Today, the New England Patriots are the gold standard of the NFL, with their five Super Bowl titles in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. To say that wasn’t always the case would be an understatement. The 1990 New England Patriots are a case study of the franchise’s bad old days—they were a hideous football team on the field and were in trouble off of it.
There was nothing in the team’s recent history that suggested a complete train wreck prior to 1990. Ray Berry coached the team to a decent run in the late 1980s that included a trip to the Super Bowl, another AFC East title and a couple more winning seasons. But when the Pats bottomed out in 1989, going 5-11, a coaching change was made. Rod Rust, a successful defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, got the opportunity.
The season opened at home against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriot defense picked off Dan Marino three times and led 21-6 at the half. Even though problems defending the run led to a Dolphin comeback and a 27-24 loss, it was still a competitive showing against a team that would ultimately make the playoffs.
Rust’s defense continued its ballhawking ways in Week 2, picking off Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Jeff George four times. This time, New England got a running game, with 96 yards from John Stephens and they scraped out a 16-14 win on the road.
It was the day after this game that the season began to unravel and it happened in the locker room. Lisa Olson, a beat reporter covering the team for The Boston Herald, alleged that she’d been sexually harassed. The allegations were that players deliberately exposed themselves to her, presumably unhappy with her presence in the locker room.
The team owner at the time was Victor Kiam and over the course of the season, he would be caught making more lewd jokes at Olson’s expense. The league office eventually had to investigate and sided with Olson, fining both the offending players and the team for failing to respond.
New England fell apart after the Olson incident. They were a flawed team, to be sure—a revolving door at quarterback was used by veterans Steve Grogan and Marc Wilson, along with 23-year-old Tom Hodson. But with Stephens, a previously productive runner and a Pro Bowl left tackle in Bruce Armstrong there was no reason for this team to end up as the league’s most unproductive offense. The incompetence on this side of the ball was complemented by the second-worst defense in the NFL.
And the blowout losses started to rain down. There were five straight against a difficult portion of the schedule that included eventual playoff teams in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Buffalo, along with the rematch at Miami. Seattle, the weakest team in this stretch, still finished 9-7 in 1990. Only at Miami, in a 17-10 Thursday night loss, were the Patriots competitive.
If nothing else, New England could play well against Indianapolis. The Colts were in the AFC East prior to the realignment of 2002 and they came to Foxboro on November 11. The Patriot pass defense found its early season mojo and only allowed six completed passes. They outrushed Indy 175-54. Yet…they still lost a 13-10 decision.
The Pats went to Buffalo the following Sunday and again competed. Against a Bills team that would come within one play of winning the Super Bowl, New England only trailed 7-0 in the fourth quarter. Finally, an 80-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas ended the upset bid, 14-0. And the Patriot season effectively shut down.
New England was crushed by the subpar Phoenix Cardinals on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They were crushed by eventual playoff team Kansas City. They were crushed by Rust’s old employer in Pittsburgh. They were lifeless at home in the rain against the Redskins. The only close game was the finale against the New York Giants. The Giants had nothing to play for and the game was played in awful weather. The Patriots lost 13-10, bringing an end to the miserable 1-15 campaign.
Rust took the fall and was fired after just one season. The front office tried to rejuvenate things with old-fashioned college enthusiasm, hiring Syracuse head coach Dick MacPherson. Over the next two years, he won eight games. It wasn’t until the hiring of Bill Parcells and the drafting of quarterback Drew Bledsoe prior to the 1993 season that a light at the end of tunnel appeared.
In 1994, Robert Kraft bought the team and the organizational dysfunction eventually went away. And the rest, as they say, is history.
To young football fans, the Browns struggling through an awful season is pretty much par for the course. But the world of 1990 was different. In that world, the Browns were coming off a strong decade, where they made the playoffs each year from 1985-89, including three appearances in the AFC Championship Game. The complete collapse of the 1990 Cleveland Browns came as a surprise.
