Sports in Cleveland

Cleveland's professional sports teams include the Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball), Cleveland Browns (National Football League), Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association), Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League), and the Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League). Local sporting facilities include Progressive Field, FirstEnergy Stadium, Quicken Loans Arena and the Wolstein Center.

Cleveland Cavaliers pregame festivities at Quicken Loans Arena

The Indians last reached the World Series in 1997, losing to the Florida Marlins, and have not won the series since 1948. Between 1995 and 2001, Progressive Field (then known as Jacobs Field) sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record until it was broken in 2008.[1] The Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference in 2007, but were defeated in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs. Although the Browns are historically among the winningest franchises in the NFL, the team has not won a championship since 1964.

The city's failure to win a trophy in any major professional sport since 1964 has earned it a reputation of being a cursed sports city, which ESPN validated by proclaiming Cleveland as its "most tortured sports city" in 2004.[2] In addition, changes in the Cleveland sports landscape have led to further heartbreak and resentment among local fans, the most notable instances being Art Modell's relocation of the Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season (that franchise became the Ravens, with the current Browns team starting play in 1999), and Akron native LeBron James' decision to leave the Cavaliers in 2010 for the Miami Heat.[3]

Cleveland Browns games attract large crowds to FirstEnergy Stadium.

A notable Cleveland athlete is Jesse Owens, who grew up in the city after moving from Alabama when he was nine. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4 x 100 meter relay team.

Cleveland facilities have hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game five times, the NBA All-Star Game twice, and the United States Figure Skating Championships four times. The city hosted the Gravity Games, an extreme sports series, from 2002 to 2004, and the Dew Action Sports Tour Right Guard Open in 2007. In 2013 the city hosted about 11,000 male and female athletes at the National Senior Games. Cleveland hosted the 2014 Gay Games.[4] On July 11, 2014, Akron native LeBron James came back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, telling Sports Illustrated, "Northeast Ohio is more important to me than basketball."

Past teams

Dragon boat racing on the Cuyahoga River

The city has been home to several additional professional sports franchises, including a women's basketball team and multiple soccer teams. Cleveland has also been home to several ice hockey franchises, beginning in 1937 with the AHL member Cleveland Barons.[5] The original Barons, although having been the most successful team in AHL history at that point, moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where they subsequently folded after one season.[6] The salient cause of the Baron's move came from Nick Mileti's short-lived WHA franchise, the Cleveland Crusaders, which shared the old Cleveland Arena with the Barons in beginning in 1972.[7] The new league ultimately created a financial disparity that the Barons could not compete with.[8] Local philanthropist George Gund III facilitated the relocation of the NHL's California Golden Seals to Cleveland in 1976 and renamed them the Barons. However, this latest incarnation was short lived, with the team merging with the Minnesota North Stars following the 1977–78 season.[8] In 1992 the Cleveland Lumberjacks, of the also now-defunct IHL, began play and lasted until 2001. Later in 2001, a third incarnation of the Barons was established, this time having returned to the AHL. The Barons moved to Worcester, Massachusetts following the 2006 season.

In 1997, Cleveland was awarded one of the original eight franchises in the WNBA, the Cleveland Rockers.[9] Although the Rockers finished first in the WNBA Eastern Conference on two occasions, they never made an appearance in the WNBA Finals. The team folded in 2003 after the league was unable to find a new owner. Previous owner Gordon Gund had dropped the team from operation, citing financial losses and poor attendance.[10]

From 1978 to 1988, Cleveland was home to the Cleveland Force of the MISL. After the Force folded in 1988 they were replaced by the Cleveland Crunch of the NPSL and MISL, who played from 1989 to 2005. The Crunch won three league championships in the 1990s, being the first Cleveland sports team to win a championship since the 1964 Cleveland Browns. They re-adopted the Force name in 2002 before ceasing operations in 2005.

Outdoor soccer has also been represented in Cleveland via the Cleveland Cobras (1972-Cleveland Stars, 1973–1981 Cobras) of the ASL and the Cleveland Stokers (1967–1968) of the North American Soccer League.

The Cleveland City Stars played in the United Soccer Leagues from 2006 to 2009, winning the USL Second Division championship in 2008 before folding after the 2009 season.

College sports

The headquarters of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are located in Cleveland. The conference also stages both its men's and women's basketball tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena.

In Division I NCAA, Cleveland State University fields 16 varsity sports playing in the Horizon League. The Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball teams play their home games at the Wolstein Center. The university has periodically considered forming a non-scholarship Division I FCS football program.[11][12][13]

In Division III NCAA, Case Western Reserve University fields 19 varsity sports playing in the UAA. Most notably, in both present day and in Cleveland pastime, is the Case Western Reserve Spartans football team, who boasts a history of football dating back to 1890.[14] Home games are played at DiSanto Field in University Circle.

