Sports in Ohio
Major league sports teams
Ohio is home to major professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, and soccer. The state's major professional sporting teams include: Cincinnati Reds (Major League Baseball),[1] Cleveland Guardians (Major League Baseball),[2] Cincinnati Bengals (National Football League),[3] Cleveland Browns (National Football League),[3] Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association),[4] Columbus Blue Jackets (National Hockey League),[5] Columbus Crew (Major League Soccer), Columbus Fury (Pro Volleyball Federation) and FC Cincinnati (Major League Soccer).[6]
Ohio played a central role in the development of both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Baseball's first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, were organized in Ohio.[7] An informal early 20th century American football association, the Ohio League, was the direct predecessor of the NFL, although neither of Ohio's modern NFL franchises trace their roots to an Ohio League club. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton.
Ohio teams have won seven World Series (five for Cincinnati Reds, two for Cleveland Guardians), nine NFL Championships (four for Cleveland Browns, two for Canton Bulldogs, one for Cleveland Rams, one for Akron Pros, one for Cleveland Bulldogs), one NBA Finals (Cleveland Cavaliers), four AAFC Championships (Cleveland Browns), and three MLS Cups (Columbus Crew).
Team | Sport | League | City | Venue (capacity) | League titles |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati Reds | Baseball | Major League Baseball | Cincinnati | Great American Ball Park | 5 |
Cleveland Guardians | Cleveland | Progressive Field | 2 | ||
Columbus Crew | Association football | Major League Soccer | Columbus | Lower.com Field | 3 |
FC Cincinnati | Cincinnati | TQL Stadium | 0 | ||
Cleveland Cavaliers | Basketball | National Basketball Association | Cleveland | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 1 |
Cincinnati Bengals | American football | National Football League | Cincinnati | Paycor Stadium | 0 |
Cleveland Browns | Cleveland | FirstEnergy Stadium
|
4 | ||
Columbus Blue Jackets | Ice hockey | National Hockey League | Columbus | Nationwide Arena | 0 |
Minor league teams
On a smaller scale, Ohio hosts
The minor league baseball teams include
Ohio's minor professional football teams include:
Ohio's minor league hockey teams include: Cleveland Monsters (American Hockey League), Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL), and the Toledo Walleye (ECHL).
Ohio’s minor league basketball teams include: Cleveland Charge (NBA G League) and Burning River Buckets, (American Basketball Association)
Ohio has been home to teams in many lower-division soccer leagues. The second-level
Ohio is also home to the Cleveland Comets, a minor professional softball club, of National Pro Fastpitch.
Baseball
Team | Level | League | Affiliate | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbus Clippers | Triple-A | International League | Cleveland Guardians | Columbus | Huntington Park |
Toledo Mud Hens | Detroit Tigers | Toledo | Fifth Third Field | ||
Akron RubberDucks | Double-A | Eastern League | Cleveland Guardians | Akron | Canal Park |
Dayton Dragons | High-A | Midwest League | Cincinnati Reds | Dayton | Day Air Ballpark |
Lake County Captains | Cleveland Guardians | Eastlake | Classic Park | ||
Lake Erie Crushers | Independent | Frontier League | None | Avon | Mercy Health Stadium |
Basketball
Team | Level | League | Affiliate | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Charge | NBA
|
NBA G League | Cleveland Cavaliers | Cleveland | Wolstein Center |
Cincinnati Warriors | Independent | The Basketball League | None | Cincinnati | Courts 4 Sports |
Dayton Flight | Dayton | Dayton Sports Complex | |||
Glass City Wranglers
|
Toledo | Owens Community College |
Football
Team | Level | League | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Columbus Wild Dogs | Indoor
|
Indoor Football League | Columbus | Nationwide Arena |
Columbus Chaos | Women's II | Women's Football Alliance | Columbus | |
Cincinnati Sizzle | Women's developmental | Cincinnati |
Ice hockey
Team | Level | League | Affiliate | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Monsters | High-level | American Hockey League | Columbus Blue Jackets | Cleveland | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse |
Cincinnati Cyclones | Mid-level | ECHL | Buffalo Sabres | Cincinnati | Heritage Bank Center |
Toledo Walleye | Detroit Red Wings | Toledo | Huntington Center | ||
Youngstown Phantoms | Junior | United States Hockey League | None | Youngstown | Covelli Centre |
Association football (soccer)
Team | Level | League | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Columbus Crew 2 | Division III | MLS Next Pro | Columbus | Historic Crew Stadium |
FC Cincinnati 2 | Cincinnati | NKU Soccer Stadium (KY) |
Individual sports
Notable drivers from Ohio include
The
Ohio has several short ovals, including Eldora Speedway and Toledo Speedway. Notable dragstrips in Ohio include the National Trail Raceway and the Summit Motorsports Park.