Bernie Kosar’s decline at quarterback began. The 54% completion rate was doable in that era, but it was low for Kosar and was accompanied by a mediocre 6.1 yards-per-attempt. And the 15 interceptions Kosar threw in 13 starts were exceptionally out of character.
The only two strong points on the team were defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry, a 1st-team All-Pro and wide receiver Webster Slaughter, who caught 59 balls for 847 yards. Beyond that, the Browns were at or near the bottom of the league in both offense and defense.
That didn’t stop the season from starting on a good note. The Pittsburgh Steelers had made the playoffs in 1989 and would contend to the final week in 1990. The Browns defense came up big in the home opener in the late afternoon TV window. Anthony Blaylock returned a fumble 30 yards for the game’s only touchdown in the third quarter, Cleveland forced three turnovers and got out of the gate with a 13-3 win.
But three straight losses followed, including a 34-0 humiliation in Kansas City, where former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer had taken up residence. It set up a big Monday Night date against an all-to-familiar foe in the Denver Broncos.
Denver, led by the great John Elway at quarterback, had been the team who stopped Cleveland in all three of their AFC Championship Game appearances. Two of them, in 1986 and 1987, had been particularly gutwrenching. The Broncos were off to a 2-2 start and both of these AFC powers needed a win.
It was Cleveland who got it. The Browns defense had trouble with the Denver ground game, allowing over 100 yards to Bobby Humphrey and they trailed 29-20 in the fourth quarter. For once though, Cleveland turned the tables on Elway. Kosar finished 24/38 for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Slaughter caught seven balls for 123 yards and they got out of old Mile High Stadium with a 30-29 win.
But this is where the season falls apart. The next four weeks were difficult and Cleveland could not meet the challenge. They lost to eventual playoff teams in the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals to dig themselves a 2-5 hole. On deck were the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and the eventual AFC champion Buffalo Bills.
Cleveland went to San Francisco and gave a noble effort. The forced the legendary Joe Montana into a poor game, 17/37 for just 185 yards and were tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter. But a late 49er field goal won the game. A week later at home, the Browns were non-competitive in a 42-0 loss to the Bills.
Owner Art Modell used the bye week to fire head coach Bud Carson and replace him on an interim basis with Jim Shofner. The moved changed nothing. Down the stretch, the Browns lost twice to the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans who were a division rival prior to 2002) and gave up 93 points in the process. Cleveland lost decisively to the Los Angeles Rams, another team who collapsed in 1990 after a strong run in the 1980s.
The only two notable games were a 13-10 home win over a poor Atlanta Falcons team where Kevin Mack rushed for 80 yards. And to Cleveland’s credit, they didn’t mail in the Week 17 finale in Cincinnati where the Bengals were playing for the division title. Mack rushed for 85 yards and the game was tied 14-14 into the fourth quarter before Cincy got a touchdown to win it.
By rights, the offseason should have been the greatest in the history of the league—the Browns made the right hire for their new head coach, grabbing the highly touted defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. A guy named Bill Belichick. He got the franchise back on track, building the Browns back to respectability over the next three years (prior to the era of free agency, a five-year window to rebuild was considered the norm).
When Cleveland returned to the playoffs in 1994 under Belichick, won a postseason game (ironically over New England) and got off to a 3-1 start in 1995, it looked like good times were back in the Dawg Pound. But Modell then decided to move the franchise to Baltimore for 1996 and everything fell apart. The rest of 1995 was a lost season and Cleveland didn’t get an NFL team back until 1999. It was then they became the Browns so many of us know and pity. But in 1990, their collapse to a three-win season was a bit more surprising.
Buddy Ryan was feeling the pressure in Philadelphia. Since arriving as head coach in 1986, the renowned defensive guru had turned a struggling team into a steady playoff contender. But the Eagles had not advanced deep into the postseason under Ryan. Between the desire of the fan base for more and Ryan’s prickly personality, it added up to a hot seat. The 1990 Philadelphia Eagles proved to be the last ride for Ryan in Philadelphia.
