September 3, 1995: The Jacksonville Jaguars play their 1st game, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Field). Ironically, it's against a team that had, in the late 1980s, threatened to move to Jacksonville, the Houston Oilers. The Oilers win, 10-3. After starting 0-4, the Jags won their 1st game on October 1, away to the Oilers, 17-16.
The irony was deepened when, after the Oilers did move to become the Tennessee Titans, the 2 franchises developed a regional rivalry, and played each other in the 1999 AFC Championship Game, which the Titans won.
Jacksonville is far from the most famous city in the State of Florida, but it is by far the most populous, with just under 1 million people according to the 2020 Census, to Miami with 442,000, Tampa with 403,000, Orlando with 308,000, St. Petersburg (part of Tampa Bay) with 258,000. But in terms of metropolitan areas, it's Miami 6.5 million, Tampa Bay 3.4 million, Orlando 2.9 million, Jacksonville 1.8 million. Meaning Jacksonville is the 4th-largest market in its own State. It's also the smallest market in the AFC South Division, compared with Houston at 7.8 million, and Indianapolis and Nashville both at 2.1 million.
This comparatively small size carries over to other sports. Jacksonville has only had minor-league teams: They have Class AAA in baseball, only recently promoted from AA; they have the ECHL, generally considered to be a 2nd-class team even by the standards of minor-league hockey; and in basketball, they recently lost their NBA G-League team. In college sports, Jacksonville University only moved up to what would now be classified as NCAA Division I in 1969, and the University of North Florida only got there in 2009, with both schools being in what's known as "mid-major" conferences.
Which is not to say that Jacksonville doesn't have football tradition. The Gator Bowl has been played in the city since 1946, at the old Gator Bowl Stadium until 1993 and at the new stadium since 1995. The annual rivalry game between the universities of Florida and Georgia, a.k.a. "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," has been played on the site since 1933. The exceptions were 1994, when both games were moved to UF's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium while the old stadium was torn down and the new one built on the site; and 1995, when, to be fair, the WLOCP was played at UGa's Sanford Stadium.
The Gator Bowl stadium previously had the Jacksonville Sharks in the World Football League in 1974, and the Jacksonville Bulls in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. Neither team made its league's Playoffs.
Not surprisingly, the Jags struggled in their 1st season, going 4-12. But in their 2nd, they went 9-7, and made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. They've won Division Championships in 1998 and 1999 in the AFC Central, and in 2017 in the AFC South; and reached the AFC Championship Game in 1996, 1999 and 2017. But they have yet to reach a Super Bowl.
They hosted Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, with the New England Patriots beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21. But complaints about insufficient hotel room capacity and poor access to the stadium made it a fiasco, and the city has never again been seriously considered as a Super Bowl host.
Attendance has been an issue, and the Jaguars have been convinced -- which might be a polite way of putting it -- to give up home games to play 9 games at the new Wembley Stadium in London. (UPDATE: Through the 2025 season, that number has grown to 14, and they are scheduled to play 1 more game there in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.)
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The Carolina Panthers made their regular-season debut on the same day as the Jaguars, against their newly-installed geographical rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. They lost, 23-20 in overtime, having blown a 10-0 lead. Blowing a big lead and letting the Falcons come back, can you believe that?
The Panthers played their 1st season's home games at Clemson University's Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, and their st home game was on September 17, a 31-10 loss to the newly-moved St. Louis Rams. After starting 0-5, the Panthers won their 1st game on October 15, home to the New York Jets, 26-15, and were a surprisingly respectable 7-9 in their 1st season.
Opening Ericsson Stadium (now Bank of America Stadium) in downtown Charlotte the next season, their 1st regular-season home game there was a 29-6 win over the Falcons. Their 2nd season was a stunning success, winning their Division and beating the Dallas Cowboys to reach the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
The Carolinas had previously had the Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League, the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association, and an NBA team borrowing the Hornets name starting in the 1988 season. That team moved to New Orleans in 2002, was replaced by the expansion Charlotte Bobcats in 2004, and the Hornets name was restored in 2014 after the New Orleans team gave it up, becoming the Pelicans.
