The 1995 World Series matched the Atlanta Braves against the Cleveland Indians, with the Braves winning in six games to capture their third World Championship in franchise history (along with 1914 in Boston and 1957 in Milwaukee), making them the first franchise to win three crowns in three different cities. The Series was also Cleveland's first Series appearance in 41 years and marked the resumption of the Fall Classic after the previous year's Series was canceled due to a players' strike. The Series was also remarkable in that five of the six games were won by one run, including the clinching sixth game, a 1-0 combined one-hitter by Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers.

The 1995 World Series provided the only world championship of the 1990s to the decade's most dominant National League team—the Atlanta Braves. After heartbreaking defeats to the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, the Braves were trying for the third time in five years to capture a title.

This World Series, despite being in an odd-numbered year, opened in the NL home because of the omission of the 1994 World Series. Until 2003, the World Series would begin in the AL home in even-numbered (not odd-numbered) years.

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB), played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played in October, Major League Baseball also refers to it as the "Fall Classic". The most recent World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Texas Rangers in 7 games in 2011.

The New York Yankees of the American League have played in 40 World Series and won 27, and the Oakland/Philadelphia Athletics have played in 14 and won 9. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have played in 18 and won 11, while the San Francisco/New York Giants and Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers have both appeared in 18 and won 6.

Until the formation of the American Association in 1882 as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–75) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented the top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships went to whoever had the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. Starting in 1884 and going through 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These matchups were disorganized in comparison to the modern Series: games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 (Providence defeated New York 3 games to zero), to a high of 15 in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis 10 games to 5), and both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game.

David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989–1996), Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), New York Yankees (2000–2001), and Oakland Athletics (2002).

David was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Robert and Nettie Justice. His father left the family when Justice was two years old. Justice graduated from Covington Latin School in Covington, Kentucky at age 16 in 1982. He skipped the seventh and eighth grades. He then attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky majoring in Criminal Justice.

Justice made his major league debut in May 1989, playing for the last-place Braves. The young right fielder earned the starting job after Braves fan favorite Dale Murphy was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Justice promptly went on an offensive tear during the second half of the 1990 season, finishing with 28 home runs, which helped him claim the National League's Rookie of the Year Award. In 1991, the upstart Braves surged to the top of their division and Justice was leading the National League in runs batted in when he was sidelined by a nagging back injury in June. He finished with 87 runs batted in despite the injury and played in his first World Series.

Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966), nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992–1995), a feat matched only by Randy Johnson (1999–2002). During those four consecutive seasons, Maddux had a 75-29 record with a 1.98 ERA, while allowing less than one runner per inning.

Maddux is the only pitcher in MLB history to win at least 15 games for 17 straight seasons. In addition, he holds the record for most Gold Gloves with eighteen. A superb control pitcher, Maddux won more games during the 1990s than any other pitcher, and is 8th on the all-time career wins list, with 355. Since the start of the post-1920 live-ball era, only Warren Spahn (363) recorded more career wins than Maddux. He is one of only 10 pitchers ever to achieve both 300 wins and 3000 strikeouts. He works in the Texas Rangers' front office as the special assistant to the general manager. Not yet a member of the Baseball Hall Of Fame (he is not eligible for inclusion until 2013), Maddux has the most pitching victories of any unelected member.

Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a professional poker player, best known for winning the main event world championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Harrington chose his own nickname "Action Dan" even though he is known for being a tight conservative player. He is a distant cousin to both professional golfer Pádraig Harrington and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.

Harrington was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Currently residing in Santa Monica, California, Harrington is a former champion backgammon player and U.S. chess master (he won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship). Before becoming a poker professional and businessman, Harrington worked for many years as a bankruptcy lawyer. He also played poker against Bill Gates while Gates was at Harvard. Some of his earlier poker experience came from the Mayfair Club in the mid-1980s, where he played with Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow, and Erik Seidel.