp (5.43) -   14  
    None    
    ShortStop:  
  Notable Events: Bill Knickerbocker (4.77) -   21  
    Lynford Lary (5.36) -   21  
  1930 - The Indians enter the decade on a high. They had just gained  Bill Cissell (2.09) -   13  
   twenty games in the standings to move into third place with 82 wins in 1929. Johnny Burnett (4.57) -   12  
   And they had a number of high quaity young players on their roster:    
  □ Luke Sewell, catcher, 29  - he would be traded away in 1933 Third Base:  
  □ Ed Morgan, 1B, 26, a good stick, his fielding would eventually   Willie Kamm (8.73) -   25  
  sabotage him Ken Keltner (6.44) -   14  
  □ Earl Averill, CF, 28, Hall of Fame centerfielder    
  □ Joe Vosmik, OF, 20, rookie would become one of the better Outfield:  
   outfielders in baseball Earl Averill (43.68) -   121  
  Joe was signed out of High School the previous season, 1929  Joe Vosmik (16.6) -   57  
  □ Wes Ferrell, 22, righthander, one of the game's top pitchers Bruce Cambell (9.23) -   31  
  □ Willis Hudlin, 24, righthander, would be a mainstay in the rotation  Dick Porter (5.58) -   21  
  for the rest of the 30's Jeff Heath (6.53) -   21  
  □  Mel Harder, 20, righthander, one of the top pitchers in the game Roy Weatherly (0.45) -   14  
   for the rest of the decade Moose Solters (1.65) -   11  
       
   1930 - Odd decade in that the Indians registered between 80 and 87 Notable Events:  
   wins for eight of the ten years. It seems that Cleveland was one big player,    
   two at most, away from being a true title contender the entire decade. 1931 - Odell Hale, 22 year old second baseman is obtained from  
   Yet team president Alva Bradley never pulled the trigger on a deal.   New Orleans  
   Ownership had the money and appeared engaged enough in the     
  success of the club, yet it never happened. There was even a fire sale 1932 - The Indians unveil the Chief Wahoo logo which was created by a local  
    being conducted by Connie Mack of the A's where if one or two of  newspaper columnist  
   Connie's stars could have made their way over to Cleveland instead  
   of to Boston, Chicago or Detroit, things may have been very different  1933 - Slugging first baseman Hal Trosky, 20, is obtained from Toledo.  
   for the Indians  He's one of the premier talents in the game  
       
  1932 - Municipal Stadium opens. It has a capacity almost four times  1936 - Hall of Famer righthander Bob Feller, 17, debuts  
   that of League Park which had been the home of the Indians since 1891.    
   . The new park was built in Cleveland's failed hope to host the 1932 Olympics.  1937 - Ken Keltner, twenty year old third baseman, is obtained from Milwaukee  
  The Indians kept using the less costly to maintain League Park (which    
   never got lights installed) for the next fifteen years thru 1947. 1937 - Twenty Two year old outfielder Jeff Heath is obtained from Milwaukee  
   It made a lot of sense. Low attended weekday and Saturday day games    
    would  be played in the smaller venue while the more highly attended night  1938 - Lou Boudreau, twenty year old shortstop and future Hall of Famer,  
   and Sunday games are played in the big park. For the night games, it was  is brought up by the Indians from Buffalo  
     a no brainer as they would have been playing in the dark at League Park.  
    1939 - One that got away. Twenty two year old righty Joe Dobson is brought  
     up from Troy. He would be dealt to Boston two years later. Altho' never  
     a premier pitcher, he would win 137 games lifetime.