Indians announce decision to change team name to Cleveland Guardians

CLEVELAND (WOIO) - They’ve been known as the Indians since 1915, but starting in 2022, Cleveland’s baseball team will be known as the Cleveland Guardians, the club announced Friday.

Owner Paul Dolan, manager Terry Francona, and others spoke on Friday afternoon about the decision to rename the team the Cleveland Guardians while showcasing the new logos associated with the identity change.

The team announced in 2020 it would look into a name change and decided it was something to move forward with.

Major League Baseball’s other team with a Native American nickname, the Atlanta Braves, have not pursued a name change.

The club will finish the 2021 season as the Cleveland Indians.

The teams formerly known as the Washington Redskins (NFL) and Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) have already moved on from their nicknames. Washington is settling on the Washington Football Team for now, and Edmonton recently became the Elks.

On their website, the team has created a page that displays the Guardians’ new logos and explains the reasons the new name was selected.

“We heard this name often from our fans as a top contender because of it’s connection to the iconic Cleveland landmark - The Hope Memorial Bridge that stands just outside of our ballpark where the Guardians of Traffic have become a symbol of the city’s resiliency,” the team wrote on their website.

The team said the name was selected after 140 hours of interviews with fans, community leaders and front office personnel, as well as surveys conducted with more than 40,000 fans.

The Guardians will have the same color scheme as the Indians. The team will continue to wear “CLEVELAND” on their road uniforms. Home uniforms will bear the Guardians script wordmark.

What does it mean from a marketing standpoint? 19 News spoke with GV Art & Design about introducing new merchandise for the Guardians.

This story will be updated throughout the day.

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