Timeline 25: Remembering the biggest Colorado sports stories of 1995

Two future Hall of Famers came to town, a legend walked away, a team was born and a stadium opened, highlights of The Fan's first year

BY JAMES MERILATT

May 5, 2020, 6:33 AM Updated: 12:08 pm

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On March 6, 1995, The Fan was born. In the 25 years since, a lot has transpired on the fields, courts and ice in Colorado, giving the hosts and listeners who’ve been part of the station during that time plenty to talk about and debate.

During the course of the next few weeks, we’ll take a look back at that history, remembering the good times and the bad, the winners and the losers, the successes and the failures. It’s a series we’re calling “Timeline 25” and it kicks off today with a look back at The Fan’s first year, 1995:

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A Sixth-Round Steal

The first four picks for the Broncos during the 1995 NFL Draft were fairly forgettable. New head coach Mike Shanahan didn’t have a pick until the fourth round, hamstringing his ability to make a splash. So he can be forgiven for not hitting home runs with Jamie Brown, Ken Brown, Phil Yeboah-Kodie and Fritz Fequeire at Nos. 121, 124, 146 and 182, respectively.

When it was time for the Broncos to make their second pick in the sixth-round, however, Shanahan hit it out of the park. With the 196th overall selection, Denver drafted a running back out of Georgia – Terrell Davis.

As a rookie, Davis would go from nearly quitting the team prior to a preseason game in Tokyo to the starter in Week 1. On the season, he’d rush for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns, showing flashes of greatness that were a harbinger of things to come.

Two years later, Davis was powering the Broncos to their first-ever Super Bowl victory with an MVP performance. The next season, he’d crack the 2,000-yard barrier, be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and lead Denver to another title.

His career was cut short by a knee injury suffered during Week 4 of the 1999 season, but Davis still was able to break nearly all of the franchise’s rushing records. And in 2017, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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The Horse Walks Away

In the spring of 1994, things were looking up for the Nuggets. They’d just become the first No. 8 seed in NBA history to beat a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, upsetting the Sonics in five games. Then, they took the Jazz to seven games before bowing out in the second round. This led many to project Denver as one of the league’s up-and-coming teams.

But it all unraveled quickly. First, LaPhonso Ellis injured his knee during the offseason, causing him to miss all but six games during the 1994-95 season. Then, just 34 games into the year, Dan Issel resigned as the team’s head coach.

The former Nuggets star had masterfully guided the young team back to the postseason. Most observers expected the Hall of Famer to be there as the team developed into a contender.

But after struggling out of the gates to an 18-16 record, Issel called it quits. He said he didn’t like the person he had become, as the pressure of coaching in the NBA was changing his personality.

Gene Littles took over and the Nuggets struggled, losing 10 out of 13 games. General manager Bernie Bickerstaff took over, righted the ship and Denver finished with a 41-41 record. They made it back to the playoffs, but were swept in the first round by the Spurs.

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Triggering an Avalanche

In the spring of 1995, the Quebec Nordiques were on the market. Team owner Marcel Aubut was in financial troubles, so he needed to sell once the provincial government failed to come through with a bailout.

Denver-based COMSAT, who already owned the Nuggets, swooped in and purchased the team. By July 1, it was announced that the franchise was relocating to Colorado.

Initially, the team was going to be called the Rocky Mountain Extreme. But when word of those plans leaked out, the public backlash was so strong that the new owners decided to rethink their plans. Eventually, they settled on the Colorado Avalanche, which was announced on August 10.

Less than two months later, on October 6, the team played their first game in Colorado, beating the Red Wings by a 3-2 score at McNichols Arena. By season’s end, they’d be hoisting the Stanley Cup, bringing Denver its first championship in major professional sports.

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St. Patrick’s Day

After a decade in Montreal, where he helped the Canadiens win two Stanley Cups, Patrick Roy saw his career with the organization come to an unceremonious end. In his last game with the team, the Hall of Fame goaltender surrendered nine goals on 26 shots in an 11-1 loss to the Red Wings.

Clearly, he was having an off night. But head coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in net until things got really out of hand, embarrassing the goalie in front of the home crowd. This led to an exchange of words between Roy and the team’s front office, a suspension and a request for a trade.

On December 6, the Canadiens granted Roy’s wish, trading him and Mike Keane to Colorado in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. It was a move that put the Avalanche over the top, helping them win the Stanley Cup that season and again in 2001.

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Opening a Coors

The 1995 season got off to a rocky start, delayed by a labor dispute. When the work stoppage ended in April, however, a shortened 144-game season got underway.

For the Rockies, the year marked the debut of their new home. Coors Field opened on April 26, with the home team earning a dramatic walk-off victory over the Mets when Dante Bichette homered in the bottom of the 14th.

It was a sign of things to come, as the franchise posted a 77-67 record. In just their third year of existence, the Rockies came within a game of winning the division and secured the National League’s first-ever wild card berth.

In the playoffs, Colorado faced Atlanta, a team that boasted one of the best pitching staffs in Major League Baseball history and a perennial postseason participant. The Rockies lost in four games, but that didn’t dampen the mood.

The Rockies had four players – Dante Bichette (40), Larry Walker (36), Vinny Castilla (32) and Andres Galarraga (31) – hit 30-plus home runs, as the Blake Street Bombers were born. Baseball in lower downtown was a hit, as the neighborhood surrounding the ballpark was transformed.

Twenty-five years later, home runs are still flying out of Coors Field, LoDo remains a hotspot for restaurants and bars, and the Rockies are still seeking their first NL West title.