The defense got the headlines in Philadelphia, thanks to a ferocious defensive front. Reggie White, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle was at the peak of his career. Jerome Brown was a 1st-team All-Pro. Future ESPN radio personality Mike Golic manned the middle. Seth Joyner and Clyde Simmons could both bring pressure off the edge. Opposing quarterbacks had reason to be nervous.
But not as nervous as Philadelphia’s own quarterback, Randall Cunningham, could make opposing defenses. A gifted athlete with a rifle arm, Cunningham finished with a 30-13 TD/INT ratio, averaged 7.5 yards-per-attempt and also led the Eagles in rushing with 942 yards.
There were some decent supporting pieces, notably Keith Jackson, the 1st-team All-NFL tight end. Keith Byars caught 81 balls out of the backfield. But Cunningham was the reason the Eagles could let Cris Carter walk to Minnesota and still finish as the third-best scoring offense in the league. The more heralded defense finished 12th .
Philadelphia did not respond well to the must-win pressure early in the season. Losses to fellow NFC East contenders in the New York Giants and Washington Redskins were disappointing, both caused by an offensive line that couldn’t protect Cunningham. Losses to non-contenders in the Phoenix Cardinals and Indianpolis Colts were simply aggravating. The Eagles were 2-4 and in an early hole.
Their backs to the wall, Philly ripped off five straight wins. The most famous was a Monday Night beatdown of Washington in Veterans Stadium. The Eagles dominated the ground game, winning rush yards 165-50 and they scored three third-quarter touchdowns to break open a tie game.
But what makes this game stand the test of time in history is that the Birds knocked out two Redskins quarterbacks and nine players overall, making this “The Bodybag Game”. It gave the Eagles new life…and the Redskins a grudge to nurture.
The biggest win though came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The Giants came to the Vet with a 10-0 record. They went home the victims of a 31-13 thrashing. Cunningham played efficient football, going 17/31 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. The defense forced his counterpart, Phil Simms, into an erratic game and also shut down the New York ground game. The Eagles weren’t going to catch the Giants in the NFC East, but Philly’s playoff prospects had brightened considerably.
Tough losses to AFC contenders in the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins followed. In a visit to Buffalo, Philadelphia dug themselves a 24-0 hole, as the defense gave up two long touchdown passes to Jim Kelly. Cunningham led a furious rally, keyed by a 95-yard touchdown pass to Fred Barnett and the lead was cut to 24-23, but fell just short in a 30-23 final.
Philadelphia went to Miami for a Sunday Night date. The Eagles dominated the ground game, rushing for 257 yards, with both Cunningham and Thomas Sanders leading the way. They led 20-10 in the fourth quarter. But the defense again failed against a top quarterback. Dan Marino rallied the Dolphins into a tie and then won 23-20 in overtime.
In the playoff format of 1990-2001, each conference had three divisions and there were three wild-card spots. Even at 7-6, Philadelphia still held down the second wild-card spot and the schedule ahead was soft. The Eagles easily won home games over mediocre teams from Green Bay and Dallas. When Washington lost in Indianapolis, Philadelphia vaulted into the top wild-card spot. They sealed it and the accompanying home playoff game with a win at Phoenix (the Cardinals were an NFC East rival prior to 2002).
A rematch of The Bodybag Game opened Wild-Card Weekend on Saturday afternoon with Eagles-Redskins. On a dank day, nothing went right for the Eagles in the first half. With a 1st-and-goal on the 2-yard line, pass protection broke down, Cunningham was sacked and they had to settle for a field goal. A 96-yard fumble return for a touchdown was nullified by instant replay and the Redskins were able to kick a field goal.
Philadelphia might have led 17-3 at the half instead of trailing 10-6. It didn’t get better in the second half. Ryan, grasping at straws, benched Cunningham for Jim McMahon. The gambit predictably failed and the Eagles lost 20-6.
Ryan was fired and offensive coordinator Rich Kotite elevated. The result was more the same with Kotie and after him, Ray Rhodes. They won games, made the playoffs and never made it past the second round. The franchise still awaits its first Super Bowl title.
