Category: Sports

The CLEVELAND CHARGE are a professional basketball team in the NBA G League and an affiliate of the CLEVELAND CAVALIERS.

The CLEVELAND COMPETITORS (JAYBIRDS), 1977-1980, was Cleveland's first and only pro softball team. Organized by Don Rardin and Jay Friedman in 1977, the Cleveland Jaybirds joined the new 10-member American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL). Attendance was poor the first 2 years of operation, and the owners sold out to Ted Stepien.

The CLEVELAND CRUNCH soccer team officially replaced the CLEVELAND FORCE in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) 22 Feb. 1989, after Akron stockbroker George Hoffman failed to reach an agreement with Bart and Scott Wolstein to buy the Force.

The CLEVELAND CRUSADERS represented Cleveland in the short-lived World Hockey Assn. between 1972-76. For 4 years the Crusaders brought major-league hockey to the Cleveland area. After purchasing the CLEVELAND BARONS of the American Hockey League in 1968, Nick Mileti attempted to buy a franchise in the National Hockey League.

The CLEVELAND CUBS were a Negro League baseball team in Cleveland in 1931 and 1932. Even though they were hampered by disarray in the Negro Leagues and the crumbling economy, the Cubs managed the best record for a pre-World War II Cleveland Negro League team at 29 wins and 24 losses in 1931. The team played a great deal of its games at Kinsman Hardware Field, a small venue that only held a few thousand fans.

The CLEVELAND ELITES were the city's representative in baseball's Negro National League for the 1926 season. Owned by Sam Shepard and managed by "Candy" Jim Taylor and Frank Duncan, the team folded by the end of the year with an abysmal 6-38 record. The Elites played their home games at Hooper Field.

The CLEVELAND FORCE SOCCER TEAM, a successful franchise from 1978-88, responded to increased interest in the sport by joining the newly formed Major Indoor Soccer League, which played a modified version of the outdoor game.

The CLEVELAND GIANTS were a Negro League baseball team in 1933, members of the Negro National League. The team joined the league mid-season and struggled with a 2 and 14 record.

The CLEVELAND GLADIATORS, a member of the Arena Football League, is the city's representative in the Mitsubishi Eastern Division in the National Conference. The team moved to Cleveland for the beginning of the 2008 season going 9-7 during the regular season and 2-1 in the playoffs, losing the AFL title game to the Philadelphia Soul.

The CLEVELAND HIKING CLUB was organized on 20 April 1919 to promote and encourage hiking for the purposes of health, pleasure, and recreation. The idea for the club originated in March 1919 when Ethel Hampton McCarty persuaded columnist Edna K. Wooley to generate interest in a walking club through Wooley's column in the CLEVELAND NEWS.

The CLEVELAND HORNETS were the city's representative in the Negro National League during the 1927 season, with offices located at 2286 E. 55th Street. Originally called the Cleveland Buckeyes, the team changed its name to Hornets by mid-season. Cuyahoga Amusement Co., a group comprised of Cleveland businessmen, purchased the Indianapolis ABC franchise at the end of 1926 and moved it to Cleveland for the 1927 season.

The CLEVELAND INDIANS see: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS.


The CLEVELAND LUMBERJACKS of the Intl. Hockey League returned professional hockey to the city after a hiatus of 14 years when Larry D. Gordon moved his Muskegon Michigan Lumberjacks to Cleveland in 1992.

The CLEVELAND MONSTERS, formerly known as the Lake Erie Monsters, are a member of the American Hockey League and the top affiliate of the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets. They played the 2007-08 season, their first in Cleveland, at the QUICKEN LOANS ARENA.

CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM, constructed on reclaimed land on the city's lakefront, was completed in 1931; at that time it boasted the largest individual seating capacity (78,189) of any outdoor arena in the world. A municipal stadium was first discussed in the early 1900s as a site for high school athletic contests. City Manager WILLIAM R.

The CLEVELAND NETS was organized in 1974 when Clevelander Joe Zingale paid $50,000 for a tennis franchise from the World Team Tennis League. The league, founded by tennis star Billie Jean King, her husband, Larry, and sports entrepreneur Dennis Murphy fielded 16 teams to play a schedule of 44 contests each, but teams had to offer large salaries to obtain top tournament players.

The CLEVELAND PANTHERS were a semiprofessional football team in the 1920s, and was also the name of the Cleveland team in the short-lived 1926 American Football League; it was also the original name selected for the organization that eventually became the CLEVELAND BROWNS.

The CLEVELAND PIPERS were acquired by George Steinbrenner in 1961 to enter the newly formed professional American Basketball League organized by Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters. Before joining the ABL, the Pipers were an Industrial Basketball League team in 1959-60 and 1960-61, winning the league championship and the national Amateur Athletic Union crown in 1960-61.

The CLEVELAND RAMS were the first prolonged and well-financed attempt to establish a professional football team in Cleveland. Damon "Buzz" Wetzel, star fullback at Ohio State Univ., organized the Rams in 1936 as part of the new 6-team American Football League. Financed by a group of local businessmen headed by attorney Homer H.

The CLEVELAND REBELS basketball team, organized in 1946 by AL SUTPHIN, owner of the CLEVELAND ARENA, played in the newly organized Basketball Assn. of America, whose aim was to bring professional basketball to the major cities of the country. Cleveland was in the Western Division, which also had teams from St.

The CLEVELAND RED SOX were a Negro League baseball team in the Negro National League in 1934. Owned by Prentice Byrd and Dr. E.L. Langrum, the Red Sox were managed by Bobby Williams, while Lem Williams ran the business operations.

The CLEVELAND ROCKERS were Cleveland's first professional women's basketball franchise. On October 31, 1996, the Women's National Basketball Association announced that Cleveland and seven other cities would be awarded franchises to open the inaugural 28-game summer season in 1997. The Cleveland Cavaliers organization was designated to run Cleveland's new Eastern Conference WNBA team.

The CLEVELAND SPIDERS were a professional baseball team in the American Assn. in 1887-88 before moving to the National League for the 1889 season. Streetcar tycoon FRANK DEHAAS ROBISON received a Cleveland franchise to play in the AA in 1887 and built a ballpark on his streetcar line at Payne Ave. and E. 39th St.