How Long It's Been: Washington, D.C. Won a World Championship In Any Sport

Congratulations to the Washington Capitals, for winning their 1st Stanley Cup last night, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, to take the Finals in 5 games.

Washington, D.C. has had a long sports history, but not a very successful one:

* In hockey, the Caps had never won the Cup in their previous 43 years, and had only been to the Finals once before.

* In basketball, Washington-based teams had reached the NBA Finals in 1949, 1975, 1978 and 1979, but that's it. The Wizards, then the Bullets, won only in 1978. (They played as the Baltimore Bullets from 1963 to 1973, but are not connected to the Baltimore Bullets franchise that won the 1948 NBA Championship.)

* In baseball, while the Nationals have won 4 of the last 6 National League Eastern Division titles, no Washington team has won a Pennant since the 1933 Senators, and none has won a postseason series, let alone a World Series, since the 1924 Senators.

* In soccer, D.C. United have won the MLS Cup in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. But, given the level of quality in Major League Soccer, that hardly qualifies as a "world championship."

* In football, the Redskins are easily the area's most successful team. They have reached the NFL Championship Game, both before and after it began to be called the Super Bowl, 10 times, winning it 5: In the seasons of 1937, 1942, 1982, 1987 and 1991.

But that 1991 season, concluding with Super Bowl XXVI, remained the Capital region's last World Championship in any sport, until last night. The Redskins jumped out to a 17-0 lead on the Buffalo Bills, and coasted to a 37-24 win.

That last title was on January 26, 1992 -- 16 years, 5 months and 12 days. How long has that been?

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For the 3rd time in 10 seasons, Joe Gibbs coached the Redskins to a Super Bowl win. And, while there were a few players who were on all 3 title teams, he had done it with 3 different starting quarterbacks: Joe Theismann (XVII), Doug Williams (XXII), and now Mark Rypien (XXVI). Williams and Rypien had been named Most Valuable Player of the games.

The old "Hogs" offensive line had evolved a bit: Center Jeff Bostic and tackle Joe Jacoby were still starting, but guard Russ Grimm was now an aging reserve. The guards were Raleigh McKenzie and Mark Schlereth, and the other tackle was Jim Lachey.

Future Hall-of-Famers Art Monk and Darrell Green were still on the Redskins. They also still had defensive stalwart Charles Mann, and had picked up Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX veteran Wilber Marshall. Earnest Byner was on this Redskins team, and earned redemption for his "The Fumble" that cost the Cleveland Browns a shot at, ironically, Super Bowl XXII, in which the Redskins beat the Denver Broncos.

There was an NFL team in Houston, but it was the Oilers, not the Texans. There were 2 teams in Los Angeles, and 1 was the Rams, but the other was the Raiders, not the Chargers. Baltimore and St. Louis had been trying to get replacement teams, and soon would. Charlotte, Jacksonville and Tennessee had teams in previous "rebel leagues," but had not yet gotten them in the NFL. That would also soon change.

Of the 28 teams then in the NFL, only 5 were using the stadiums that they used in the 2017 season: The Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, the Buffalo Bills at what was then called Rich Stadium, the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, and the Miami Dolphins at what was then called Joe Robbie Stadium. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was then being used by the Raiders, not the Rams.

Only 7 MLB teams are using the same ballparks, only 5 NBA teams are using the same arena (and the Milwaukee Bucks are about to drop it to 4), and only 2 NHL teams are, the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames.

The Denver Broncos, the Los Angeles Rams, the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles had never won a Super Bowl. Nor had the Colts since moving to Indianapolis. The Rams hadn't won an NFL Championship since 1951; the Eagles, since 1960.

The Buccaneers, the Seahawks, the Saints, the San Diego Chargers, the Atlanta Falcons, the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) had never reached a Super Bowl. Nor had the Colts since moving to Indianapolis. The team then known as the Phoenix Cardinals hadn't won a postseason game since 1947. Mel Hein (for another 5 days), Ray Flaherty, Danny Fortmann, Don Hutson and Alex Wojciechowicz were still alive.

Those facts have all since changed.

Except for Joe Montana, the defining players of my childhood were all retired. Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were in high school. Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Troy Polamalu were in junior high. Ben Roethlisberger was about to turn 10 years old, Aaron Rodgers was 8, Matt Ryan was 6, Clay Matthews was 5, Russell Wilson was 3; Cam Newton, Rob Gronkowski and Andrew Luck were 2; and Odell Beckham Jr., Johnny Manziel, Dak Prescott, Marcus Mariota, Baker Mayfield, Joey Bosa and Juju Smith-Schuster weren't born yet.

