Welcome back to the 25 for 25 Series! G-Man is turning 25 on July 23rd and to celebrate, I am counting down each of the sporting years I have been alive for. Full rules on the 25 for 25 Main Page.
Stanley Cup Champion: Montreal Canadiens (48-30-6, #4 Wales Conference) — The Habs won their 24th Cup in franchise history and the back of goaltender Patrick Roy. It’s fitting Montreal won the Stanley Cup in the year of its 100th anniversary as they have won so many more than any other franchise. To this day, no Canadian-based team has won the Cup since this championship. 1993 saw the beginning of Gary Bettman’s tenure as the Commisioner of the NHL as well as the beginnings of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators franchises. We said goodbye to the Minnesota North Stars as they relocated to Dallas and to the Wales and Campbell Conferences as they were realigned to the geographic Eastern and Western conferences to begin the next season.
NBA Champion: Chicago Bulls (57-25, #2 Eastern Conference) — Capping off the first “three-peat,” Michael Jordan dominated Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, literally. MJ set an NBA Finals record averaging 41.0 points over six games, a feat that has not been matched since. Jordan also tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record of seven regular season scoring titles. 1993 also saw the debut of Shaquille O’Neal who made a big splash by not only winning the Rookie of the Year Award, but also by shattering two backboards leading to the league requiring stronger backboards to prevent such occurances.
World Series Champion: Toronto Blue Jays (95-67, #1 American League) — Touch’em all Joe. This incredible World Series was capped off by one of the greatest moments in baseball history. Toronto Blue Jays slugger stepped in the bottom of the ninth and belted a three-run shot off of Phillies’ closer Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams to win Game Six and the World Series, the second-straight for Toronto. Carter joined Bill Mazeroski as the only players in history to win the World Series from a walk-off home run. 1993 also saw the addition of the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies, bring the number of teams in the majors to 28.
Super Bowl Champion: Dallas Cowboys (12-4, #1 NFC) — For the second time in as many seasons, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl and for the fourth time in as many season, the Buffalo Bills lost the Super Bowl. Neither that streak of four losses nor the back-to-back matchups has been repeated again. Emmitt Smith was the most valuable player of both the regular season (1,486 rushing yards, 414 receiving yards, and 10 total touchdowns) and the Super Bowl (132 rushing yards for two touchdowns) despite sitting out the first two games of the season because of a contract dispute.
NCAA Football National Champion: Florida State Seminoles
NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion: North Carolina Tar Heels
Masters Champion: Bernhard Langer (2nd Major)
US Open Champion: Lee Janzen (1st Major)
British Open Champion: Greg Norman (2nd Major)
PGA Champion: Paul Azinger (1st Major)
1993 was the only year to have two major championships captured by Canadian-based teams. While Montreal’s is discussed with every passing season that a Canadian team doesn’t win the Cup, the Blue Jays’ World Series is what resonates with me the most. I was barely three when Joe Carter hit that bomb but that call gives me both the chills and a hear attack whenever I heart it. Every. Single. Time.
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