The Cleveland Indians will remove the 'Chief Wahoo' logo from their uniforms starting in the 2019 season after it was deemed a racist Native American caricature.
The decision, which could increase pressure on other US sports teams to abandon similar imagery, came after a year of discussions between the Indians and Major League Baseball (MLB).
MLB had urged the team to remove Chief Wahoo - a cartoon figure with red skin, a toothy smile and a feather in his headband - even though many of its fans had wanted to keep the logo, which made its debut in 1947.
"While we recognise many of our fans have a longstanding attachment to Chief Wahoo, I'm ultimately in agreement with Commissioner [Rob] Manfred's desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019," Indians owner Paul Dolan said.
The Chief Wahoo logo was at the centre of a legal dispute in Canada when the Indians played the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 American League Championship Series.
Following an allegation that the logo was offensive to indigenous people under Canadian law, a judge ultimately allowed the team to display it while playing in Toronto.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said: "I applaud the team's decision to show the city, nation and world that Cleveland is an inclusive place that values all diversity - in this case showing greater honour to our nation's first people by retiring the Wahoo mascot from uniforms."
The Indians will still feature the logo on merchandise sold in their stores to allow the franchise to retain control of it as a trademark as well as help fans keep their "connection" with the character, the statement said.
The team may look into creating a different logo in the future, but will continue for now using a capital 'C' as its main symbol with no plans to change the team's name.
MLB's Atlanta Braves, the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Football League's Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs have faced similar criticism.
in 2014 the US Patent Office rescinded the Washington Redskins' trademark registrations after its board ruled the NFL team's nickname was "disparaging of Native Americans". Since then the Washington franchise has been under public pressure to change its name and logo.
The Indians' decision will only increase that pressure.