Ohio hosts two
The
Major annual events
Sport | Event | League | Facility | Location | Year established |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auto racing | Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio | IndyCar | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington | 1970 |
Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio | IMSA SportsCar Championship | 1963 | |||
O'Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio | NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
|
2022 | |||
Dawn 150
|
ARCA Menards Series | 2022 | |||
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals | NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
|
Summit Motorsports Park | Norwalk | 2007 | |
Herr's Potato Chips 200 | ARCA Menards Series | Toledo Speedway | Toledo | 1953 | |
Golf | Memorial Tournament | PGA Tour | Muirfield Village | Dublin | 1976 |
Dana Open | LPGA Tour
|
Highland Meadows Golf Club | Sylvania | 1984 | |
Kroger Queen City Championship | Kenwood County Club | Cincinnati | 2022 | ||
Horse racing | Little Brown Jug | Harness Racing for Pacers
|
Delaware County Fairgrounds | Delaware | 1946 |
Tennis | Cincinnati Masters
|
ATP/WTA | Lindner Family Tennis Center | Mason | 1899 |
Former professional teams
Former major league teams:
- Akron Pros (NFL) (1920–1925)
- Canton Bulldogs (NFL) (1920–1923; 1925–1926)
- Portsmouth Spartans (NFL) (1930–1933)
- Cincinnati Red Stockings (NL) (1876–1880)
- Cleveland Blues(NL) (1879–1884)
- AA-NL) (1887–1899)
- Cleveland Rams (NFL) (1936–1945)
- Cleveland Rebels (BAA) (1946–1947)
- Cincinnati Royals(NBA) (1957–1972)
- Cleveland Barons (NHL) (1976–1978)
- Cleveland Crusaders (WHA)(1972–1976)
- Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) (1975–1979)
- Dayton Triangles (NFL) (1920–1929)
- Cleveland Rockers (WNBA) (1997–2003)
- Columbus Destroyers (AFL) (2004–2008; 2019)
- Cincinnati Marshals(National Indoor Football League) (2005–2007)
- Mahoning Valley Thunder (af2) (2006–2009)
- Miami Valley Silverbacks(Continental Indoor Football League) (2006–2012)
- Toledo Maroons (NFL) (1922-1923)
Collegiate sports
Ohio has eight NCAA Division I FBS college football teams, divided among three different conferences. It has also experienced considerable success in the secondary and tertiary tiers of college football divisions.
In FBS, representing the Big Ten, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team ranks 5th among all-time winningest programs, with eight national championships and seven Heisman Trophy winners. Their biggest rivals are the Michigan Wolverines, whom they traditionally play each year as the last game of their regular season schedule.
Ohio is one of only two states to have two colleges to appear in the
Ohio has six teams represented in the Mid-American Conference: the Akron Zips, Bowling Green Falcons, Kent State Golden Flashes, Miami RedHawks, Ohio Bobcats and Toledo Rockets. The MAC headquarters are in Cleveland.
The Youngstown State Penguins have been a perennial power at the Division I FCS level in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, having won four FCS titles.
In NCAA Division III, the Mount Union Purple Raiders boast a record-setting 13 national championships, most recently in 2017. Since 1996, the Purple Raiders have advanced to the Division III title game in all but three seasons, and appeared in 11 consecutive title games (2005–2015). They also boast two record winning streaks for D-III—55 straight wins overall from 2000 to 2003, and 112 straight regular-season wins from 2005 to 2016 (the latter breaking the school's own record of 110, set from 1994 to 2005).[8]
Division I Universities
School | Primary conference | Teams fielded | National team titles |
---|---|---|---|
Akron Zips | Mid-American Conference | 17 | 2 |
Bowling Green Falcons | 17 | 4 | |
Cincinnati Bearcats | American Athletic Conference | 18 | 2 |
Cleveland State Vikings | Horizon League | 17 | 0 |
Dayton Flyers | Atlantic 10 Conference | 16 | 0 |
Kent State Golden Flashes | Mid-American Conference | 19 | 0 |
Miami RedHawks | 19 | 0 | |
Ohio Bobcats | 16 | 0 | |
Ohio State Buckeyes | Big Ten Conference | 33 | 86 |
Toledo Rockets | Mid-American Conference | 18 | 2 |
Wright State Raiders | Horizon League | 11 | 0 |
Xavier Musketeers | Big East Conference | 16 | 0 |
Youngstown State Penguins | Horizon League | 21 | 4 |
Stadiums and arenas
- Former venues
- Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns
- Riverfront Stadium (1970-2002; capacity: 59,754) – Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds
- Richfield Coliseum (1973–1994; capacity 20,273) – Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Barons, and many others
- , and many others
Gallery
-
Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team
-
FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Brownsfootball team
-
Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team
-
Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team
-
Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
-
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Monsters
-
Lower.com Field, home of Columbus Crew soccer
See also
References
- ^ "The Official Site of the Cincinnati Reds". Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ "The Official Site of the Cleveland Indians". Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ a b "NFL Teams". National Football League. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ "NBA.com Team Index". National Basketball Association. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ "NHL Teams". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ "Major League Soccer Teams". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ Griffith, Grant (2007). "Legend of the Cincinnati Red Stockings". Cincinnati Vintage Base Ball Club. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ^ "Team Records: Additional Records" (PDF). 2016 Division III Football Records. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
External links
- Media related to Sports in Ohio at Wikimedia Commons