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The Cleveland Guardians might not win the World Series in 2026. That doesn't mean it's never happened.
It's just been a minute.
Cleveland's most recent championship was won in 1948, when the club defeated the Boston Braves 4-2 in the World Series. That squad won 97 games and, behind a pair of excellent starts from Bob Lemon in Games 2 and 6, dispatched the Braves for their first championship since 1920.
Six years later, the club's curse, if one wants to call it that, seemed to take form: Cleveland won a record 111 games in 1954, behind an American League-leading 32 home runs and 111 RBIs from Larry Doby. But the team never seemed to recover from Willie Mays' unbelievable eighth-inning catch in Game 1 at the Polo Grounds, when he hauled in Vic Wertz's drive more than 400 feet from home plate with two men on base in a 2-2 game.
The Giants won 5-2 in 10 innings – and rolled up three more wins for the sweep.
Cleveland would not win 100 games again until 1995, when Albert Belle led the club to a 100-44 record to christen the era of six playoff berths in seven seasons at freshly opened Jacobs Field. But they'd lose the World Series in 1995 and 1997, and blew a 3-1 lead against the the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 AL Championship Series.
A new era of prosperity came with more heartbreak – a seven-game loss to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series, a Fall Classic that Cleveland led, 3-1. The franchise has qualified for the playoffs in eight of 11 seasons beginning with 2016, yet still seeks a World Series return.
How many World Series have Cleveland won?
Cleveland has two World Series titles to its credit. While 1948 is its most recent championship, Cleveland also won in 1920 after beating the Brooklyn Robins (eventually Dodgers) in seven games (5-2).
How many World Series have Cleveland been to?
Here are the six World Series in which Cleveland has appeared in franchise history:
- 1920: Beat Brooklyn, 5-2
- 1948: Beat Boston Braves, 4-2
- 1954: Lost to New York Giants, 4-0
- 1995: Lost to Atlanta Braves, 4-2
- 1997: Lost to Florida Marlins, 4-3
- 2016: Lost to Chicago Cubs, 4-3
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When did Cleveland last win the World Series? Franchise owns a history of heartbreak