Starting Nine: Radio Star
The Hall of Fame's Starting Nine includes must-see artifacts from every big league team. Check out the Indians Starting Nine online.
Joe Charboneau appeared in 201 career games over three seasons for the Cleveland Indians, barely a footnote worth of production for a franchise that dates back to 1901.
But for a few months in 1980, there was no bigger star in Northeast Ohio – and few larger in baseball itself – than Super Joe.
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A virtual afterthought when he reported to the Indians Spring Training facility in Tucson, Ariz., in 1980, Charboneau was a second-round draft choice of the Phillies in 1976 who quit the game the following year when he felt he wasn’t getting enough playing time. But he returned to the Phillies in 1978, and posted batting averages of better than .349 in Class A in 1978 and Double-A in 1979 – the latter season coming with the Chattanooga Lookouts after he was traded to the Indians following the 1978 campaign.
After a knee injury put Indians designated hitter Andre Thornton out for the season late in Spring Training in 1980, Charboneau took advantage and earned the job as Cleveland’s Opening Day left fielder. By the end of April, Charboneau was batting .354 and had electrified a fan base that had endured 25 years without a pennant.
Stories of Charboneau’s off-the-field antics began to spread as well, including a tale of him opening a beer bottle with his eye socket in college and pulling his own teeth (both confirmed by Charboneau).
“People got caught up in (the stories),” Charboneau told the Associated Press. “The fans really identified with them. And they identified with me.”
Charboneau because so popular that a local group called “Section 36” put out a 45 rpm recording called Go Joe Charboneau, which climbed into the Top 5 on the Cleveland charts. A copy of that record is on display in the Hall of Fame’s Whole New Ballgame exhibit.
Charboneau was hobbled by a pelvis injury that limited him to a pinch hitting role for the final two weeks of the season, but he still hit .289 with 23 home runs and 87 RBI.
He was the landslide winner of the American League Rookie of the Year Award, totaling 62 points more than runner-up Dave Stapleton of the Red Sox.
A back injury limited him to 48 games in 1981, and in 1982 he appeared in just 22 games before being sent to the minors in early June.
He never returned to the big leagues.
But for those who remember the summer of 1980, Joe Charboneau remains part of baseball lore.
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Starting Nine
The Hall of Fame's Starting Nine is a lineup of must-see artifacts from our vast collection containing tens of thousands of pieces that preserve the magical moments and memorable stories of our National Pastime. Our curators have spent countless hours hand-picking special objects from every major league team to create a lineup of pieces you simply won’t believe we have!