January 4, 1981: Red Right 88

January 4, 1981: The Cleveland Browns host the Oakland Raiders in an AFC Divisional Playoff game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Raiders had dominated the AFC Western Division since it was still the AFL Western Division, but hadn't won it this season. They got into the Playoffs as one the AFC's Wild Card teams.

In contrast, the Browns had been stuck in the AFC Central Division behind the Pittsburgh Steelers' dynasty. This was the 1st time they'd won any Division since the AFL-NFL merger, with a team of comeback artists nicknamed the Kardiac Kids. They were Division Champions for the 1st time in 11 years, hosting a Playoff game for the 1st time in 12 years, and going for their 1st NFL Championship in 16 years.

The referee was Ben Dreith, noted for a bad call that gave the Raiders a Playoff win over the New England Patriots 4 seasons earlier. This time, however, Dreith's vision and honesty were not publicly questioned by anyone on either team. But if Raider fans' hearts were warmed by the familiar face of Dreith, everything else was chilled: With a game-time temperature of 4 degrees Fahrenheit, this was the coldest NFL game since the 1967 NFL Championship Game, the Green Bay win over Dallas known as the Ice Bowl.

As a result, neither team could get much going. The 1st quarter ended scoreless. With 6 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, Ron Bolton of the Browns intercepted Raider quarterback Jim Plunkett, and returned the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. But Ted Hendricks blocked Don Cockroft's extra point attempt. Cockroft had already missed 2 field goals, and would later have another field goal attempt ruined by a bad snap. With 18 seconds left in the half, Mark van Eeghen scored from 1 yard out, and Chris Bahr's extra point gave the Raiders a 7-6 lead.

Cockroft finally made a kick early in the 3rd quarter, a 30-yard field goal that put the Browns up, 9-7. He made another later in the quarter, and it was 12-7 Cleveland. But Plunkett, a Heisman Trophy winner at Stanford University who'd struggled with New England and San Francisco, was making the most of his last chance in Oakland, after an injury to intended starter Dan Pastorini. He drove the Raiders 80 yards, and van Eeghen again ran the ball in from 1 yard out, making it 14-12 Oakland.

With the clock ticking down, the Browns mounted a final drive. Brian Sipe threw a 29-yard pass to Ozzie Newsome, and a 23-yard pass to Greg Pruitt. Mike Pruitt (no relation) ran the ball to the Raiders' 14-yard line. On 1st down, Pruitt gained another yard. The Browns called timeout with 49 seconds to play.

Browns coach Sam Rutigliano noted Cockroft's difficulties to this point. "What many people don't know about that situation is that I was a long way from being 100 percent physically in 1980," Cockroft said in a 2006 interview. "I had two herniated discs and needed four epidurals to just get through the season. I probably should have gone on IR." (Meaning the Injured Reserve List.) Cockroft was released by the Browns at the end of their 1981 training camp, and retired soon after.

Rutigliano decided to make the next play a pass, and told Sipe to run "Red Slot Right, Halfback Stay, 88" -- or "Red Right 88" for short. The idea was to throw it to Newsome in the end zone. Since it was only 2nd down, and there was still time to set up a game-winning field goal by Cockroft, Rutigliano told Sipe that if no one was open, "Throw it into Lake Erie."

Sipe didn't listen. Newsome and Dave Logan were both in the end zone. Logan was open. Newsome was not. Sipe threw toward Newsome, and the pass was intercepted by Mike Davis. The Raiders ran out the clock, and won, 14-12.

This was the closest the Browns would get to the Super Bowl between the seasons of 1969 and 1986. "Red Right 88" would be the first of a string of awful near-misses for Cleveland sports: "The Drive" against the Broncos in 1987, "The Fumble" by the Browns against the Broncos in 1988, "The Shot" by Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls against the Cavaliers in 1989, "The Move" of the Browns in 1995 and their replacement by a weaker team in 1999, the José Mesa Game when the Indians lost Game 7 of the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins, and The Decision by LeBron James of the Cavaliers in 2010.

The 1964 Browns would remain the last Cleveland team to win a World Championship until the Cavaliers, with LeBron having returned, won the NBA title in 2016. Even that didn't end it, as, later in the year, the Indians would lose Game 7 of the World Series in extra innings, to another "cursed" team, the Chicago Cubs. The Browns remain, along with the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals (who last won a title in Chicago), 1 of 3 teams to have won an NFL Championship, but have not done so since the Super Bowl era began.

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January 4, 1981 was a Sunday. There was 1 other NFL Playoff game that day: The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 30-27 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The day before, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-16 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia; and the San Diego Chargers beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-14 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

The following week, the Raiders beat the Chargers, to become the 1st Wild Card team to reach the Super Bowl; and the Eagles beat the Cowboys. In Super Bowl XV, the Raiders beat the Eagles.

There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, 113-104 at the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the San Diego Chargers, 128-95 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-111 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Larry Bird led all scorers on the day with 33 points for the team that went on to win the season's NBA Championship.

There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques played to a tie, 2-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals, 8-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Minnesota North Stars and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 2-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Calgary Flames beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 8-5 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.