The 1990 Chicago Bears came into the season looking to show they were still the same team who had dominated the old NFC Central from 1984-88. The 1989 season had been marked by calamitous collapse, where a 4-0 start turned into a stunning 6-10 finish. Mike Ditka handed the reins to a new quarterback and the Bears reasserted themselves in 1990.
You may have heard of the 27-year-old who got the quarterback job—a guy by the name of Jim Harbaugh. He had a good offensive line in front of him, anchored by Pro Bowlers Mark Bortz and Jay Hilgenberg, to go along with a quality veteran left tackle in Jimbo Covert. Neal Anderson ran behind them for a 1,000-yard Pro Bowl season and Harbaugh was an effective enough manager for this offense to rank 10th in the league in 1990.
Defense was what defined the Chicago Bears in the Ditka Era though, and it was the defense that had unexpectedly failed the team in 1989, dipping to 20th in what was then a 28-team NFL. Muscle in the trenches brought them back. Richard Dent got 12 sacks at defensive tackle and made the Pro Bowl. Trace Armstrong added 10 sacks of his own and the great middle linebacker Mike Singletary delivered another Pro Bowl campaign. The defense returned to form and ranked 9th in 1990.
The Bears won their first three games and two of them came over the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, who had battled for the division title the year before. Chicago went to Lambeau Field in Week 2, forced five turnovers and won 31-13. The Bears hosted the Vikings a week later and relied on a balanced running attack from Anderson and fullback Brad Muster to muscle out a 19-16 win.
Those games set the tone for the NFC Central race (the four current teams of the NFC North plus Tampa Bay), as Green Bay and Minnesota both fell by the wayside quickly. Chicago rolled on to a 9-1 start that included a couple more wins against teams whose ship the Bears were basically passing in the night.
The Rams had been a playoff perennial in the 1980s and the Bears were only a two-point favorite on Sunday Night in Soldier Field for Week 6. Harbaugh went 18/25 for 248 yards and led a 38-9 rout. Denver had gone to three Super Bowls in the previous four years behind John Elway. Chicago went to old Mile High Stadium and won 16-13 in overtime, behind six sacks of Elway and 110 yards rushing by Anderson. Los Angeles and Denver faded this season and Chicago was one of the teams taking their place at the table.
In spite of being 9-1, the Bears had a playoff problem. The San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants were both undefeated. Furthermore, 1990 was the first year the postseason expanded from five teams per conference to six—meaning that the 3-seed Chicago was in would have to play a first-round game for the first time.
After a blowout loss in Minnesota, Chicago clinched the division on December 2 when Anderson caught a 50-yard touchdown pass in overtime to beat the Lions at home, and then the Packers fell later that night. But any hopes for a bye took a big hit, when the Bears lost 10-9 to the Redskins in spite of intercepting Mark Rypien five times.
The regular season ended on a skid, with four losses in the final six games, but the biggest loss was that Harbaugh separated his shoulder in Detroit on December 16 and was lost for the year.
Mike Tomczak was in at quarterback and Chicago had an easy playoff draw in the first round, getting New Orleans who had stumbled in at 8-8. The game was ugly, but the Bears controlled the line of scrimmage. Anderson for 110 yards, the Saints couldn’t get their own running game going and with over 37 minutes of possession time, Chicago won 16-6.
They went to the Meadowlands as a seven-point underdog against the Giants, who had also lost their quarterback when Phil Simms went down. Jeff Hostetler was a more able backup though and New York was better than Chicago at the power running and ball-control game. The Bears rushed for 27 yards and lost 31-3.
1990 was still a comeback year and the message was sent that the NFC Central was still Mike Ditka’s backyard. The Bears had one more playoff trip in them in 1991 before this era in franchise history ran out of steam.
Joe Gibbs only missed the postseason in consecutive years one time in his storied coaching career. Those years were 1988 and 1989. The 1990 Washington Redskins got Gibbs and the franchise off the schneid, as they returned to the playoffs, won a game and set the stage for future greatness.
