Triumph & Tragedy In 1989 San Francisco Sports: The 49ers & Giants
Sports in San Francisco for the year 1989 was a time of great triumph overshadowed by greater tragedy.
Nothing can make up for the loss of life that resulted from an October earthquake that happened right before Game 3 of the World Series. But just as the city of New Orleans found joy in the 2009 Saints as they recovered from Hurricane Katrina, so too could the San Francisco of 1989 find joy in not only a Super Bowl run by the 49ers. And the city could at least look back with fondness on the run of the San Francisco Giants in baseball.
GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today.
The Giants won the National League West for the second time in three years, and when they vanquished the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, it marked the Giants’ first pennant since 1962. With the American League champ being the Oakland A’s, right across the bay, everything was set for the entire Bay Area to celebrate.
Then the earthquake hit, on national television, shortly before Game 3 of the World Series. A pall was cast over the Series, and play was delayed ten days. Oakland ended up winning the title, but the tragedy hung over everyone.
The sports fans in the city turned to football for their distractions. The 49ers were already the defending champions, with a total of three Super Bowl victories in the 1980s.
Even with a new head coach in George Seifert, the Niners did it again. Their 14-2 regular season followed by a dominating postseason run marked them as a dynasty in the big picture and their single-season performance as one of the best in the Super Bowl era.
It ended a tumultuous year for their city. The people of San Fran had suffered, and had a lot of rebuilding ahead. The Giants on the baseball diamond and the 49ers on the football field gave them some fun amidst the turmoil and tragedy.
Read more about the 1989 San Francisco 49ers
Read more about the 1989 San Francisco Giants
SportsNotebook Featured Products
View Our Complete Catalog
TheSportsNotebook.com is home to an extensive archive of sports history articles along with blog posts on contemporary sports.
Shop Our Digital Catalog
SportsNoteBook Articles
- Blog
- College Basketball History Articles
- College Football History Articles
- MLB History
- NBA History Articles
- NFL History Articles
- Sports History Articles
- Stanley Cup History
- Uncategorized
How The 1973 Cincinnati Reds Won The NL West
The 1973 Cincinnati Reds were looking to take that final step. In both 1970 and 1972 they had reached the World Series, only to come up short—by a single run in ’72. In 1973, the Reds won a hot race to return to the postseason, before again just missing out on October glory. This era […]
1972 World Series: Oakland Survives Cincinnati In 7
The 1972 postseason had already given baseball fans plenty of drama. Both League Championship Series rounds had gone the distance and were marked by individual games that were tensely fought. The 1972 World Series was more of the same. The Oakland A’s and Cincinnati Reds took the full seven games, with six decided by one […]
1972 ALCS: The A’s & Tigers Fight To The Finish
The early years of the American League Championship Series had been somewhat anticlimactic. A playoff round that was founded in 1969 as a best-of-five series, the first three editions had seen the Baltimore Orioles blow through with sweeps each time. The 1972 ALCS was different. The Oakland A’s and Detroit Tigers provided heart-stopping excitement throughout, […]
The Epic Reds-Pirates Battle In The 1972 NLCS
The battles between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates defined the National League Championship Series in the 1970s, especially in the decade’s early part. Four times, these teams played for the pennant. And their battles were never better than in the 1972 NLCS, a series that was decided on its final pitch, with the Reds […]
A Bounceback Year For The 1972 Cincinnati Reds
The 1972 Cincinnati Reds came into the season looking for a comeback. When the Reds won the National League pennant in 1970, with a core group of talented young players, they appeared poised to dominate for years to come. But a surprise collapse to a sub-.500 finish in 1971 had tempered those hopes. As it […]
How The 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates Won The NL East
The Pirates were riding high, having won a dramatic World Series in 1971. Pittsburgh had won the NL East each of the last two years. Even with a managerial change—Bill Virdon took over for Danny Murtaugh, who retired upstairs to the front office–the 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates were more of the same. They ran away with […]
How The 1972 Detroit Tigers Won The AL East
After winning the World Series in 1968, the Tigers had slipped under .500 by 1970. A year later, they hired Billy Martin. With the feisty Martin in the dugout, Detroit rose to 91 wins and a second-place finish in 1971. And the 1972 Detroit Tigers took the next step, captured the old AL East and […]
1972 Baltimore Orioles: A Step Back & A Pivot
Earl Weaver’s Orioles had dominated the American League for three consecutive seasons. From 1969 through 1971, they won an average of 106 games each year. They swept through the best-of-five ALCS with a combined 9-0 record to win the pennant each year. In 1970, they won the World Series. But some big names were getting […]