The Cleveland sports community is anchored by three major league professional sports teams: the Cleveland Browns (National Football League), Cleveland Guardians (Major League Baseball), and Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association). The city is also home to two minor league affiliates that serve as developmental teams for major league franchises: the Cleveland Monsters (American Hockey League, affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL) and Cleveland Charge (NBA G League, affiliated with the Cavaliers). Another professional team, the Cleveland Crunch, play in Major League Indoor Soccer. Local sporting facilities include Progressive Field, Huntington Bank Field, Rocket Arena, the Wolstein Center, and Public Auditorium.
Historically, the Browns have been among the winningest franchises in American football history winning eight titles during a short period of time—1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. The Browns have never played in a Super Bowl, getting a game away five times making it to the NFL/AFC Championship Game in 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, and 1989. Former owner Art Modell's relocation of the Browns after the 1995 season (to Baltimore creating the Ravens), caused tremendous heartbreak and resentment among local fans. Cleveland mayor, Michael R. White, worked with the NFL and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to bring back the Browns beginning in 1999 season, retaining all team history. In earlier NFL history, the Cleveland Bulldogs won the NFL Championship in 1924, and the Cleveland Rams won the NFL Championship in 1945 before relocating to Los Angeles.
The Cleveland Guardians (then known as the Indians) won the World Series in 1920 and 1948. They also won the American League pennant, making the World Series in the 1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016 seasons. 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. The franchise changed its name beginning with the 2022 season from the Indians to the Guardians.
The Cavaliers have won the Eastern Conference in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The team's first and only NBA championship was won in 2016 after coming back from a 3–1 deficit, defeating the defending champions Golden State Warriors. Afterwards, an estimated 1.3 million people attended a parade held in the Cavs honor on June 22, 2016. This was the first time the city had planned for a championship parade in 50 years. Basketball, the Cleveland Rosenblums dominated the original American Basketball League winning three of the first five championships (1926, 1929, 1930), and the Cleveland Pipers, owned by George Steinbrenner, won the American Basketball League championship in 1962.
From 1964–2016, the city's failure to win a trophy in any major professional sport earned a reputation of being a cursed sports city, extensively covered by the 2016 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Believeland. In addition, changes in the Cleveland sports landscape 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. The Cleveland sports curse is considered to have ended in June 2016, when the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Shortly before the Cavaliers' victory, the Monsters defeated the Hershey Bears to become AHL champions, the first time a Cleveland hockey team had won the Calder Cup since 1964.
Notable Cleveland athletes to win top individual accolades include boxer Johnny Kilbane, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame track and field competitors Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard, mixed martial artist Stipe Miocic, snowboarder Red Gerard, pole vaulter Katie Nageotte, and professional wrestlers Mike "The Miz" Mizanin and Dolph Ziggler (real name Nic Nemeth). Kilbane had a 12-year reign as World Featherweight Champion and is an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. Owens, who grew up in Cleveland after moving from Alabama when he was nine, 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 × 100 meter relay team. Cleveland native Dillard is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, having won his medals during the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics in various track and field events. Cleveland State University alum and area native Miocic is a two-time UFC World Heavyweight Champion. Area natives Gerard and Nagotte won Olympic gold medals for snowboarding (2018 Winter Olympics) and pole vaulting (2020 Summer Olympics) respectively. Area natives Mizanin and Ziggler are both two-time World Champions in WWE, with Mizanin holding the WWE Championship and Ziggler the World Heavyweight Championship.Cleveland native Katie Nageotte takes home gold in women's pole vault at Tokyo Olympics - News 5 Cleveland.com (WEWS)WWE Championship - WWE.comWorld Heavyweight Championship - WWE.com
Teams
Professional Current Major League ClubSportLeagueVenueEst. in CLEChampionships Cleveland Browns Football National Football League Huntington Bank Field 1946 8 Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball National Basketball Association Rocket Arena 1970 1 Cleveland Sirens Basketball Women's National Basketball Association Rocket Arena 2028 0 Cleveland Guardians Baseball Major League Baseball Progressive Field 1901 2
Minor League ClubSportLeagueVenueEst. in CLEChampionships Cleveland Charge Basketball NBA G League Public Auditorium 2021 0* Cleveland Monsters Ice hockey American Hockey League Rocket Arena 2007 1Cleveland CrunchIndoor SoccerMajor League Indoor SoccerWolstein Center19895
(*) - The Charge have one NBA G League (then known as NBADL) Championship to their credit from 2006 when they were based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and known as the Thunderbirds.