Although there is no Division I college football team based in the city itself, Cleveland is nationally known for its support of Ohio State Buckeyes football. This is due to the team playing occasional games in Cleveland throughout the years, the large fan base of the Buckeyes (including many Ohio State alumni in the Cleveland/NE Ohio area), and numerous Cleveland area high school standouts playing for OSU (such as Glenville High School alums Troy Smith, winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy, and 2014 National Championship winning quarterback Cardale Jones).[15][16][17] Cleveland's devotion to Buckeyes football has been documented by fan surveys,[18] television ratings,[19] and even the Terminal Tower being lit up in scarlet and gray during OSU's 2014 National Championship run.[20]

Organizations

Professional

Present

Club League Venue Established Championships
Cleveland Browns NFL Football FirstEnergy Stadium 1946 8
(4 AAFC, 4 NFL)
Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Basketball Quicken Loans Arena 1970 0
Cleveland Indians MLB Baseball Progressive Field 1901 2
Cleveland Gladiators AFL Arena Football Quicken Loans Arena 2008 0
Lake Erie Monsters AHL Ice Hockey Quicken Loans Arena 2007 0

Past

Club League Venue Established/Moved to Cleveland Ended/Left Cleveland Fate of team Championships in Cleveland
Cleveland Barons AHL Ice Hockey Cleveland Arena 1937 1973 Moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Team eventually Folded 9
Cleveland Rebels BAA Basketball Cleveland Arena 1946 1947 Team Folded 0
Cleveland Barons NHL Ice Hockey Richfield Coliseum 1976 1978 Merged with Minnesota North Stars, eventually moved to Dallas, Texas. 0
Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL Ice Hockey Richfield Coliseum/Gund Arena 1992 2001 Team and League Folded 0
Cleveland Barons AHL Ice Hockey Gund Arena 2001 2006 Moved to Worcester, Mass. to become the Worcester Sharks 0
Cleveland Thunderbolts AFL Arena Football Richfield Coliseum 1992 1994 Team Folded 0
Cleveland Force MISL Indoor Soccer Richfield Coliseum 1978 1988 Team Folded 0
Cleveland Crunch/Force MISL, NPSL, MISL II Indoor Soccer Richfield Coliseum/Wolstein Center 1989 2005 Team and League Folded 3
Cleveland Rockers WNBA Basketball Gund Arena 1997 2003 Team Folded 0
Cleveland Crush LFL Football Quicken Loans Arena 2011 2013 Moved to Toledo, Ohio 0
Cleveland Rams AFL and NFL Football League Park 1936 1945 Moved to Los Angeles, CA 1
Cleveland Rosenblums ABL Basketball Cleveland Public Hall 1925 1931 Team Folded 3

Collegiate

Club Sport League Venue Location
Cleveland State Vikings 16 Varsity (10 men's, 9 women's) NCAA Division I (Horizon League) various - including:
Krenzler Field (soccer)
Wolstein Center (men's and women's basketball)
Woodling Gym (wrestling and volleyball)		 Cleveland
Case Western Reserve Spartans 19 Varsity (10 men's, 9 women's) NCAA Division III (University Athletic Association) various - including:
DiSanto Field (football, soccer)
Veale Athletic Center (men's and women's basketball)		 Cleveland

Current venues

Facility name Year opened
FirstEnergy Stadium 1999
Progressive Field 1994
Quicken Loans Arena 1994
Wolstein Center 1991
DiSanto Field 2005

Championships

Name Team Number Years
World Series Indians 2 1920, 1948
NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl era) Browns 4 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964
NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl era) Rams 1 1945
Calder Cup Barons 9 1939, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1964

See also

References

  1. ↑ Burt, Bill (September 9, 2008). "Sellouts! Record 456 and counting for Sox". Eagle Tribune. Retrieved September 10, 2008
  2. ↑ Darcy, Kieran (July 13, 2004). "Mistakes by the Lake". ESPN.com:. Archived from the original on October 13, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2005
  3. ↑ Walker, James (July 13, 2010). "Take your pick recap: LeBron vs. Modell". ESPN.com:. Retrieved July 27, 2010
  4. ↑ Maag, Christopher (October 1, 2009). "Forget Chicago: Cleveland Gets the Gay Games". Time. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Cleveland Barons (1976–1978)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Encyclopedia Of Cleveland History". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:CLEVELAND CRUSADERS". Ech.case.edu. 1997-06-20. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  8. 1 2 "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:CLEVELAND BARONS". Ech.case.edu. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  9. ↑ "Rockers divvied up in dispersal draft". USA Today. January 6, 2004. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Cleveland Rockers". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. September 28, 2006. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Board of Elections". CSUOhio.org. Cleveland State University. 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  12. ↑ Turner, Karl (October 14, 2008). "Cleveland State considers a new name and a new football team". Cleveland.com. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  13. ↑ Lubinger, Bill (April 15, 2010). "Poll shows Cleveland State students want football team, but costs dampen enthusiasm". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 10, 2010. The survey was the next phase in a process that began in late 2008, when then-outgoing CSU President Michael Schwartz floated the idea of a Vikings football team to enhance the college experience and campus atmosphere.
  14. ↑ http://case.edu/its/archives/Seasons/wfoot1890.htm
  15. ↑ | Best of Cleveland 2013 | Sports & Recreation | Cleveland Scene
  16. ↑ "OSU Pride in Cleveland!!" - O-H-I-O - The Ohio State University
  17. ↑ New Browns owner: ‘I’d love Ohio State to play’ in Cleveland | CollegeFootballTalk
  18. ↑ College Football Fan Map - NY Times.com
  19. ↑ College football semifinals ratings - ESPN Media Zone.com
  20. ↑ Terminal Tower in scarlet and gray - Twitter.com

External links

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