What Was Going On In Sports, Pop Culture Last Time Brewers Reached World Series?

It’s been a minute.

For the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series, as they knocked off the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2026 National League Championship Series. A lot was different in 1982, not just in MLB, but in the sports world and society as a whole.

With that in mind, here’s what was happening in MLB, sports and pop culture the last time the Brewers were in the World Series (1982):

• As for the aforementioned 1982 Brewers, who lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series after winning an MLB-best 95 games in the regular season, shortstop Robin Yount won the 1982 American League MVP Award, leading the entire sport with 210 hits, a .578 slugging percentage and 10.6 wins above replacement. He also earned Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors
• Yount (114 RBIs) was one of four Brewers players to drive in 100-plus runs in the regular season, first baseman Cecil Cooper (121 RBIs) and outfielders Gorman Thomas (112) and Ben Oglivie (102) being the other three.
• The 1982 championship triumph marked the Cardinals’ 10th in franchise history and was their first appearance in the playoffs since 1968.
• The California Angels, who lost to the Brewers in five games in the AL Championship Series, made the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.
• The New York Yankees posted a losing season (79-83) in what would begin the first season of a 13-year playoff drought.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74) missed the playoffs following winning their fourth World Series since moving out West from Brooklyn (1958).
• The Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005, were coming off their first playoff appearance as a franchise, losing to the Dodgers in five games in the 1981 NLCS.
• Philadelphia Phillies superstar left-hander Steve Carlton, who won the 1982 NL Cy Young Award (it was the fourth of his career), led MLB in strikeouts (286) and innings pitched (295 ⅔) and threw 19 complete games.
• The Chicago Cubs selected shortstop Shawon Dunston with the No. 1 pick in the 1982 MLB Amateur Draft. Dunston reached the big leagues in 1985 and went on to be a two-time All-Star and tally 1,597 hits over an 18-year career spent primarily with the Cubs (12 years).
• Future Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) and Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox) made their respective MLB debuts.
• Pete Rose, MLB’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), was in his penultimate season with the Phillies.

• During the 1982 World Series, the NFL was in the middle of a would-be two-month players’ strike.
• Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Clark & Co. were coming off a 1981 NFL season that saw them win the San Francisco 49ers’ first Super Bowl and championship altogether.
• Regarding the nine-game regular season that was the 1982 NFL year, Joe Theismann, John Riggins and the now-Washington Commanders went on to beat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.
• The Penn State Nittany Lions, who were still an independent program, were in the midst of a 1982 college football season that would end with them beating the Georgia Bulldogs to win the national championship.
• The Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Michigan Wolverines in the 1982 edition of “The Game,” 24-14. It marked Ohio State’s second consecutive win over archrival Michigan and its third victory in the last four meetings.
• The Auburn Tigers ended a nine-game losing streak to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the “Iron Bowl,” with running back Bo Jackson leaping for the legendary “Bo Over The Top” goal-line touchdown with just under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
• On the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by James Worthy and Michael Jordan, squeaked past Patrick Ewing, Sleepy Floyd and the Georgetown Hoyas in the national championship, 63-62.
• Mike Krzyzewski was entering his third season of an eventual 42-year stint as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils.
• Meanwhile, the 1981-82 season marked the first NCAA Women’s Tournament, which saw the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs go 35-1 en route to beating the Cheyney Wolves in the national championship. Now LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey was on that championship team.
• Contrary to the belief that he invented the school, Geno Auriemma wasn’t yet the head coach of the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team; he would take over in 1985.
• Darrell Waltrip ripped off his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship.
• The Los Angeles Lakers were coming off winning the 1982 NBA Finals in what was their first season with Pat Riley as head coach.
• The New York Islanders were in the midst of what became an NHL four-peat (1980-83).
• Italy defeated West Germany to win the 1982 FIFA Men’s World Cup.

• “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “First Blood” and “Rocky III” were among the movies released in 1982.
• Anticipation was building for the eventual 1983 release of “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.” Would somebody get Han Solo out of carbon-freeze mode? Was Luke Skywalker poised to emerge as a Jedi powerhouse?
• The soon-to-be hit sitcom “Cheers” came on the air.
• “The Weather Channel” was born.
• Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘n Roll,” and Toto’s “Rosanna” were among the hit songs of the year.
• Lil’ Wayne, Kelly Clarkson, Anne Hathaway, Seth Rogan and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino were among the celebrities/artists born in 1982.
• The Toyota Camry, Ford Ranger and Dodger Rampage were released.
• For those that loved soda but wanted to find a “healthy” version of it, Coca-Cola unveiled “Diet Coke.” To this day, the fallacy of it being an impactful alternative continues.
• The first-ever cell phone was one year away from being available for purchase.