This page contains links to blog compilations that showcase past seasons in major league baseball, college football and the NFL.
TheSportsNotebook’s historical archive is filled with articles going into detail on individual teams and how their seasons looked as they unfolded. In each of these compilations, the best and most relevant teams for each season all have their individual articles tied together to form one cohesive compilation and made available for download.
Each download enables the reader to see the key players and season-defining moments for each team. They provide a great way for readers to experience these seasons of the past all over again.
MLB
The MLB blog compilations include every team that qualified for postseason play, other strong contenders and game-by-game narratives of each playoff series and the World Series itself.
1975: It was a year where mostly traditional teams won division titles and advanced to postseason play. But it was also a transitional year, in which October the A’s dynasty ended and the Big Red Machine’s run began. Download today.
1976: It was a new era for baseball—the era of free agency, which had previously appeared only in snippets, but now loomed over the entire sport. But before the new era could begin, the old order had to get a fitting conclusion as the Reds swept the Yankees in the World Series. Download today.
1977: The season saw the renewal of the Yankees-Dodgers postseason rivalry, one that went back to their shared roots in New York City, as they reached the World Series. There was frustration in cities like Kansas City, Boston and Philadelphia. Download today.
1978: Do you like reruns—another Yankees-Dodgers Series and frustration in KC, Boston and Philadelphia. This compilation contains a special bonus—a complete article on the epic one-game Yankees-Red Sox playoff game in Fenway Park. Download today.
1979: The season was marked by a return to form from teams that dominated the early part of the decade, along with one newcomer. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds returned to the postseason after brief absences and were joined by the California Angels. Two other newcomers, the Houston Astros and Montreal Expos came up just short. Download today.
1980: This year was defined by different types of excellence in each league. The National League provided drama at its finest, from the division races to the NLCS. The American League had two outstanding teams and a superlative individual performance from George Brett. Download today.
1981: A June strike wiped out more than two months. When play resumed in August, MLB got innovative to try and rejuvenate interest. They adopted a “split-season” format that doubled the size of the postseason. The novel year had a traditional ending—Dodgers-Yankees in the World Series. Download today.
1982: It was the year of great regular season finales between the Brewers-Orioles & Dodgers-Giants. It was a time to say goodbye to Earl Weaver and hello to Joe Torre. And ultimately, there was an epic ALCS battle and an exciting seven-game Suds Series, as St. Louis trumped Milwaukee to win it all. Download today.
1983: The veterans had their moment. The Baltimore Orioles overcame several years of just-missing frustration. The Philadelphia Phillies reunited key pieces of the Big Red Machine. Both teams made the World Series and the Orioles won it, with a big contribution from a kid–one by the name of Cal Ripken Jr. Download today.
1984: There was Tiger excellence and Cubbie heartbreak. Detroit produced one of the great teams of the modern era. Chicago got to the brink of the National League pennant before kicking it away on an unforgettable weekend in San Diego. And in spite of the AL West’s mediocrity, the division produced the most exciting race of all. Download today.
1985: It was one of the truly great baseball seasons of all-time. Three of the four division races came to the final weekend with teams playing head-to-head. Both LCS battles saw teams rally from 0-2 deficits to win pennants. The same happened in the World Series. The Royals won their first championship. Download today.
1986: One of the epic postseasons in MLB history is remembered most for Bill Buckner’s World Series error. But an October that showcased four outstanding teams in the Mets, Red Sox, Angels and Astros was chock full of outstanding moments. They’re all here, along with each team’s path through the season. Download today.
1987: An upstart champion, a dramatic pennant race and the derailment of a potential dynasty were all a part of an exciting 1987 baseball season. The Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays staged a magnificent battle for the AL East title. The New York Mets were taken off course. And in the end, the Minnesota Twins surprised everyone when they jumped up to win it all. Download today.
1988: This season is remembered for an incredible home run in the first game of the World Series, one that capped a season-long run that seemed straight off the Hollywood set. Read about how the Los Angeles Dodgers won a surprising NL West title. Read how they won an NLCS no less surprising and with a dramatic home run of its own. And finally how they upset the powerful Bash Brothers and the Oakland A’s. Download today.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The college football blog compilations contain the seasons of all ten teams that qualified for the major bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose, Cotton, Fiesta)
1981: This season can be marked as the year parity arrived. College football had long been the province of a few exclusive powers, but the effects of scholarship limits began to take hold and new teams rose up to challenge the establishment. Clemson winning the national title was the biggest manifestation of the new era. Download today.
1982: Joe Paterno won his first national title. After being denied with unbeaten teams in 1968, 1969 and 1973, it was an 11-1 Lions team that was crowned after a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Herschel Walker. In a year filled with great backs, SMU’s Pony Express of Eric Dickerson & Craig James finished #2. Download today.