The Redskins dealt with injuries at the quarterback position. Mark Rypien, after making the Pro Bowl the year before, missed six games. It didn’t stop the offense from ranking fourth in the NFL in points scored. Earnest Byner was a 1,000-yard rusher and Gary Clark cleared 1K in receiving yards, both making the Pro Bowl.
Washington’s fabled “Hogs” on the offensive line underwent some transition that worked out well. Even though Mark May and Joe Jacoby were out, Raleigh McKenzie and Ed Simmons moved in. Meanwhile, Russ Grimm, Joe Bostic and Jim Lachey were reliable holdovers, and Lachey made the Pro Bowl at left tackle.
Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green was the key to the defense, the only Pro Bowler on the 13th-ranked unit in the league. The Redskin defense suffered from a down year by defensive end Charles Mann. The defense had plenty of savvy though–free safety Todd Bowles and middle linebacker Greg Manusky had futures ahead of them as successful defensive coordinators when they were playing days were done.
In their pursuit of the playoffs, the ‘Skins, along with every other team in the league would benefit from one significant change. The NFL expanded its postseason from 10 teams to 12, with one additional team per conference.
The season began at home with the Phoenix Cardinals, a welcome change from the Monday Night dates with the New York Giants that had begun each of the previous two years with losses. Rypien went 17/31 for 240 yards and threw three touchdowns to three different receivers in a 31-0 win.
Washington traveled to San Francisco to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champion 49ers. Rypien made some big plays, but was mostly erratic in a 17/37 for 241-yard performance. Meanwhile, Joe Montana carved up the Redskin defense for 390 yards and Washington was handled rather easily in a 26-13 game.
The ‘Skins came back to win a pair of NFC East games, beating Dallas at home and Phoenix on the road on a Sunday night (the Cardinals were in the East prior to the realignment of 2002). The defense dominated the Cowboys, sacking Troy Aikman eight times. But the 19-15 win came at a price–it was when Rypien got hurt. Stan Humphries stepped in and led a 38-10 rout of Phoenix. Humphries hit Clark on a pair of 42-yard touchdown passes to turn the tide after Washington trailed 10-7 at the half.
Along with an extra team in the playoffs came another change that we take for granted today. The league instituted the bye week, and the Redskins took theirs the first week in October after the Sunday Night win in Phoenix. At 3-1, they were in position to contend in the NFC East and had two weeks to get ready for a home game with the New York Giants.
Bill Parcells brought the Giants in for a late Sunday afternoon national TV game. Washington led 3-0 after the first quarter, but then mistakes on both sides of the ball did them in. The secondary allowed an 80-yard touchdown pass by Phil Simms. Humphries threw three interceptions. In spite of outrushing the physical Giants 162-75, the Redskins dropped a tough 27-20 decision.
It was the first game of a five-week stretch when the ‘Skins would play their four toughest NFC East games–the two with the Giants and two more with the Philadelphia Eagles. Reggie White and the Eagles came to RFK Stadium next. The Washington defense stepped up with five sacks of athletic quarterback Randall Cunningham and they won a grinding 13-7 decision.
The ‘Skins had lost five straight games to Parcells and the Giants, and if they wanted to win the division, this one was necessary. But they didn’t run the ball. They gave up a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Simms. Humphries threw three interceptions, the last a Pick-6 deep in his own end that was the final dagger in a 21-10 loss.
After the three physical games, and a visit to Philadelphia ahead, the Redskins played like a team that wasn’t all there in Detroit. Humphries threw three more interceptions, and Gibbs pulled the trigger on a change early, going to third-stringer Jeff Rutledge.
Washington trailed 35-14 in the third quarter, but Rutledge had an amazing game, throwing the ball 42 times and completing 30 for 363 yards. The trio of receivers, Clark, Art Monk and Ricky Sanders combined for over 400 yards receiving, including from Humphries. Rutledge rallied the ‘Skins into overtime where they won 41-38.
