Back in January, MLB and the Indians announced there would be no more Chief Wahoo worn on the field. It was an important first step to getting rid of him completely, and now the National Baseball Hall of Fame is following the league’s lead when it comes to dismissing the racist logo.
Cooperstown follows MLB’s lead in regards to the Chief Wahoo logo
Moving forward, there will be no new plaques with the racist logo.
Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images
Cleveland legend Jim Thome will enter the hall this year, and an announcement was made on Wednesday he would not have Chief Wahoo on his plaque but instead the block “C” logo the Indians also use (but which Thome only wore briefly in his career). Thome didn’t make that decision himself, as the hall will also no longer have hats with Wahoo on them going forward.
In their statement, the hall indicated they “concur with the commissioner’s sentiment and acknowledges the shifting societal view of Native American logos in baseball.” It’s a shame the hall of fame is following in the league’s footsteps and not driving this conversation themselves. But even after they took over hat-choosing duties in 2002, it’s probably a bridge too far to hope they would then bait controversy by unilaterally making the Wahoo choice.
So Thome will go in with the “C” on his cap, and any future Indians inductees will know ahead of time what the hall will choose for them when that time comes. The hall notes they will still display Wahoo as part of exhibits which is correct. Future visitors should know why no Cleveland players are wearing the logo after a certain period. It’s important to the history of the sport, but not to its future.
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