1991 Sports: NFL Greatness, World Series Drama & Basketball Breakthroughts
Greatness was the order of the day at the Super Bowl, the World Series and the Final Four in the year that was 1991 sports. In each case, greatness had a little bit of a different spin on it.
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The Washington Redskins went 14-2, and dominated the NFL in such fashion that they have to be considered one of the great teams of all time. The Redskins capped it with a thrashing of the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. Read more about the 1991 Washington Redskins.
The World Series didn’t have an all-time great team, but it had a great story and a great event. The Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins each went worst-to-first and then played a Series in which four games came down to the final at-bat, including a 10-inning affair in Game 7. Read more about the 1991 World Series.
The Final Four was anticipated to have a great champion in UNLV. The Runnin’ Rebels were the defending national champions and aiming to be the first undefeated team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.
But Duke had other ideas. In a national semifinal game that ranks with the greatest basketball games ever played, the Blue Devils pulled the upset. They won the national championship with a win over Kansas, which was a story unto themselves—the Jayhawks’ Final Four run was the first time their third-year head coach, Roy Williams, made a big impact on March Madness. It would not be the last, and Williams would produce some greatness of his own in the coming years.
Read more about 1991 Duke basketball
Read more about Roy Williams & 1991 Kansas
Michael Jordan had been chasing an NBA championship since coming into the league in the 1984-85 season. After six years of frustration, MJ’s seventh year was the lucky one. The Bulls reached the Finals, and it would be a hyped matchup with Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. The matchup didn’t live up to the hype though—Jordan’s time had come and Chicago won the championship in five games.
Another great young player whose time had come was Mario Lemieux. The Pittsburgh Penguins rising star missed a lot of the regular season, but he was back in full force for the playoffs. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup and upended the Minnesota North Stars in the Finals. The North Stars had a magical ride themselves, being just the 15th best team in the league, but turning up the offensive heat in the playoffs.
Read more about the 1991 Chicago Bulls
Read more about the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins
Read more about the 1991 Minnesota North Stars
It might have been the first championship for Mike Krzyzewski, Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux, but Bobby Bowden wasn’t so lucky. The Florida State football coach had a great team, but lost a gutwrenching game to Miami that denied him a shot at the national championship. Bowden’s pursuit, and the great moments in the Heisman campaign of Michigan’s Desmond Howard, marked the 1991 college football season.
Read more about the 1991 college football season