Sports in Ohio

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Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.

Major league sports teams

Ohio is home to major professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer. The state's major professional sporting teams include: Cincinnati Reds (Major League Baseball),[1] Cleveland Indians (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] and the Columbus Crew (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 7 World Series (5 Cincinnati Reds, 2 Cleveland Indians), 9 NFL Championships ( 4 Cleveland Browns, 2 Canton Bulldogs, 1 Cleveland Rams, 1 Akron Pros, 1 Cleveland Bulldogs), 4 AAFC Championships (Cleveland Browns), 3 NBL Finals (2 Akron Firestone Non-Skids, 1 Akron Goodyear Wingfoots), 1 MLS Cup (Columbus Crew), 1 Negro World Series (Cleveland Buckeyes) and 1 Temple Cup (Cleveland Spiders).

Minor league teams

On a smaller scale, Ohio hosts minor league baseball, arena football, indoor football, mid-level hockey, and lower division soccer. The minor league baseball teams include: Akron Rubberducks (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Chillicothe Paints (independent), Columbus Clippers (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Dayton Dragons (affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds), Lake County Captains[8] (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Mahoning Valley Scrappers[9] (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), and Toledo Mud Hens[10] (affiliated with the Detroit Tigers).

Ohio's minor professional football teams include: Canton Legends (American Indoor Football Association), Cincinnati Marshals (National Indoor Football League), Cincinnati Sizzle (National Women's Football Association), Cleveland Fusion (National Women's Football Association), Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League), Columbus Comets (National Women's Football Association), Mahoning Valley Thunder (af2), Marion Mayhem (Continental Indoor Football League), and Miami Valley Silverbacks (Continental Indoor Football League).

Ohio's alternative professional hockey teams include: Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League), Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL), Toledo Walleye (ECHL), and the Dayton Demolition (Federal Hockey League),.

In lower division professional soccer, Ohio accommodates the Cincinnati Kings and Cleveland City Stars, both of the United Soccer League and the Dayton Dutch Lions of the Premier Development League.

Ohio is also home to the Akron Racers, a minor professional softball club, of National Pro Fastpitch.

Ohio is also the home of the Mahoning Valley Brawlers (Experimental Football league)

Individual sports

Notable drivers from Ohio include Ted Horn, Bobby Rahal, Sam Hornish Jr. and Tim Richmond. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has hosted several auto racing championships, including CART World Series, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series.

The Grand Prix of Cleveland also hosted CART races from 1982 to 2007. The Eldora Speedway is a major dirt oval that hosts NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and USAC Silver Crown Series races.

Ohio hosts two PGA Tour events, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and Memorial Tournament.

The Cincinnati Masters is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 tennis tournament.

Former professional teams

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Main article: List of defunct Ohio sports teams

Former major league teams:

College football

Ohio has eight NCAA Division I-A 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 Division I-A, 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 has six teams represented in the Mid-American Conference: the University of Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami University, Ohio University and the University of Toledo. The MAC headquarters are based in Cleveland.

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats represent Ohio in the American Athletic Conference.

Division I-AA Youngstown State is a perennial power in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, having won four FCS National Championships.

Division III Mount Union College boasts a record-setting ten National Championships and also hold the record for 110 consecutive game winning streak from 1994 until 2005.[citation needed] They have won two of the last[when?] three D-III National Championship games.

See also

References

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