Charles W. Somers

Biography

Charles W. Somers, born 1868, made his fortune in coal, oil, and banking before bringing professional baseball to Cleveland by founding the franchise that became the Indians and by financing the early days of the American League. He applied business discipline to sports, helping ensure that the city could claim a major-league team.

Somers also supported local charities and municipal improvements, lending his energy to civic boards that shaped Cleveland's growth in the first decades of the twentieth century. His interment at Lake View Cemetery commemorates a sports entrepreneur who understood the power of teamwork both on and off the field.