For the minor league team known as the Cleveland Spiders, see Cleveland Bearcats.
Cleveland Spiders
1892 team photo at League Park, with the original wooden stands visible in the background
Information
Affiliations
National League (1889–1899)
American Association (1887–1888)
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Ballpark
League Park (1891–1899)
National League Park (1887–1890)
Founded
1887
Folded
1899
Temple Cup championships
1 (1895)
Former name(s)
Forest Citys / Cleveland Blues (1887–1888)
Colors
Black, dark gray, white
Ownership
Frank Robison & Stanley Robison (1887–1899)
Manager
Joe Quinn (1899)
Lave Cross (1899)
Patsy Tebeau (1891–1898)
Robert Leadley (1890–1891)
Gus Schmelz (1890)
Tom Loftus (1888–1889)
Jimmy Williams (1887–1888)
The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed by eleven seasons in the National League (NL). Early names for the team included the Forest Citys and Blues. The name Spiders itself emerged early in the team's inaugural NL season of 1889, owing to new black-and-gray uniforms and the skinny, long-limbed look of many players (thereby evoking the spider arachnid). National League Park served as the team's home for its first four seasons until the opening of League Park in 1891.
Amid seven straight winning seasons under manager Patsy Tebeau, the team finished second in the National League three times – in 1892, 1895, and 1896. While the Spiders never won the National League pennant, the club did win the 1895 Temple Cup, a two-team league championship playoff predating the World Series. The Spiders beat that year's pennant winner, the Baltimore Orioles (unrelated to the modern franchise), four games to one in a best-of-seven game series. Six Spiders players were later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including left fielder Jesse Burkett and pitcher Cy Young.
In 1899, owners Frank and Stanley Robison purchased a second team – the bankrupt St. Louis NL franchise – and sent all of the Spiders' top talent to that club, including future Hall-of-Famers Young, Burkett, and Bobby Wallace. The resulting Spiders roster finished the 1899 season 20–134, a record which remains the worst for a single season in major league history. The Spiders were subsequently one of four teams contracted by the National League that year. Partly in response to the Robison brothers' actions – which effectively ended the Spiders franchise – the practice of "syndicate ownership" was later banned.
Spiders outfielder Louis Sockalexis played for the team during its final three seasons and is often credited as the first Native American to play major league baseball. The Cleveland Guardians, major league successor to the Spiders in Cleveland, have long cited Sockalexis as the inspiration for their controversial former team name – "Indians" – though that claim is disputed.[1]
^Posnanski, Joe (March 18, 2014). "The Cleveland Indians, Louis Sockalexis, and The Name". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
The ClevelandSpiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899...
to Cleveland to play road games against the Spiders. This resulted in the Spiders being forced to play most of their games on the road. The Spiders finished...
salaries. The Cleveland Blues merged with the St. Louis Maroons UA team in 1885. 1887–1899 ClevelandSpiders – nickname "Blues" Cleveland went without...
Young entered the major leagues in 1890 with the National League's ClevelandSpiders and pitched for them until 1898. He was then transferred to the St...
spending his entire career (1897–1899) as an outfielder for the ClevelandSpiders. A Penobscot, Sockalexis is often identified as the first person of...
The 1895 ClevelandSpiders finished with an 84–46 record and a second-place finish in the National League. After the season they played the first-place...
sports teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. League Park was first home to the ClevelandSpiders of the National League from...
1884 Cleveland Guardians, a Major League Baseball team established in 1901 that was known as the Blues or Bluebirds in 1901 and 1902 ClevelandSpiders, a...
wound up suing the team for lost wages. His contract was sold to the ClevelandSpiders, but Griffin never played or managed in the majors again. Renamed...
AA. The Detroit Wolverines folded. The Cleveland Blues transferred to the NL and became the ClevelandSpiders. The Columbus Solons joined the AA. The...
First-half: Boston Beaneaters Second-half: ClevelandSpiders World Series: Boston Beaneaters over ClevelandSpiders (5–0; 1 tie) The National League played...
attendance in Cleveland, they transferred many of the Spiders' better players to the St. Louis team, which they renamed the Perfectos. The Spiders would fold...
The 1896 ClevelandSpiders season was a season in American baseball. The team finished with an 80–48 record and a second-place finish in the National...
The 1892 ClevelandSpiders, led by star pitcher Cy Young, finished with a 93–56 overall record, second-best in the National League. In the first split...
The 1893 ClevelandSpiders finished with a 73–55 record and a third-place finish in the National League. Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB =...
The 1890 ClevelandSpiders finished with a 44–88 record and a seventh-place finish in the National League. Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB...
1914 season as the Cleveland Bearcats but became the ClevelandSpiders in 1915. The team moved back to Toledo in 1916. "Cleveland, Ohio Encyclopedia"...
Throughout history, spiders have been depicted in popular culture, mythology and in symbolism. From Greek mythology to African folklore, the spider has been used...
season, the Cleveland Blues switched from the American Association to the National League. They also earned a new nickname, the ClevelandSpiders, because...
pitches a 7–0 no-hitter against the New York Giants. June 2 – The ClevelandSpiders blow a 10–0 lead, eventually losing 11–10 to the Brooklyn Superbas...
The 1897 ClevelandSpiders finished with a 69–62 record and a fifth-place finish in the National League. Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB =...
fifth-place finish in the National League. The Spiders moved to a new ballpark in 1891. League Park was financed by Spiders owner Frank Robison, and it would be...
The ClevelandSpiders were a Major League Baseball team that played in Cleveland, Ohio. They played in the American Association when it was considered...
headquartered in Sydney, Australia Cleveland (county), former ceremonial county in England, Chapman code ClevelandSpiders (1887–1899), a former Major League...
Association (1871–1872) ClevelandSpiders, National League (1879–1884, 1889–1899) Cleveland Blues, American Association (1887–1888) Cleveland Infants, Players'...
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