Posted By:
Joe PelaezLet's continue to dig into the thinking of that period.
We'll start with the time frame around Chief Zimmer.
Chief Zimmer played between 1884 - 1903, and was with the Cleveland club when Chief Sockalexis joined the team in 1897.
True, Sockalexis became the darling of the fans, but it was due to the fact that the club now had two Indians on the club that they started calling them the Cleveland Indians.
There were very few Indians playing baseball, and to have two on the same team, was note worthy.
Also, we must keep in mind that when Chief Zimmer started playing ball in 1884, that was only 8 years removed from Custer's 1876 battle of the "Little Big Horn," and only 21 years removed from Chief Sockalexis start in 1897.
At my stage of the game, 1987-2007 (20 yrs) is a drop in a bucket, it's like yesterday.
During the years around our young nation's centennial, it wasn't just a question of prejudice, we were actually invading, and attacking their homes.
Needless to say, the comfort zone between the Native Americans and their former tenants, weren't very comfortable.
It was only natural for the former generous landlords to want to over achieve over their former tenants.
Chief Bender.
Chief Meyers.
Chief Zimmer.
Chief Sockalexis.
It was in their blood.
They were unable to hang the title of Chief on Jim Thorpe.
Unable because Thorpe made one hell of a statement during his 1912 Olympic competition, that plus the fact that the King of Sweden said a few nice things about Thorpe.
So they did the next best thing.
They took away all his medals.
One can easily understand why our Native Americans have the drive and determination to learn and compete in America's National Game. 