The Cleveland Basebelles organization was incorporated in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1965 by Jessie Semple O'Donnell. She created the non-profit organization as a booster club to promote attendance at Cleveland Indians baseball games in order to keep the franchise in Cleveland. The Cleveland Basebelles was a women's organization that grew into a fundraiser for various charities, including the Salvation Army and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and local groups such as the Mike Garcia Fund and Holy Family Home. The group continued its activities as a booster club, which often travelled with the Cleveland Indians to various cities to promote the team outside of the city, attending major league games in Detroit, Toronto, and Kansas City, among others, as well as promoting the franchise's minor league team in Buffalo, New York.
From the guide to the Cleveland Basebelles Records, 1966-1991, (Western Reserve Historical Society)