The Monday Night visit to Philly was a disaster. It didn’t start out badly and was tied 7-7 at the half. But it became known as “The Body Bag” game. Rutledge was knocked out. Humphries was knocked out. All in all, nine Redskin players were knocked from the game. Running back Brian Mitchell finished the game at quarterback in a 28-14 loss.
Rypien returned just in time for a home game with the New Orleans Saints, who would make the playoffs, albeit at 8-8. Rypien showed no signs of rust–26/38 for 311 yards and four touchdown passes in a 31-17 win. But a Thanksgiving visit to Dallas went badly. The Cowboys were in their second year under Jimmy Johnson and started to mold into the team that would eventually win three Super Bowls. A rookie running back named Emmitt Smith ran for 132 yards and the ‘Skins lost 27-17.
With a record of 6-5, Washington was in serious trouble of missing the playoffs and the schedule wasn’t going to get a whole lot easier. December would open with a pair of home games with the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears, teams that would each make the playoffs with double-digit wins.
WATCH THESPORTSNOTEBOOK’S VIDEO DISCUSSION OF THE JOE GIBBS ERA WITH THE REDSKINS
Gibbs always excelled at having his teams ready down the stretch and they came up big here. The running game crushed Miami, with Byner going for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Rypien repeatedly hooked up with Monk, who caught ten passes. The final was 42-20.
It was the defense that delivered against the Bears. They made key red zone stops in the first half, and even though the Redskins were being beaten, the only trailed 9-0. Rypien had a bad day, throwing five interceptions, but he found Clark on a third quarter touchdown passes. Byner ran for 121 yards and the defense completely shut down Chicago in the second half. Washington rallied for a 10-9 win.
Just like that, the Redskins were in great shape to wrap up a playoff spot. All they needed to do was win in New England, the worst team in the NFL. On a Saturday afternoon, the ‘Skins took care of business against an inept team. Linebacker Kurt Gouveia returned a fumble 39 yards for a score. A bad snap by the Patriots gave Washington a free two points on a safety. Rypien only needed to throw the ball 11 times, as Byner carried 39 times for 149 yards. The 25-10 win ended the playoff drought.
Washington was still in position to rise as high as the #4 seed (in the old three-divisional format, the top wild-card held the 4-spot) if they could win out. They played the Indianapolis Colts on a Saturday night. I was in attendance. A Redskins fan then in college, I took the helmet I used to wear trick-or-treating as a kid, jammed my head into it and went to the game with a few friends.
We sang “Hail To The Redskins” after every score amidst a stadium of fans that couldn’t have cared less about the NFL until Peyton Manning came to town almost a decade later. But we were the ones who left the Hoosier Dome unhappy. Despite leading 28-21 late in the game, the ‘Skins allowed Jeff George to lead a late drive to tie the game. Rypien then threw an awful interception in the flat that was easily returned for the touchdown that beat us.
Washington dropped to the 5-seed, and they were locked in there for the season finale at home with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills were going to make the Super Bowl and were resting quarterback Jim Kelly. The Redskins played starters and won 29-14 to cap a 10-6 season.
Now it was time for the playoffs and to return to the scene of the crime. Philadelphia was the 4-seed and the talk all week long was the Redskins going back to the old Vet after The Body Bag Game.
Washington played sloppy football early in the game. They allowed tight end Keith Jackson to get loose for an early 66-yard reception. But the defense recovered to hold the Eagles to a field goal. When the Redskins got the ball back, they fumbled. Again, the defense held the Eagles to a field goal. Rypien threw an interception. The defense forced a punt. Despite doing everything wrong, Washington only trailed 6-0.
The game then turned. Rypien threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Monk. Washington drove inside the 5-yard line twice, although now it was their turn to settle and two field goals made the score 13-6. But the Redskin defense was locked in. They got to Cunningham five times, just as they had in the regular season game at RFK. Two sacks came from defensive tackle Tim Johnson. Despite only getting 93 yards rushing, the ‘Skins won 20-6.
