With the dearth of sports to report during the COVID-19 quarantine, many of my sports writing colleagues have taken to making lists of their favorite baseball, football, basketball teams or players.

Compiling these lists can be nostalgic, fun, debatable and subjective — adding to the entertainment value. My problem with most of them is that they only go back to the mid-1990s.

I get it. That’s the extent of their recollections. They could hardly speak with authority on the Kardiac Kids (a.k.a. 1980 Cleveland Browns) or the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds 1970s) anymore than I could claim the 1948 Cleveland Indians (last World Series Champions, three years before I was born) or the 1954 Indians (World Series appearance three years after I was born).

They did, however, inspire me to make my own list — my favorite Indians from the 1960s. While I was just becoming a full-fledged Tribe fan by 1960, I was collecting baseball cards and, in a few years, listening to most games on the radio with Jimmy Dudley and Bob Neal and later, Herb Score.

So, here goes, by position (top four overall at the end). If you are under 50, it’s possible you haven’t heard of most or maybe any, of the players on this list. Thank goodness for Google.

First base: Fred Whitfield. Nicknamed Wingy by his teammates for his lack of footspeed, Whitfield was a left-handed hitting power hitter. He played nine seasons in the majors, five with the Indians (’63-67) batting .257 with 93 home runs and 282 runs batted in. When I batted left-handed playing whiffle ball home run derby in Pat Nieder’s backyard, I was Fred Whitfield.

Honorable mention — Tony Horton (’67-70) .269, 68 HR, 255 RBI.

Second base: Vern Fuller. This was the toughest position by far (I realized while researching that the Indians really didn’t have a standout, or long-term second baseman in the entire decade). Fuller played all six of his seasons in the bigs (’64, ’66-70) with the Tribe. He batted .232 with just seven home runs and 32 RBIs.

Honorable mention — Jerry Kindall (’62-64) .228, 20 HR, 77 RBI.

Shortstop: Woodie Held. His 130 home runs were the most by a Tribe shortstop for over 30 years. Held played seven (’58-64) of his 14 seasons in Cleveland. He hit .249 with 401 RBIs to go with his homers. When I attended Indians’ Fantasy Camp in 2001, I met Held, who was one of the coaches, along with my honorable mention shortstop.

Honorable mention — Larry Brown (’63-71) .238, 45 HR, 231 RBIs.

Third base: Max Alvis. This was the easiest choice for me. Alvis was my boyhood hero and inspired me to want to play third base in Little League. He spent eight (’62-69) of his nine seasons in an Indians’ uniform, batting .249 with 111 HR and 373 RBIs. Alvis appeared in two All-Star games. He also was a coach at fantasy camp.

Honorable mention — Bubba Phillips (’60-62) .249, 32 HR, 159 RBIs. Phillips played third base in the first game I saw in person at Municipal Stadium in 1961.

Left field: Tito Francona. Father of current Tribe manager Terry, Tito played 15 years in the majors, six (’59-64) with the Indians. The left-handed hitter batted .284 with 85 HR and 378 RBI. Francona hit a home run late in the second game of a doubleheader on Little League Day 1963 to help send it to extra (14) innings, much to the chagrin of my father.

Honorable mention — Leon Wagner (’64-68) .265, 97 HR, 305 RBIs. Wagner hit from the left side and was nicknamed Daddy Wags.

Center field: Vic Davalillo. The diminutive Davalillo (5-feet-7, 150 pounds) played with the Tribe six (’63-68) of his 16 seasons. He batted .278 with 25 HR and 181 RBIs. Defensively, Davalillo won a Gold Glove in 1964 and made the American League All-Star team in 1965.

Honorable mention — Jimmy Piersall (’59-61) .288, 28 HR, 136 RBIs. Piersall played 17 somewhat tumultuous years in the majors and was the subject of a movie, Fear Strikes Out, based on his battle with emotional problems.

Right field: Rocky Colavito. Possessing one of the best outfield arms of his time, Colavito was a right-handed power hitter and was a fan favorite. He had two stints with the Tribe (’55-59 and ’65-67). After hitting 41 home runs in 1958 and 42 in 1959, he was inexplicably traded to Detroit in the offseason for Harvey Kuenn by general manager Frank “Trader” Lane. Many referred to the Indians’ futility for the next 30-plus years as the Curse of Colavito.

In all, Colavito batted .268 with 190 HR and 574 RBIs in Cleveland and made the 1965 and 1966 All-Star teams.

Honorable mention — Willie Kirkland (’61-63) .252, 45 HR, 214 RBIs.

Catcher: Duke Sims. This was the most crowded position besides pitcher. Sims played seven (’64-70) of his 11 seasons in Cleveland. A left-handed hitter with some power, Sims hit .236 with 76 HR and 216 RBIs while playing mostly against right-handed pitching.

Honorable mention — Joe Azcue (’63-69) .266, 45 HR, 229 RBIs. Azcue platooned with Sims against left-handed pitchers for six of his seven years in Cleveland. Others of note — John Romano (’60-64) and Ray Fosse (’67-72, ’76). Fosse was run over at home plate and injured by Pete Rose in the 1971 All-Star game.

Pitchers: Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant, Sonny Siebert, Jack Kralick. Sudden Sam McDowell was one of the hardest throwers of his era. In his 11 years with the Tribe, he went 122-109 with a 2.99 ERA. The big southpaw recorded 2159 strikeouts in an Indians’ uniform (2453 for his career). He made six all-star teams.

Tiant pitched for the Indians for six (’64-69) of his 19 seasons. His famed hesitation pitch helped him go 75-64 with a 2.84 with 1041 Ks and one all-star game in 1968 when he led the league with a 1.60 ERA. He also finished fifth in the MVP voting.

Siebert was in Cleveland for six (’64-69) of his 12 seasons. The right-hander was 61-48 with a 2.76 ERA and 786 Ks. Siebert pitched a no hitter for the Tribe in 1966 against the Washington Senators (I listened to it in front of my mom’s stereo on our living room floor while eating a bowl of dry Cap’n Crunch cereal).

Kralick was the prototypical crafty left-hander. He played for the Indians for five (’63-67) of his 10 big-league seasons. He had a 33-33 record with a 3.47 ERA and 301 strike outs. Kralick was named to the 1964 all-star team.

Honorable mention — Jim “Mudcat” Grant (’58-64) 67-63, 4.09 ERA, 707 Ks and made the 1963 all-star team. Grant was later a television broadcaster who advocated brushing hitters off the plate with “chin music.”

Gary Bell (’58-67) Bell was a right-handed workhorse who could both start and relieve. He went 96-92 in Cleveland with a 3.71 ERA and 1104 Ks. Bell was named to the all-star team in 1960 and 1966. As a side note, he was an effective and comical Kangaroo Court judge at fantasy camp.

Favorite team: 1968. The Indians finished third in a 10-team (no divisions yet) American League and was one of the few Tribe units that were in serious contention up until Labor Day. Manager Alvin Dark had a deep pitching staff of McDowell, Siebert, Tiant, Steve Hargan and Stan Williams, but the offense didn’t have quite enough fire power to overtake Detroit that year.

Favorite overall players: Max Alvis, Sam McDowell, Fred Whitfield, Rocky Colavito.

There is your history lesson (or trip down memory lane for readers of my era) for today. Any who care to discuss (or dispute) my list or omissions therefrom may feel free to contact me.

Will there be a 1970s or 1980s version? Stay tuned.