Earlier today, I just happened to see an episode of ESPN's 30 for 30, although this one was one of those short films.
This particular episode was called “Deerfoot of the Diamond,” and told the story of Louis Sockalexis, the first ever Native American to play professional baseball. Sockalexis was a Penobscot from rural Maine, who grew up learning to play baseball, and eventually he developed into an incredibly talented athlete. He played for the Cleveland Spiders, and was supposed to be one of the most gifted natural athletes in early baseball history. But the fact that he was a Native American earned him all sorts of attention, much of it unwanted. People would raise the noise and imitate some makeshift war chants, or at least what they thought passed as Native chants. One star opposing pitcher in New York's Polo Grounds guaranteed that he would strike Sockalexis out, Instead, Sockalexis hit a homerun.
The reaction to Sockalexis seemed to be a mixture of people (particularly Cleveland fans and the media) rooting for him, but often with more than a touch of condescension to it, as well as outright hostility (such as the aforementioned pitcher in New York, who's name I am forgetting. Many began unofficially called the Cleveland baseball team the "Indians," obviously in reference to the presence of Sockalexis.
His career in professional baseball only lasted a few months. He was injured, and the team's fortunes spiraled downwards after this injury. Many of the same people who had seemed to be pulling from him early on began mercilessly blaming him for the team's misfortunes. When he got in altercations in other cities, he was often arrested, and seemingly faced longer and longer sentences after each such incident. He began drinking more and more, until he developed a problem with alcoholism.
“No matter where we play, I go through the same ordeal,” Sockalexis said in an interview Edmands uses. “And at the present time, I'm so used to it that I forget to smile at my tormentors, believing it to be part of the game. Had I cared, they would have driven me out of the business long ago. I got it from the very first day I played.”
Eventually, he went back to rural Maine, once his short baseball career ended. He died young, in 1913. The Cleveland Spiders were relegated to the minor leagues after some truly terrible, even historically bad seasons. The Cleveland Blues became the major league baseball team for the city, and in 1915, two years after the death of Sockalexis, they changed their names to the Cleveland Indians. By the 1950's, the mascot would be given the name "Chief Wahoo." It is argued in the film that while many fans proclaimed that the name and logo (Chief Wahoo) for the franchise were actually meant to honor the legacy of brave Native Americans, the ridiculous nature of the caricature was anything but a compliment. Yet, the franchise would keep the name until 2018, when they finally got rid of the Indians name, and stopped using "Chief Wahoo" as their logo. They have since come to be known as the Cleveland Guardians.
This was an excellent documentary that told a story which, frankly, I was unfamiliar with. Granted, I am not a big baseball fan. Yet, this had some similarities to what happened with Jackie Robinson, although it actually happened half a century earlier. I would recommend this particular episode, or movie, to anyone. Truly fascinating and highly recommended!
Review: ESPN's '30 for 30' explores Guardians change through legacy of Louis Sockalexis by George M. Thomas of The Akron Beacon Journal, September 27, 2022:
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/2022/09/27/review-espns-30-for-30-takes-clear-eyed-look-at-cleveland-guardians-change-mlb-louis-sockalexis/69520841007/
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