Bob Knight’s Indiana basketball program was on a good roll coming in the early 1980s. They had won Big Ten titles in 1980 and 1981, the latter being punctuated with a dominating run to the national championship. Even a step-back in 1982 was modest, as the Hoosiers still tied for second in their league and […]
The city of Pittsburgh owned the National League East in the early 1970s. They won five division titles between 1970-75, including a 1971 World Series title. But in the latter part of the decade, things changed. The Pirates continued to play good baseball, winning 90-plus games, even as they changed managers from Danny Murtaugh to […]
USC was in their third year under the coaching stewardship of John Robinson. In his rookie year of 1976, Robinson beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and finished #2 in the nation. Even though the Trojans slipped in 1977, expectations were still high. The 1978 USC football team was ranked ninth in the preseason polls. […]
The 1978 Alabama football team felt like they had something to prove. They finished #2 in the polls in 1977 and felt like they were robbed of the top spot. They had gone undefeated in 1966 and been overlooked. While Bear Bryant’s program had consistently dominated the SEC over the past several years, they were […]
Barry Switzer led the Oklahoma Sooners to national championships in 1974 and 1975 and nearly won another in 1977 before a stunning Orange Bowl defeat cost them the final #1 ranking. Expectations in Norman were that the beat would go on, and 1978 Oklahoma football was #4 in the preseason polls. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart […]
Penn State produced unbeaten but uncrowned teams in 1968, 1969 and 1973. Much to the chagrin of the Nittany Lions, their rival Pitt was honored with a national title after a perfect season in 1976. After two years out of the major bowl picture, Joe Paterno’s 1978 Penn State football team was ready to return […]
Nebraska last won it all when they went back-to-back in 1970-71 with Bob Devaney as the head coach. Since Tom Osborne, Devaney’s offensive coordinator, had taken over, the Cornhuskers kept winning, but had a monkey on their backs out of Oklahoma. As if to affirm that Osborne had a black cloud following him around, the […]
The 1978 college football season is remembered for a controversial split national championship, the continued frustration of one great coach and the sad ending for another. But above all, 1978 was about four games–one in the regular season and three in the bowls–that were defined by drama on the goal line. In this article we’ll […]
October is my favorite month. The weather is crisp and the scenery is beautiful. And the sports…well, the sports are never better than in October. The college football and NFL seasons have a good head of steam going, and baseball is hitting its dramatic climax. The baseball playoffs of 1986 were among the most legendary […]
For over twenty years of existence, the Los Angeles Kings had been a non-factor. After their founding in 1968, they had never made it past the second of the playoffs. In 1989, the franchise made a splash for the ages when they acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers. But even after four years with […]
The 1993 Phoenix Suns were a team looking to take the proverbial next step and were willing to make big changes to get what they wanted. Over the previous four years, under the coaching direction of Cotton Fitzsimmons, the Suns had been good. From 1989-92, they won 50-plus games and got into the conference finals […]
The 1993 Boston Celtics represented the start of a new era in franchise history, that of post-Larry Bird. The Legend had retired following the 1992 season. There was a good core of young talent that comprised a solid playoff team for the Celtics in ‘93 and there was reason for hope in Boston. But by […]