A return visit to San Francisco had the same result as the one in September. There was no running game, inconsistency from Rypien and brilliance from Montana. Washington lost 28-10.
Even with the playoff loss, the Redskins were trending back upward. And one year later they would trend completely off the charts, with a dominating run to the third Super Bowl trophy under Gibbs.
The San Francisco 49ers looked destined to win a third straight Super Bowl, an unprecedented achievement. Or, rather than destined, the Niners looked too good to be stopped. The New York Giants got in the way.
Bill Parcells took his Giants’ team west for the 1990 NFC Championship Game and in a dramatic finish, got a 15-13 win without scoring a touchdown and winning on a last-second field goal. The three-peat bid was denied and still waits for the first team to pull off the feat.
Parcells’ team then matched up with the Buffalo Bills, who had an explosive offense and even the bad weather in their home city hadn’t stopped the Bills from dropping 95 points in two playoff wins. Buffalo was favored by more than a touchdown. Once again, New York pulled a rabbit out of their hat, this time watching an opponent miss a last-play field goal attempt to win or lose. Read more about the 1990 New York Giants
College football didn’t have a heavy favorite the way the NFL did with the 49ers, but the collegiate year was even more chaotic. Teams got multiple chances at being #1 and a crazy New Year’s Night ended up with a disputed penalty call and a split national championship.
The ending might have been bizarre, but the ride was great, and the college football season was marked by the last installment of the great Notre Dame-Miami rivalry, with both schools involved in the national title discussion all year long. Their final game was a good one and the aftermath showed that the bad blood between the fan bases wasn’t going away just because the games were
That final Notre Dame-Miami game took place on the last night of the World Series. In a year where the NFL season was marked by consecutive big upsets and where the college landscape went into complete upheaval, can you blame baseball for wanting to get in on the upset fun? The Oakland A’s came into the 1990 World Series a heavy favorite to win a repeat title, and indeed the Fall Classic ended up in a sweep…only it was the Cincinnati Reds who won in four straight. Read more about the 1990 college football season Read more about the last Notre Dame-Miami rivalry battle Read more about the 1990 World Series
The Edmonton Oilers had traded Wayne Gretzky after a Stanley Cup run in 1988 and a coaching change followed the 1989 season. The Oilers still had a lot of the same cast from the team that won four Cups in six years, but the changes were significant. Edmonton’s remaining players, starting with team leader Mark Messier, showed what they were made of when they won Cup—the fifth for the dynasty, but the first without Wayne.
In the NBA, the Detroit Pistons were another team with something to prove, but for different reasons. The Pistons, like the Oilers were a recent champion—in this case, the defending NBA champ. But Detroit wasn’t seen in the same light as their predecessors, Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers or Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics. Nor are the “Bad Boy Pistons” seen in the same light as their successor, Michael Jordan’s Bulls.
But the Pistons did show they weren’t a flash in the pan, not when they eliminated Chicago for the second straight year and not when they won a second straight NBA title by winning three straight road games in Portland. Read more about the 1990 Edmonton Oilers Read more about the 1990 Detroit Pistons
The NCAA Tournament had some great moments along the way—notably the East Regional, where UConn first won a Sweet 16 game on a last-second shot and then lost the regional final when the same was done to them. It was a heady finish to UConn’s first year as a serious contender for a national title.
But there was no drama in the championship game, only the celebration of greatness. UNLV won the first national title for head coach Jerry Tarkanian and did it by destroying Duke, 103-73. Read more about 1990 UNLV basketball Read more about 1990 UConn & The East Regional Drama
A footnote to the year that was 1990 sports was that two Rustbelt cities saw their teams make a big impact, and that was the Buffalo Bills reaching the Super Bowl and the Pittsburgh Pirates reaching the National League Championship Series. It looked like both teams were here to stay for a while as contenders, and that’s exactly what happened.
But unfortunately, neither would get the past level reached in 1990, as the Bills would continue to win AFC Championships (a record four straight), yet continue to lose in the Super Bowl. And the Pirates reached three consecutive NLCS’, and lost all three, each one more painful than the one that became before it.
