1989 USC Football: Larry Smith Gets Off The Rose Bowl Schneid
After two straight years of reaching Pasadena, but losing, Trojan head coach Larry Smith needed to win a Rose Bowl. Read how 1989 USC football did just that
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1994 Green Bay Packers: The Favre-Era Foundation Keeps Building
After 25 years of mostly mediocre football, the Green Bay Packers were finally on the upswing in the early 1990s. In 1992, they hired Mike Holmgren and found Brett Favre as their quarterback. A 9-7 season that just missed the playoffs followed. In 1993, the Packers added Reggie White to the defense, again went 9-7, […]
1993 Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre’s Breakthrough Playoff Trip
The 1993 Green Bay Packers were looking to end a drought. The franchise had not made the playoffs since 1982. They only gone to the postseason twice since the departure of the great Vince Lombardi following the 1967 season. Most of those seasons were simply hopeless. 1992 had seen some hope—the emergence of a young […]
1979 Philadelphia Phillies: The Ozark Era Comes To An End
The Philadelphia Phillies were established as the pre-eminent power of the NL East in the late 1970s under manager Danny Ozark. They won division titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Even though the Phils lost in the NLCS each time, they were clearly established as a part of baseball’s power elite. And they made a […]
The Temporary Collapse Of The 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers
Tommy Lasorda was 2-for-2 since taking over as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won the pennant in his rookie year of 1977, then did it again in 1978. The Dodgers had fallen short in the World Series both times, but they were rolling. Until the 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers unraveled before everyone’s eyes. […]
The Tragic Season Of The 1979 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees were riding high in the late 1970s, even amidst a circus. They won an American League pennant in 1976. In 1977, the Yanks took the next step and won it all. They went back-to-back in 1978, and did it all with flair, plenty of internal drama and two different managers, Billy […]
1989 Pittsburgh Pirates: A Detour On The Road To Success
Jim Leyland took over a Pittsburgh Pirates franchise that had collapsed in 1985 with a 57-win season. Over the next three years, Leyland led the Pirates on progressive improvement. They won 64 games in 1986. In 1987, the Buccos nearly got to .500 with 80 wins. 1988 saw Pittsburgh jump all the way to 88 […]
The Roller Coaster Ride Of The 1979 Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals came into the 1979 major league baseball season as the winners of three straight AL West titles and the losers of three straight gut-wrenching American League Championship Series battles with the New York Yankees. 1979 saw the streak finally come to an end–although not the streak KC fans were hoping for. […]
The Seasonal Narrative Of The 1978 Cincinnati Reds
The Big Red Machine was the National League’s pre-eminent team in the 1970s, including World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. In ’77, they took a step back and came up short of the postseason. The 1978 Cincinnati Reds were another good team, but when they too came up short, the organization changed course and […]
1978 Purdue Football: A Breakout For Jim Young & Mark Herrmann
Jim Young was in his second year as the Purdue head coach, taking over a program that had fallen off the radar and producing very good teams from 1966-69, including a Rose Bowl entrant in ’66. The 1978 Purdue football team would have a breakout year and start a short run of success for the […]
1978 Ohio State Football: A Tough Season & The End Of Woody Hayes
Ohio State came into the 1978 college football season hoping to arrest a modest downturn. After four straight Rose Bowl appearances earlier in the decade, the Buckeyes had lost to archrival Michigan in both 1976 and 1977. The ’77 season ended with a Sugar Bowl humiliation at the hands of Alabama and Ohio State’s final […]
The 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates Become A Contender
After two years of improvement, the 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates made a legitimate run at the postseason before falling short. Read the season-long narrative.