Spring Break
Indians looking to end curse dating back to '64
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports
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However, with every year that the city of Brotherly Love waits, the city of Cleveland waits almost two decades longer.
The Indians currently hold a 3-1 series lead against the Boston Red Sox. Should the Tribe knock off the Sox, they'd play the Colorado Rockies for the right to take home hardware the club hasn't captured since 1948.
The city that sits off Lake Ontario last celebrated a major sports title December 27, 1964, when the Browns defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the National Football League Championship Game. Notice I didn't use the term "Super Bowl." The first "Super Bowl" was played in 1967, and they still had two leagues, the AFL and the NFL (the two leagues would later merge in 1970).
Just a year after the Browns won the title in 1965, their Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, abruptly retired from the league to pursue an acting career. This became the first of many blows that the city has had to deal with.
Most recently it was the Cavaliers, led by Lebron James, who were swept at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers have never won an NBA championship in their history and currently hold a 37-year drought (the team was founded in 1970).
In 1997 the Indians were just an inning away from winning the World Series leading the Florida Marlins 2-1 in Game 7 heading into the ninth. That was until they brought in Jose Mesa, who at the time was arguably the most dominant closer in the league. Two hits and a sacrifice fly later the game was tied. In the 11th after an error on a groundball that would've been a sure double play, Edgar Renteria hit a two out bases loaded single scoring Craig Counsell and that was that. The Indians had blown the chance to end their franchise and city droughts.
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