In 2024, Cleveland was again a main player in the sports world. None of our three major sports teams brought home a championship, but Cleveland wasn’t short on success or storylines.
For the first time since 1995, the Cavaliers, Browns and Guardians all made the postseason, with the Cavs and Guardians winning their first series before bowing out. As for the Browns, they lost in the wild-card round to the Houston Texans after a magical end-of-season run field by Joe Flacco.
Those moments only begin to tell the full story of the 2024 year in Cleveland sports.
(Kaitlin Walsh)
The most heartbreaking news of 2024 was the passing of Jim Donovan. Donovan, who was the voice of the Browns since the team’s return to the city in 1999, passed away this fall after a long battle with cancer at the age of 68.
No Cleveland Browns fan could watch a game on television without wondering how Donovan called a big play. The best way to watch for the past 25 years has been to turn the volume down on the TV and sync the team’s radio broadcast to it. Donovan was one of the best play-by-play voices in the country.
Besides his duties with the Browns, Donovan was a fixture on Cleveland’s WKYC since he arrived in town in 1985.
50th Anniversary of 10 Cent Beer Night
OK, so this didn’t happen in 2024, but the 50th anniversary of this infamous night did occur this year. We’ll let that slide.
Back in 1974, fans in Cleveland made headlines for a riot near the end of a game between the then-Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. Vince Guerrieri tracked down as many people who were in attendance as he could find to tell the story of what really happened on that fateful July 4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Cleveland Browns Clinch Playoff Berth at Home
The Browns have made the playoffs three times since the franchise returned in 1999. The 2002 Cleveland Browns went 9-7 to earn a berth as a wild-card team, the 2020 Cleveland Browns won 11 games and advanced to the postseason, but no one was there to see it thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes, this technically happened in 2023, but it resulted in the team reaching the postseason in 2024 — and the story we’re linking to was written after we put out our best of 2023!
The Browns played host to the New York Jets for a Thursday night game. Joe Flacco quarterbacked them to a victory that turned into the best night in the history of Huntington Bank Field. Sure, that building has been short on great nights, but this one was special for Browns fans truly getting to celebrate their team reaching the postseason.
(Courtesy Cleveland Pro Soccer)
Cleveland is a big-league city. Former Cleveland Cavaliers play-by-play voice Michael Reghi used to say that, and it’s something that has stuck with me. Unfortunately, hopes of Cleveland receiving an expansion team in 2026 in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) were dashed when it was reported that the league is heading to Denver.
The bid for the NWSL franchise has been spearheaded by Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher, two Clevelanders who are tired of their city being the largest in the country without a top-level soccer team in either the men’s or women’s game.
(Carolina Kane)
In April, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four took place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. All eyes were on Caitlin Clark, the record-breaking guard from the University of Iowa as she would look to conclude her collegiate career with a championship.
Clark and the Hawkeyes took on the University of Connecticut in an outstanding semifinal game in which Iowa won. They ultimately fell to the University of South Carolina as the Lady Gamecocks finished off an undefeated season by winning the national championship.
Cavs Come Up Short, Make Coaching Change
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic in a thrilling first-round series. The Cavs beat Orlando in Game 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse after trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half. It marked the first time that the team won a playoff series without LeBron James on the roster since the early 1990s.
The second round wasn’t as kind to the Cavs, as they fell to the eventual NBA Champion Boston Celtics in five games. After that series, the Cavs decided to relieve head coach J.B. Bickerstaff of his duties. After a comprehensive search, the franchise hired Kenny Atkinson to replace him.
So far, that decision has already paid dividends, as Atkinson’s Cavs not only signed star players Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to contract extensions this summer, but they’re off to the best start in the NBA this season, winning 21 of their first 25 games.
(Daniel Lozada)
After hiring manager Stephen Vogt in late 2023, expectations for the Guardians were mixed heading into the season. Vogt had never been a manager before and was replacing a legend in Terry Francona.
Things instantly clicked and the Guardians went 92-69, winning the American League Central Division for the 12th time in franchise history.
The Guardians finished the season with the second-best record in the American League and earned a first-round bye in the postseason. The team trailed the Detroit Tigers two games to one before the heroics began to arrive. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and the Guardians trailing the Tigers 3-2, postseason elimination was near. David Fry stepped to the plate and hit a two-run, season-saving home run to put the Guardians in front and force a win-or-go-home Game 5 in Cleveland.
When Game 5 arrived, the Guardians took on American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and handed him one of his worst outings of the season. With the score tied 1-1, Lane Thomas stepped to bat with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fifth inning.
On the first pitch, he deposited a fastball from Skubal into the bleachers in left field, giving the Guardians a 5-1 lead and pushing the team into the American League Championship Series.
The Guardians would ultimately lose the ALCS to the Yankees in five games, but not before more incredible moments at the plate from Johnkensy Noel and Fry in Game 3 that Clevelanders will never forget.
Of course, no postseason run is complete without the soundtrack of Guardians play-by-play voice Tom Hamilton, who was recently named the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, officially anointing him as the Hall of Fame voice Cleveland already knew it had.
(AP Photo)
Deshaun Watson Tears His Achilles
This season has not gone according to plan for the Cleveland Browns. The team sits at 3-10 and is counting down the days until the offseason arrives. The play on the field has been poor. This was particularly true of quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson came to Cleveland with quite a bit of off-the-field baggage and has failed to produce on the field with the Browns. His season in 2023 ended prematurely due to a shoulder injury that required surgery and his 2024 season was cut short in its seventh game because of a torn Achilles tendon that required surgery.
Watson’s play on the field before the injury was poor, and it’s likely the Browns will be looking for a new signal caller before the 2025 season arrives.
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