Having an NBA team or an NHL team is one thing, but a city, a metropolitan area, or a region is generally not considered to be "major league" until it gets an MLB team, or at least an NFL team. So the NBA Hornets didn't raise Charlotte, or the Carolinas as a whole, to that level. The Panthers did.
The Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, playing 2 years at the Greensboro Coliseum before their arena in the State capital of Raleigh opened in 1999. They remain the only major league team in the Raleigh-Durham area.
Both Carolinas have long been home to multiple minor-league baseball teams, but no major-league team. Charlotte, which has become a major banking center, has about 900,000 people; Raleigh, about 500,000. In metro area terms, Charlotte has about 2.9 million; Raleigh, about 1.5 million. North Carolina has about 10.5 million; South Carolina, about 5.1 million. The total of around 15.6 million is enough of a market to sustain an NFL team 8 times a year, and an NBA team and an NHL team 41 times a year each; but not an MLB team 81 times a year.
Add in the fact that the Atlanta Braves seem to have a hammerlock on MLB fandom in South Carolina, and it seems unlikely that Charlotte, whose metro area stretches into South Carolina -- and whose Class AAA team, the Charlotte Knights, played over the State Line in Fort Mill from 1989 to 2013, before moving to downtown Charlotte, close to both Bank of America Stadium and the new Hornets' Spectrum Center -- will ever get an MLB team.
The Panthers have won Division titles in 1996, 2003, 2013, 2014 and 2015; reached the NFC Championship Game in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2015; and, unlike their expansion brethren in Jacksonville, they have reached the Super Bowl, losing Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots and Super Bowl 50 to the Denver Broncos.
UPDATE: The Jaguars have a team hall of fame, called Pride of the Jaguars. Its members include quarterback Mark Brunell, running back Fred Taylor, receiver Jimmy Smith, offensive tackle Tony Boselli, founding owners Wayne and Delores Weaver, and head coach Tom Coughlin. Boselli and Coughlin have also been elected to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.
The Panthers also have a team hall of fame, called the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor. They have honored quarterback Jake Delhomme, receivers Steve Smith Sr. and Muhsin Muhammad, tight end Wesley Walls, offensive tackle Jordan Gross, defensive end Julius Peppers, linebacker Sam Mills, original general manager Mike McCormack, and the Personal Seat License owners who made the building of Bank of America Stadium possible. Smith, Peppers and Mills have also been elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
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September 3, 1995 was a Sunday. This was also the day that the Oakland Raiders played their 1st game back in their former city, after 13 seasons in Los Angeles. They beat the San Diego Chargers, 17-7 at the Oakland Coliseum. I have a separate entry for that event.
These other NFL games were played:
* The New York Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins, 52-14 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The New England Patriots beat the Cleveland Browns, 17-14 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-6 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Redskins beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-7 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions, 23-20 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts, 24-21 at the RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome) in Indianapolis.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-14 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Rams, representing St. Louis for the 1st time after 48 seasons representing Los Angeles, beat the Green Bay Packers, 17-14 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints, 24-22 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills, 22-7 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks, 34-10 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants, 35-0 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Oakland Athletics, 10-9 at Yankee Stadium. So both outdoor Oakland teams won on this day. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-6 with the game-winning home run in the top of the 10th inning, a stolen base, and 2 RBIs. David Cone started for the Yankees, but John Wetteland gave up the homer. Tony Fernández went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs for the Yankees. Don Mattingly went 3-for-6.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 11-6 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Carl Everett went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs for the Mets. Barry Bonds and Deion Sanders each hit home runs for the Giants.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels, 8-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Ken Griffey Jr. only appeared as a late defensive replacement, and did not come to bat. Alex Rodriguez, then a rookie, did not appear at all. Cal Ripken Jr. went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Jason Schmidt pitched 8 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Mark Wohlers completed the 6-hit shutout.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-8 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Omar Vizquel singled Wayne Kirby home with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Joe Girardi singled Andrés Galarraga home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 8-5 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Houston Astros, 8-7 at the Astrodome in Houston. The Marlins scored 2 runs in the top of the 11th, and the Astros only 1 in the bottom of the 11th.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
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