There have been many memorable moments since the Indians began playing professional baseball in Indianapolis. This Day in Indianapolis Indians History reflects on 120 years of baseball in the heart of the Circle City.
1996: Tim Pugh pitched the Indians into the American Association postseason with a playoff-clinching complete game at Louisville. He allowed just two hits and two walks with five punchouts over 9.0 innings in the 3-0 victory. Tim Belk drove in two runs while both Frank Kremblas and Keith Mitchell tallied two knocks apiece.
2001: Designated hitter Micah Franklin hit for the only three-homer game to date in the Victory Field era in a 5-3 win against Toledo. It was the first three-homer performance for an Indianapolis player since Willie Greene on Aug. 22, 1995 at Omaha. Franklin converted all of his at-bats on the day into long balls and drove in four runs in the process. The home runs were his 19th, 20th and 21st of a team-leading 23 for the 2001 campaign.
1963: In a winner-take-all contest against Atlanta at old Victory Field, Fritz Ackley struck out six in a two-hit shutout to lead the Indians to a 1-0 win. The shutout gave Indy the International League South title over Atlanta, and the Indians went on to defeat Syracuse and Atlanta in the playoffs to win their first Governors' Cup.
2012: In the season finale at Louisville, the Indians won for the 15th time in their final 18 games with a 2-0 shutout in eight innings to finish with a minor-league high 89 wins. Chase d'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with one RBI and a run scored atop Indy's lineup.
2017: In its penultimate regular-season game at Toledo, eight of Indy's 10 total batters nabbed multi-hit performances in a 13-3 victory over the Mud Hens. The Indians scored six runs in the first and finished with 20 hits as a team. Anderson Feliz led the way with three hits and three RBI, Gift Ngoepe tallied three knocks and Jacob Stallings drove in three.
1993: On Razor Shines Appreciation Night at Bush Stadium, the fan favorite concluded his nine-year career with the Indians with an eighth-inning single that propelled Indianapolis to a nine-run rally and 13-4 comeback victory. Shines ended his career in Indianapolis ranked among Indians franchise leaders with 68 home runs (T-3rd), 404 RBI (4th) and 138 doubles (5th).
2005: The Indians clinched the International League Wild Card with their 78th win of the season in a 7-3, 10-inning win at Toledo. Tied 3-3 through nine, Jose Bautista doubled to score the go-ahead run and Jon Nunnally, who would later become Indy's hitting coach for the 2021 season, singled home two insurance runs.
2017: In Game 3 of the Governors' Cup Semifinals, Nick Kingham shutout Durham with 7.0 four-hit innings to clinch the only win for the Tribe in the series. A two-run double by Joey Terdoslavich was the difference in the game, and the Tribe offense tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth for the 5-0 win. It is the only playoff shutout by the Tribe pitching staff at Victory Field and the second since 1996, the first coming also in Game 3 of the 2012 Governors' Cup Semifinals.
1986: With the best-of-seven 1986 American Association Championship Series against Denver reaching Game 7, one of the most memorable moments in franchise history came to life. Trailing 4-3 with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tribe first baseman Billy Moore lined a 2-2 fastball into left field to score Tom Romano and Casey Candaele. It was the first of four straight championships for the Indians.
1954: Indians' 21-year-old southpaw Herb Score lost a 2-1 decision to St. Paul in his final appearance of the season but still finished 22-5 with 330 strikeouts in 251.0 innings. He led the American Association in wins, winning percentage (.815), ERA (2.62) and strikeouts. His 330 strikeouts shattered the previous league record of 264 strikeouts by Columbus’ Charles Berger in 1906 and was never broken as the American Association disbanded following the 1997 season.
1949: Indianapolis swept a doubleheader at old Victory Field over Toledo, 2-1 and 6-4, to finish the season on a seven-game winning streak. Nanny Fernandez, who led the Indians in hits (162), home runs (20) and RBI (114) that season, went 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the nightcap. Indy carried its strong regular-season finish into the postseason, where it defeated Minneapolis (4-3), Milwaukee (4-3) and Montreal (4-2) to win the American Association championship and Junior World Series.
1948: On the final day of the regular season, the Indians won the second game of a doubleheader for the club's 100th win of the season to finish the campaign 100-54. Culley Rikard drove in three runs in the 9-0 triumph. The Indians were led by skipper Al Lopez.
Prior to the extension of the Triple-A season through the end of September in 2021, the Indianapolis Indians regular season ended around Labor Day Weekend and the postseason began shortly after. For additional postseason notes occurring in September and beyond, please see the Postseason tab or navigate via the buttons below.
2000: With a 6-1 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the winner-take-all series finale, the Tribe were crowned Governors' Cup Champions for the first time since 1963. The league title was Indianapolis' first title of its respective league since 1994 as a Cincinnati affiliate when it defeated Louisville and Nashville to take home its final American Association title. With the win, the Tribe earned a birth to the final Triple-A World Series in history.