Look Back: Last time the Cleveland Browns won the division title

It has been over 30 years since the Cleveland Browns last won a division title and they did so in 1989, which was a pretty busy year. 

The Cleveland Browns have not won a divisional title since 1989. That’s 33 years ago and I wasn’t even alive yet as I just turned 31 back in January. The last time the team won the division, it wasn’t even called the AFC North but instead the AFC Central.

At the time, there were only 28 teams, as the Ravens, Panthers, Jaguars, and Texans did not exist yet. Now, there are 32 teams and the NFL realigned the divisions to make four teams in four different divisions in two conferences.

Cleveland was led by quarterback Bernie Kosar, wide receiver Webster Slaughter, rookie running back Eric Metcalf, and linebacker Clay Matthews, who should be in the Hall of Fame.

The Browns had a record of 9-6-1 and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game, where they met up with a familiar playoff foe; John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Cleveland lost to the Broncos for the third time in four seasons 37-21, thus giving the fans another dose of heartache.

Denver would go on to get beat down by the San Francisco 49ers, 55-10, who were led by Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, who threw for 297 yards and five touchdowns. Jerry Rice caught seven passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

Montana also won the regular-season MVP award that year. Elsewhere in the sports world, the Oakland Athletics won the World Series, the Detroit Pistons swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, and the Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup.

Nolan Ryan surpassed the 5,000 strikeout plateau. NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, announced he was retiring. In October, Paul Tagliabue was named the new commissioner of the NFL.

While I was not born yet, I used one of the best creations to come out in 1989; the Nintendo Game Boy. If you were growing up in the 1990s, then you more than likely had a Game Boy, or at the very least, your friends did. This was a complete game-changer, pun fully intended. Nintendo took the gaming world by storm and the Game Boy was such a genius concept. Now, instead of having to be at home or at a friend’s house to play a game, you could take It wherever you went.

There was a lot that happened in the world of pop culture in 1989. Seinfeld – arguably the greatest sitcom of all time and my personal favorite – was released in July. Later in the year in December, The Simpsons debuted and has been on television ever since. Those are two of the biggest shows that were ever created and they both came out in 1989.

The top-grossing movie of 1989 was Batman, which brought in over $251 million. That was a phenomenal movie that sort of launched how superhero movies would be made moving forward. Other movies that premiered in 1989 include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Back to the Future II, Ghostbusters 2, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Lethal Weapon 2, and When Harry Met Sally.

Some of the top recording artists in 1989 include Duran Duran, Phil Collins, Prince, Madonna, New Kids on the Block (this is for you Mom and Liv), and Garth Brooks. Taylor Swift was born in December and is now one of the biggest artists on planet earth.

George H. W. Bush was sworn in as the 41st President of the United States in January. A huge topic of conversation happening in our everyday lives is the cost of gas. Back in 1989, the cost of a gallon of gas was ONE DOLLAR. That’s it. Now, that number has ballooned 4.5 times as gas is now over $4.50. Think about that for just a second. Unreal.

The Browns have a team in place that could potentially win the AFC North in 2022 and possibly win even more than that, but let’s just focus on making the playoffs – hopefully via winning the division – before we get too far ahead of ourselves.