It's been more than 26 years since Washington won a major sports championship. With the Capitals on the verge of a Stanley Cup, we're looking back at what life was like the last time D.C. won it all.
In January 1992, Presidential candidate Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed his relationship with Gennifer Flowers on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” before he defeated incumbent President George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot.
On May 25, 1992, comedian Jay Leno debuted as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show, three days after Johnny Carson’s retirement as host of the program. Leno’s Tonight Show ran until May 29, 2009.
In 1992, gasoline cost $1.05 a gallon. The average yearly income as $30,030, rent was $519, and the average price of a new car was $16,950.
(File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus
The last time the D.C. area had a legitimate sports champion, M.C. Hammer was climbing the charts — parachute pants and all.
(File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
Charges finally stuck against “Teflon Don” John Gotti on April 3, 1992, when he was convicted of murder and racketeering, in New York City, where he reigned as boss of the Gambino crime family.
(File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
As many in the Washington area watched the Redskins during Super Bowl XXVI, Fox offered counter-programming during halftime, with a live version of “In Living Color.”
(File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
Romantic thriller “The Bodyguard,” starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, was a top-grossing film worldwide in 1992. It was Houston’s acting debut.
(File, AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
The last time a major Washington sports team was on the verge of winning a championship, M.C. Hammer was climbing the charts. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Evan Agostini)
The last time a major Washington sports team was on the verge of winning a championship, M.C. Hammer was climbing the charts. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Evan Agostini)
WASHINGTON — Not that anyone’s counting, but it’s been a long time since a Washington team won a championship in any of the four major sports.
More than 26 years. 9,627 days. 1375 weeks. More than 13 million minutes. But again, who’s counting.
The Washington Capitals are one game away from winning their first-ever NHL Stanley Cup, leading the Las Vegas Golden Knights 3-1, going into Thursday’s Game 5 in the desert.
The last time a D.C. sports team won a championship was January 26, 1992, when the Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI.
Jump into the WTOP wayback machine via the photos above to see what else was going on in the world the last time our area won a major championship.
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.