This is part of a series of sports history articles celebrating the best in1990 sports. This piece asks the question of which geographic fan base had the best year in ’90.
1990 didn’t see one city stand head-and-shoulders above the rest as America’s most livable sports city. But some were better than others.
For example, if you were in Cincinnati, you saw the Reds win the World Series, the Bengals win their division and reach the second of the playoffs, and if you got your NBA fix in Detroit, Chicago or Indiana, all three teams made the playoffs, the Bulls and Pistons played a seven-game Eastern Conference finals and Detroit won a second straight title. That could be one choice. But New York has a case of their own.
We have to focus on a specific segment of the New York fan base to get there. The Giants won the Super Bowl which is the main claim to fame, so it has to be someone from the New York Fan Aristocracy—one who pulls for the Yanks, Giants and Rangers, as opposed to the Underdog New York Fan who opts for the Mets, Jets and Islanders.
The Aristocracy also saw the Rangers win their division and advance to the second round of the playoffs. The whole city united around the Knicks which had a nice season and won a playoff series over the Boston Celtics, culminating with a big win on the Garden parquet.
But we have to get more specific yet. Let’s move to the part of the city which spills into the Connecticut suburbs, as UConn basketball had its first good team of the Jim Calhoun era and reached a regional final.
And let’s narrow it down even further. Notre Dame has a huge fan base in New York City, given its ethnic Catholic population. The Irish won the Sugar Bowl.
So if you’re a member of the New York Sports Aristocracy’s Connecticut branch and are Irish Catholic, it was, as Frank Sinatra might put it, “A Very Good Year.” Read more about the 1990 New York Giants Read more about 1990 Notre Dame football Read more about 1990 UConn basketball Read more about the 1990 New York Knicks
Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins were riding high, having won three consecutive AFC championships and two straight Super Bowl titles. But there was a lot of rockiness in the waters of South Beach, from player dissatisfaction off the field and some injuries in it. The 1974 Miami Dolphins were still very good, and it took one […]
1972 had been a historic year, for both football in Miami, and in the NFL. The Dolphins not only won the Super Bowl in their seventh year of existence, they did with an undefeated season. The 1973 Miami Dolphins didn’t run the table, but they did win a repeat championship. And given the fact they […]
In 1970, Don Shula took over Miami’s four-year old expansion franchise and immediately put them in the playoffs. One year later, they went to a Super Bowl. The 1972 Miami Dolphins not only took the final step, they did it in historic fashion—the only undefeated season in league history that was capped off with a […]
In their sixth year of existence, and in the second season under head coach Don Shula, the 1971 Miami Dolphins were seen as a team on the rise. Shula had put the Fish in the playoffs in his first year of 1970. Now, Miami was looking to take the next step. They did just that, […]
Pro football came to Miami in 1966 with the creation of the Dolphin franchise. After four losing seasons that were basically predictable, the organization hired Don Shula. Already a successful coach in Baltimore, Shula would make his legend in Miami. And he immediately turned the 1970 Miami Dolphins edition into a playoff team. The success […]
Even by the often-chaotic standards of college basketball in March, 2011 had some unique storylines. It isn’t often you use the seemingly contradictory phrase “repeat Cinderella”. But that’s what Butler was. It isn’t often a proud blueblood like Kentucky has to pull consecutive upsets to make the Final Four. But they did. It was—and remains—unprecedented […]
The national championship in 2010 came down to a battle between a Blueblood and a Cinderella. It came down to a single shot from halfcourt. In the end, there was no Cinderella ending and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski won his fourth NCAA title. Here’s a look back on the paths that Duke, along with Butler, West […]
The 2009 Final Four brought together three teams who had won relatively recent national championships—North Carolina in 2005, Michigan State in 2000, and UConn in 2004. They were joined by Villanova, no stranger to the winner’s circle themselves, with a historic 1985 title run. Here’s a look back at the road these teams took to […]
