It felt like the good times were back in Cleveland. After inheriting a 3-13 team in 1991, a young head coach named Bill Belichick had overseen steady improvement. In 1994, that led to a playoff appearance and advancement. The franchise’s most recent era of success—the Dawg Pound Days led by Bernie Kosar and Marty Schottenheimer […]
Dennis Green came to Minnesota in 1992 and reached the playoffs each of his first three years, including division titles in ’92 and 1994. The 1995 Minnesota Vikings were a respectable team that stayed in contention for the entire year. But in the end, this was the year Green’s playoff streak came to an end. […]
The city of Atlanta had seen playoff football only four times in their NFL history, and the most recent was 1991. June Jones, the architect of a spread-the-field passing game that is commonplace today, but was innovative back then, was hired as head coach in 1994. One year later, the 1995 Atlanta Falcons made the […]
The city of St. Louis had been without professional football since the Cardinals left for Arizona in 1988. In 1995, the Rams filled the void and began a 31-season journey as a Midwest franchise. The first edition of the St. Louis Rams started strong and gave the fan base hope. But a hard fall foreshadowed […]
The four years since Buddy Ryan’s dismissal following the 1990 season had been frustrating ones in Philadelphia. The Eagles played competitive football, going 36-28 in that span, but they had missed the playoffs three of the four years. Ray Rhodes was hired as the new head coach and the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles returned the postseason, […]
To the victors go the spoils. That adage always rings true in the Most Valuable Player voting, and it certainly did so in the final tally for the 1976 NL MVP. The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies were the National League’s best two teams, and they filled out the top five of the results. Here’s […]
The New York Yankees returned to prominence in 1976, capturing their first AL East title of the divisional play era that began in 1969. That success was reflected in the 1976 AL MVP ballot. Thurman Munson, catcher and team captain, won the award in a decisive vote. Here’s a look at the top 5 finishers, […]
The Cincinnati Reds had a dominating 108-win season in 1975, one that set the table for a breakthrough World Series championship in the postseason. Their regular season excellence was reflected in the 1975 NL MVP voting, and second baseman Joe Morgan was a landslide winner of the award. Here’s a look at the top 5 […]
The 1995 San Francisco 49ers were coming off a breakthrough Super Bowl championship for quarterback Steve Young. Big personnel losses and an injury to Young represented some significant adversity, but the 49ers reached the season’s stretch drive in prime position to repeat. But disappointing losses ended those hopes and ushered in an era where the […]
The 1975 AL MVP vote was historic—the award went to Boston Red Sox centerfielder Fred Lynn in a landslide, but that wasn’t the historic part. Lynn also became the first rookie in either league to win the MVP. And, nearly a half-century later at this writing, he remains the last. Here’s a look at the […]
A trip to the conference finals in 2002 started a run of four straight playoff years for the Celtics during an otherwise dry period of professional basketball in Boston. But the Celts had been progressively moving backward—a second-round loss in 2003, and then first-round exits in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 Boston Celtics continued the […]
The 2006 NBA MVP award went to Steve Nash. It marked the second consecutive year the dynamic point guard from the Phoenix Suns brought home the honor. Who were the other contenders? Did the voters get it right? Here’s a look at the seasons produced by Nash, the rest of the top 5, and some […]
