Having passed two years earlier, Louis Sockalexis was referenced mostly in reference to other Indian athletes, like in this January 4, 1915 The Des Moines Register article.
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| 1915, Jan 4. The Des Moines Register |
So, again, if the name wasn't a tribute to Louis Sockalexis, then what possibly could be the reason?
For fun. For headlines. For cliches and puns.
It was all for entertainment and money.
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| 1915 January Cleveland Plain Dealer |
It says
"If the nature of the name has anything to do with pennant chances they should cop the flag - for instance, look at the Boston "Braves."
I know what so many sports fans say:
I hear this all the time. But you need to take off your nostalgic rose-colored glasses and realize that, just like today, teams were named for fun.. for imagery.. and to make money. I'll prove this time and time again because I have many (MANY) examples, but for now, here's one from 1915, in reference to the Cleveland Indians.
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| 1915, Jan 22. The T Louis Star and Times. |
.." instead of calling the Cleveland Naps the "Indians," the sport scribes nickname the team the "Chinks," because the only thing they can hit is the pipe."
Back to the mythology of the story -- the earliest article I have, so far, about the Sockalexis myth comes from 1955 (40 years later). It says that Sockalexis was so popular as a player, "the team was re-labeled the Indians."
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| 1955, May 29 The Pantagraph |
This is quite a stretch. Sockalexis played from 1897-1899 as an outfielder for the Cleveland Spiders. The team was no where in his final years, and much of what was reported about him was about his sad, sad downfall.
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| 1913, Dec 25. Pittsburgh Daily Post |
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| 1913, Dec 25 The Washington Post |
Before his death, many headlines looked like this:
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| 1912, Aug 4 Detroit Free Press |
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| 1909, Dec 26 Detroit Free Press |
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| 1907, Dec 3 The Akron Beacon Journal |
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| 1898, Feb 20 The Inter Ocean |
He was a bad Injun. --
THIS is how he was portrayed while with Cleveland.
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| 1897, Aug 1 The Philadelphia Inquirer |
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| 1897, April 28 Harrisburg Daily Independent |
"Louis Sockalexis is the name of he full-breed Indian who plays right field for the Clevelands. Though Sockalexis' parents are still living on a reservation in Maine, where he spent his childhood, one would hardly believe that Socks was the offspring of half-civilized parents." - 1897, April 28 Harrisburg Daily Independent
Next: Exploiting the memory of American Indian, Sockalexis, so they can keep exploiting American Indians.
