Cleveland was awarded one of the American League’s eight charter franchises in 1901 when the AL declared itself a competing major league, but the team wasn’t known as the Indians until 1915.
The franchise, known as the Cleveland Bluebirds for its first two seasons, changed its name to the Cleveland Naps in 1903 after its star second baseman and eventual player/manager team Nap Lajoie. The franchise needed a new nickname when Lajoie was traded in 1915, and the team settled on the Cleveland Indians.That moniker lasted through the 2021 season, when the team became known as the Cleveland Guardians.
Naps and Indians pitchers threw 14 no-hitters, including three by fastball ace Bob Feller. There is also a 1901 Cleveland Bluebirds gem recently shown to be a no-hitter that’s not officially recognized by Elias but is noted on Retrosheet and Baseball Reference:
| Pete Dowling | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Bluebirds (AL) | |
| Sunday, June 30, 1901 Cleveland Bluebirds 7, Milwaukee Brewers 0 Lloyd Street Grounds (Milwaukee) (This gem is not officially recognized by MLB and Elias — hence it doesn’t get a number on this site — but it is recognized by Retrosheet and Baseball Reference. Read SABR member Gary Belleville’s Baseball Games Project story on the game, which wire accounts dubbed a one-hitter but actually was ruled a no-no by the local official scorer.) |
Here are the official Cleveland no-hitters:
| 1 | Bob “Dusty” Rhoads |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Naps (AL) | |
| Friday, September 18, 1908 Cleveland Naps 2, Boston Red Sox 1 League Park (Cleveland) |
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| 2 | Addie Joss |
| Cleveland Naps (AL) | |
 Friday, October 2, 1908Cleveland Naps 1, Chicago White Sox 0 League Park (Cleveland) (Perfect game, his first of two no-hitters) |
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| 3 | Addie Joss |
| Cleveland Naps (AL) | |
| Wednesday, April 20, 1910 Cleveland Naps 1, Chicago White Sox 0 South Side Park (Chicago) (His second of two no-hitters; first major league pitcher to no-hit the same team twice. Tim Lincecum would duplicate the feat in 2013 and 2014.) |
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| 4 | Ray Caldwell |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Wednesday, September 10, 1919 (First game of doubleheader) Cleveland Indians 3, New York Yankees 0 Polo Grounds (New York) |
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| 5 | Wes Ferrell |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Wednesday, April 29, 1931 Cleveland Indians 9, St. Louis Browns 0 League Park (Cleveland) |
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| 6 | Bob Feller |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Tuesday, April 16, 1940 Cleveland Indians 1, Chicago White Sox 0 Comiskey Park (Chicago) (His first of three no-hitters, baseball’s first and only opening-day no-no.) |
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| 7 | Bob Feller |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Tuesday, April 30, 1946 Cleveland Indians 1, New York Yankees 0 Yankee Stadium (New York) (His second of three no-hitters) |
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| 8 | Don Black |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Thursday, July 10, 1947 (First game of doubleheader) Cleveland Indians 3, Philadelphia Athletics 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) |
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| 9 | Bob Lemon |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Wednesday, June 30, 1948 Cleveland Indians 2, Detroit Tigers 0 Briggs Stadium (Detroit) |
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| 10 | Bob Feller |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Sunday, July 1, 1951 (First game of doubleheader) Cleveland Indians 2, Detroit Tigers 1 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) (His third of three no-hitters, tying Larry Corcoran and Cy Young – a record that would be broken by Sandy Koufax in 1965.) |
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| 11 | Sonny Siebert |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Friday, June 10, 1966 Cleveland Indians 2, Washington Senators 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) |
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| 12 | Dick Bosman |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Friday, July 19, 1974 Cleveland Indians 4, Oakland Athletics 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) |
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| 13 | Dennis Eckersley |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Monday, May 30, 1977 Cleveland Indians 1, California Angels 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) |
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| 14 | Len Barker |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Friday, May 15, 1981 Cleveland Indians 3, Toronto Blue Jays 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) (Perfect game) |