Pat Shurmur of the Giants was an assistant coach at Michigan State. Todd Bowles of the Jets was playing for the San Francisco 49ers, although he would be acquired by the Redskins the next season. Outgoing Islander head coach Doug Weight was playing for the Rangers. David Quinn of the Rangers was playing for their Binghamton Rangers farm team. Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was playing minor-league basketball. Patrick Vieira of New York City FC was playing in the youth system of Tours FC in France. Aaron Boone of the Yankees was playing at USC. David Fizdale of the Knicks was playing at the University of San Diego. And Mickey Callaway of the Mets, John Hynes of the Devils and Jesse Marsch of the Red Bulls were in high school.

The Redskins dethroned the Giants as NFL Champions. The other defending World Champions were the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago Bulls and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was Evander Holyfield.

The Olympic Games have since been held in America twice, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain, Russia, Brazil and Korea. The World Cup has since been held in America, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa and Brazil, and is about to open in Russia.

There were 26 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The 27th Amendment, prohibiting members of Congress from passing an increase in their own pay without it taking effect with the next Congress, was declared ratified on May 5, 1992. The idea of same-sex marriage was ridiculous, but so was the idea of corporations being "people" with the rights thereof. Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas were the only Justices then on the Supreme Court who are still on it.

Barack Obama was the president. Of the Harvard Law Review. Later in the year, he would graduate from Harvard University, and marry another lawyer, Michelle Robinson.

The President of the United States was George H.W. Bush. After broadcasting that Super Bowl, CBS broadcast their usual Sunday night fare, the "newsmagazine" 60 Minutes, including an interview with the leading candidate for Bush's job in the Democratic Party's primaries, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, and his wife, Hillary. They addressed questions about their marriage, Bill's mistakes in it, and Hillary's role, real and perceived, in the campaign. It may have saved Bill's nomination, but it only deepened Republicans' hate for both of them.

Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, their wives, and the widows of Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy were still alive. George W. Bush was the owner of the Texas Rangers. Donald Trump was between his 1st and 2nd wives, and was bankrupt. The idea that he could be elected President, or do a good job at it, was insane.

The Mayor of Washington, D.C. -- and, in effect, also the Governor of the District of Columbia -- was Sharon Pratt Kelly. The Mayor of the City of New York was David Dinkins. The Governor of the State of New York was Mario Cuomo, and that of New Jersey was Jim Florio.

The current holders of those offices? Respectively: Muriel Bowser was attending Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Bill de Blasio was an aide to Dinkins, Andrew Cuomo was an aide to his father, and Phil Murphy was a rising star at Goldman Sachs.

There were still living veterans of the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the Philippine Campaign of 1898-1902, the Boer War of 1899-1902, and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. There were living survivors of the Johnstown Flood of 1889.

Burmese human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi was the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires.

Canada's Prime Minister was Brian Mulroney. Elizabeth II was Queen of England, but her 40th Anniversary on the throne was about to be tainted by the breakup of the marriage of Charles and Diana, and soon also by a fire at Windsor Castle. Prime Minister John Major led the Conservative Party to victory for the first and, as it turned out, only time. There have since been 5 Presidents of the United States, 5 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.

England moved from its old "Football League" to its "English Premier League," with Leeds United winning the last title of the old League, and Liverpool winning the FA Cup thanks to Ian Rush (no surprise there) and Michael Thomas (big surprise, since his goal beat Liverpool for Arsenal to win the League 3 years earlier). And 1992 was also the year soccer's European Cup was first won by Barcelona, and it became the UEFA Champions League that fall.

Major books of 1992 included The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller, The Pelican Brief by John Grisham, Jazz by Toni Morrison, Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan (who, clearly, still had her groove going), The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! by Mordecai Richler (a great study of how the Province relates to the rest of the country), Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, and the debut of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series of horror novels for young adults.

As if young people in that era needed any more things to frighten them. Trust me, I know. Speaking of which, 1992 was also the year Stephen King published Dolores Claiborne. George R.R. Martin began writing A Game of Thrones. J.K. Rowling had already begun writing Harry Potter and the Philsopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone.

Major movies of 1992 included A Few Good Men (based on the play written by Aaron Sorkin, including Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" diatribe), Scent of a Woman (finally getting Al Pacino his Oscar), The Bodyguard (and, despite the belief of the Kim Fields character on Living Single, it was not a comedy), In the Line of Fire (another bodyguard film, with Clint Eastwood saving a fictional President from John Malkovich), Unforgiven (which may turn out to be the last great Western movie, and may be Eastwood's best film), and the original, quite campy version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Kristy Swanson.

That year, Swanson also appeared in The Program, starring James Caan as a beleaguered college football coach. (Filmed at the University of South Carolina, including its Williams-Brice Stadium.) Michael Keaton was about to appear in Batman Returns. Dean Cain would soon begin filming Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The James Bond franchise was in legal limbo, between the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan eras. Also in limbo was the Doctor Who franchise, with Sylvester McCoy standing as the last and Seventh Doctor.

Michael Douglas, 47 years old, was starring in Basic Instinct with Sharon Stone. And Catherine Zeta-Jones, just 22, was starring in the British TV series The Darling Buds of May, and sang "For All Time," a minor hit on the British charts, which was recorded for a concept album titled Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus – which was apparently never filmed, unlike the 1960 version of
Spartacus, starring Catherine's future father-in-law, Kirk Douglas.