1983: It was the year that changed college football. After a regular season that played out according to form with Nebraska, Texas & Auburn, all ranked in the preseason top five, finishing the year 1-2-3, history was made in the bowls. Miami stunned Nebraska to win a Cinderella national championship. Auburn’s superior body of work was ignored and the sport’s balance of power began moving to the Sunshine State. Download today.
1984: The season quickly became chaotic, with three of the top five teams losing in the first month. It opened the door for BYU to win the national championship without playing in a major bowl game. Washington & Oklahoma hoped to make their case in the Orange Bowl and the season’s best moment came from Boston College & Doug Flutie. Download today.
1985: An injury changed the course of history. Oklahoma quarterback Troy Aikman broke his leg against Miami. The Hurricanes and head coach Jimmy Johnson won the game. OU coach Barry Switzer changed to the wishbone and won a national title over Penn State. Aikman transferred to UCLA–and he eventually reunited with Johnson and Switzer in the NFL. Download today.
1986: It was the year of the epic Penn State-Miami duel in the desert, one of college football’s most famous games and one that reshaped the sport for years to come. Read how each team traveled the path to Tempe, along with the key role played by teams like Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska and more. Download today.
1987: This was a season that saw its structure shaped by four teams—Miami, Oklahoma, Florida State and Nebraska effectively went into two separate brackets and played a de facto playoff, replete with regular season semifinals, a bowl game consolation battle and ultimately an Orange Bowl battle for the national championship. Download today.
NFL
The NFL blog compilations contain the seasons of all ten playoff teams.
1978: As the league moved into modernity, the ending of the 1978 season would be defined by its past. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys had each won two Super Bowls at this point, and when they got together in Miami to end this year, it was a fight to be the first to three rings. Download today.
1979: The road was a little tougher than the previous year, but for the second straight season—and the fourth time in six years—the 1979 NFL season ended with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl. Download today.
1980: No wild-card team had ever won the Super Bowl prior to the 1980 NFL season, and three years earlier the league had made it even more difficult. They expanded the playoffs to five teams per conference and the wild-cards would now have to win an extra game for the first time. In spite of these obstacles, the Oakland Raiders pulled it off and went the distance. Download today.
1981: Read about one of the most dramatic NFC Championship Games in history, an epic divisional playoff game in Miami, an MVP year from Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and how the city of New York was united in the regular season’s final week. Download today.
1982: It was a strange year where a strike meant a nine-game regular season and a 16-team playoff tournament. Read about the six most consequential teams of this season, where you’ll see the debut of Marcus Allen, the last playoff win for Tom Landry and most of all a Super Bowl trophy for the Washington Redskins. Download today.
1983: Remembered for its great rookie quarterback class of Elway, Marino and Kelly, the 1983 NFL season was much more than that. Two more great rookies, Eric Dickerson and Curt Warner led their teams to the playoffs. The Raiders, Redskins & Cowboys spent the season as the league’s elite. Dallas faded, but Los Angeles & Washington met in the Super Bowl. Ultimately the Raiders came out on top. Download today.
1984: It was the year of the 49ers and Dolphins, as San Francisco went 15-1 and Dan Marino had a record-setting MVP year. The teams met in the Super Bowl, but it was no contest– San Francisco team solidified its place as one of the great champions in the modern era. The season also included a terrific three-way race in the AFC West and the fall of the Dallas Cowboys. Download today.
1985: The Chicago Bears did The Super Bowl Shuffle with both dominance and flair, producing one of the great defenses of all-time. But there was more–there was a great AFC East division race, a pair of dramatic Raiders-Broncos battles and the unlikely playoff run of the Patriots. there were the 49ers and Redskins taking a step back while the Rams stepped forward. Download today.
1986: Another all-time great defense made its mark as New York Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor became the last defensive player to win league MVP, the Giants rolled up a 14-2 record and then dominated the postseason. The Redskins & Bears were worthy NFC challengers and on the AFC side the Broncos and Browns played an epic AFC Championship Game. Download today.
1987: A strange season that saw three weeks of games played by replacement players resulted in another Washington Redskins’ title in a strike year. It was also a season where Joe Montana’s season-long brilliance was undone in a single playoff game and where Denver and Cleveland played an AFC Championship sequel almost as good as the original. Download today.
1988: The year was capped by one of the most dramatic finishes in Super Bowl history, as Joe Montana led a late drive to deliver the San Francisco 49ers their third championship of the decade. Boomer Esiason enjoyed an MVP campaign in Cincinnati. Teams like Buffalo and Philadelphia rose to prominence, while Chicago suffered another playoff disappointment. Download today.