Past ClubLeagueVenueFirst season(in Cleveland)Last season(in Cleveland)Fate of teamChampionships(in Cleveland) Cleveland Barons National Hockey League Richfield Coliseum 1976 1978 Merged with Minnesota North Stars 0 Cleveland Blues National League Kennard Street Park 1879 1884 Absorbed into the Brooklyn Dodgers 0 Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs National Football League Dunn Field 1923 1927 Moved to Detroit 1 Cleveland Rams American Football LeagueNational Football League League ParkCleveland Municipal StadiumShaw Stadium 1936 1945 Moved to Los Angeles 1 Cleveland Indians/Tigers Ohio LeagueAmerican Professional Football AssociationNational Football League League Park 1916 1922 Team folded 0 Cleveland Indians of 1931 National Football League Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1931 1931 Team folded 0 Cleveland Spiders American AssociationNational League League ParkNational League Park 1887 1899 Team folded 1 Cleveland Rosenblums American Basketball League Cleveland Public Hall 1925 1931 Team folded 3 Cleveland Barons American Hockey League Cleveland Arena 1937 1973 Moved to Jacksonville 9 Cleveland Rebels Basketball Association of America Cleveland Arena 1946 1947 Team folded 0 Cleveland Pipers American Basketball League Cleveland Public HallCleveland Arena 1961 1962 Team folded 1 Cleveland Crusaders World Hockey Association Cleveland ArenaRichfield Coliseum 1972 1976 Moved to Saint PaulThe Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the World Hockey Association, 1972–79. Scott Adam Surgent. Tempe, AZ: Xaler Press 0 Cleveland Force Major Indoor Soccer League Richfield Coliseum 1978 1988 Team folded 0 Cleveland Jaybirds American Professional Slo-Pitch League Rose Field 1977 1978 Changed name with new owner Ted Stepien 0 Cleveland Stepien's Competitors APSPL, North American Softball League Rose FieldDaniel's Field 1979 1980 Disbanded with league (NASL) 0 Cleveland Competitors United Professional Softball League Daniel's Field 1982 1982 Disbanded with league 0 Cleveland Thunderbolts Arena Football League Richfield Coliseum 1992 1994 Team folded 0 Cleveland Gladiators Arena Football League Quicken Loans Arena 2008 2017 League folded before the team could return from hiatus 0 Cleveland Lumberjacks International Hockey League Richfield ColiseumGund Arena 1992 2001 Team and league folded 0 Cleveland Rockers Women's National Basketball Association Gund Arena 1997 2003 Team folded 0 Cleveland Barons American Hockey League Gund Arena 2001 2006 Moved to Worcester 0 Cleveland Crush Legends Football League Quicken Loans Arena 2011 2013 Moved to Toledo 0
College ClubSportLeagueVenueLocationCleveland State Vikings16 Varsity (7 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)ClevelandCase Western Reserve Spartans19 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 arenas and stadiums
Facility name Year opened Huntington Bank Field 1999 Progressive Field 1994 Public Auditorium 1922 Rocket Arena 1994 Wolstein Center 1991 DiSanto Field 2005
Major professional championships
MLB Cleveland Buckeyes (1) 1945 Negro World Series championship
Cleveland Guardians (2) 1920 & 1948 World Series championships (known then as the Indians)
Cleveland Spiders (1) 1895 Temple Cup Series championship
NBA Cleveland Cavaliers (1) 2016 NBA championship
NFL Cleveland Browns (8) 1946, 1947, 1948, & 1949 AAFC championships 1950, 1954, 1955, & 1964 NFL championships*
Cleveland Bulldogs (1) 1924 NFL championship*
Cleveland Rams (1) 1945 NFL championship*
(*) - Pre-Super Bowl era
Past teams
The city has been home to several additional professional sports franchises, including a women's basketball team, multiple soccer teams, and a past incarnation of the Cleveland Browns now known as the Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland has also been home to several ice hockey franchises, beginning in 1937 with the AHL member Cleveland Barons. 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. 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. The new league ultimately created a financial disparity that the Barons could not compete with. 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. 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. 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.