Johnny Carson was about to hand The Tonight Show off to Jay Leno. The Arsenio Hall Show was doing well, and would soon be booming. The Sci-Fi Channel debuted. NBC dropped Saturday morning cartoons in favor of Saved By the Bell. TV shows premiering included Barney & Friends, MTV's The Real World, Melrose Place, The Larry Sanders Show, and one of my all-time favorites, Mad About You. Shows that closed included The Cosby Show, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, MacGyver and Night Court. Seinfeld aired "The Contest," effectively proclaiming Jerry Seinfeld to be master of the domain of televised comedy.

The Number 1 song in America was "All 4 Love" by Color Me Badd. The big movement in music was grunge, led by Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam. Paul Simon became the 1st major musical artist to tour South Africa after the end of apartheid. The Freddie Mercury tribute concert was held at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

Singer Selena eloped with her guitarist, Chris Perez. David Bowie married Somali fashion model Iman, who had once been married to basketball star Spencer Haywood. This marriage may have been the first one where a supermodel married a man who was thinner. Whitney Houston married Bobby Brown. Dr. Dre was about to release The Chronic, which would introduce the world to Snoop Dogg – or Snoop Doggy Dogg, as he was then known.

Shakira Mebarak was 15 years old. Kanye West, Brian Dietzen, Sean Murray and Chadwick Boseman were 14. Stana Katic was 13. Alecia Moore was 12 years old and not yet Pink. Kourtney Kardashian, Heath Ledger, Brandon Routh and Cote de Pablo were also 12. Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys were 11. Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Alba, Stephen Amell, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Chris Evans, Beyonce, Britney Spears and Sienna Miller were 10.

Natalie Dormer, Hayley Atwell, Kirsten Dunst, Seth Rogen, Stephen Amell, Matt Smith and Anne Hathaway were 9. Henry Cavill and Robert Pattinson were 8. Khloe Kardashian, Emily Wickersham, Katy Perry and Scarlett Johansson were 7. Peter Gene Hernandez (the future Bruno Mars), Chrissy Teigen and Raven-Symone were 6. Stefani Germanotta (the future Lady Gaga), Aubrey Drake Graham, Richard Madden, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington were 5. Rose Leslie and Rob Kardashian were 4. Robyn Rihanna Fenty and Emma Stone were 3. Taylor Swift, Daniel Radcliffe and Liam Hemsworth were 2. Kristin Stewart and Emma Watson were 1 1/2. Jennifer Lawrence was 1.

Daisy Ridley, Jack Gleeson, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Ashley Frangipane (the future Halsey), Sophie Turner, Zendaya Coleman, Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maisie Williams, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner weren't born yet. In fact, Miley's father Billy Ray hadn't even released his shaky flaky song "Achy Breaky Heart" yet. Sarah Hyland was the only one of the Modern Family kids, and Louis Tomlinson the only member of One Direction, who had yet been born.

No one had yet heard of Alex Cross, Fox Mulder, Andy Sipowicz, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Doug Ross, Alan Partridge, Jay & Silent Bob, Bridget Jones, Xena, Ash Ketchum, Austin Powers, Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Robert Langdon, Master Chief, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Rick Grimes, Wynonna Earp, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Katniss Everdeen, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope or Sarah Manning.

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.82 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 29 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.25. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.19, a cup of coffee $1.60, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $4.00, a movie ticket $4.15, a new car $16,334, and a new house $144,500. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the preceding Friday at 3,232.78.

The tallest building in the world was the Sears Tower in Chicago. The leading home video game system was the Sega Genesis. There were mobile telephones, but they were still pretty big. High-definition television was something that was beginning to be heard about, but most people hadn't yet seen it. Microsoft released Windows 3.1. The Internet existed, but most of us hadn't heard of it yet. There was no Netscape, no America Online, no Google, no Wikipedia, no Facebook, no Twitter, no YouTube, no Instagram, no Pinterest. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra. 

In the Winter of 1992, the Serbian atrocities in Bosnia got underway. Ethnic Armenians killed over 600 Azerbaijanis in the Khojaly Massacre in Azerbaijan. Turkey lost over 200 people in a coal mine collapse, and another 500 in an earthquake. Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris) opened. Comedian Sam Kinison was killed in a car crash.

Menachem Begin, blues legend Willie Dixon, and Walmart founder Sam Walton died. So did Paul Heinreid, the last surviving major actor in Casablanca. Kyrie Irving, and Jack Wilshere, and Neymar were born.

January 26, 1992: The Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI. It would be the last World Championship own by a team representing the American capital of Washington, D.C. for 26 years.

Given the current positions of the Capitals and the Nationals, D.C. may not have to wait so long again. But, given their current conditions, it probably won't be either the Redskins or the Wizards who wins it next.