Cleveland Indians hats and glove on the dugout rail against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Indians officially change name to Cleveland Guardians

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 7/23/21

The Cleveland Indians are no more, as the franchise has officially changed its nickname. They are now the Cleveland Guardians.

Cleveland’s MLB franchise released a video on Friday introducing their new nickname, the Guardians. The video, which you can see below, was narrated by Tom Hanks.

Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021

Here are some of the new logos the team will use with its rebranding:

The Cleveland Indians announce they are changing their name to the Guardians. pic.twitter.com/1xP1FyMsbh

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 23, 2021

While it was not explained in the announcement video, the name “Guardians” is not random. It probably helps that it sounds a lot like “Indians,” but there is a historical significance in Cleveland. As many explained on Twitter, Cleveland’s Hope Memorial Bridge, which is near Progressive Field, features a pair of statues at each end. The statues are known as the “Guardians” and were shown in the team’s video.

Cleveland revealed last year that it would be changing its name in light of protests from Native American groups. We saw the same happen with the Washington Redskins becoming the Washington Football Team, though that name is not expected to be permanent.

Cleveland started phasing out some symbols of its Indians nickname many years ago, and changing the nickname to Guardians is the final step in the process.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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