Current Professional Sports Team Success and Non-Success

Considering all teams from the four major professional leagues in North America (baseball, football, basketball, and ice hockey) this article is comprised of two lists, each ranking teams from top to bottom. The first list is all present teams with at least one championship in their histories (as of June 2010), coupled with the number of championships they’ve earned. It is ranked from most to least. The second list is present teams with no championships at any time in their history, preceded by the number of years they’ve existed in their current location (up through June 2010). It is ranked from least number of years in its current location to most.

The reigning professional sports team in terms of total championships in its municipality is the New York Yankees, with 27 titles. No other team can compare to the futility of the San Francisco Giants when it comes to championship drought. The consideration here: Which team has gone the longest in their current location without having a single title to its name at any time in its history? A team like the Chicago Cubs last won a title in 1908, but at least they can raise a championship banner that says “Chicago Cubs.” The Giants did have championships when the team was in New York, but that was in New York, not San Francisco.

Present teams with at least one championship in their histories, coupled with the number of championships they’ve earned:

27

New York Yankees (last one 2009)

22

Montreal Canadians (1993)

17

Boston Celtics (2008)

11

Detroit Red Wings (2008)

Los Angeles Lakers (2010)

Toronto Maple Leafs (1967)

10

St. Louis Cardinals (2006)

9

Green Bay Packers (1996)

7

Boston Red Sox (2007)

Chicago Bears (1985)

6

Chicago Bulls (1998)

New York Giants (2007)

Pittsburgh Steelers (2008)

5

Boston Bruins (1972)

Cincinnati Reds (1990)

Dallas Cowboys (1995)

Los Angeles Dodgers (1988)

Pittsburgh Pirates (1979)

San Francisco 49ers (1994)

Washington Redskins (1991)

4

Chicago Blackhawks (2010)

Cleveland Browns (1964)

Detroit Lions (1957)

Detroit Tigers (1984)

New York Islanders (1983)

New York Rangers (1994)

Oakland Athletics (1989)

San Antonio Spurs (2007)

3

Baltimore Orioles (1983)

Chicago White Sox (2005)

Detroit Pistons (2004)

Edmonton Oilers (1990)

New England Patriots (2004)

New Jersey Devils (2003)

Philadelphia Eagles (1960)

Pittsburgh Penguins (2009)

2

Buffalo Bills (1965)

Chicago Cubs (1908)

Cleveland Indians (1948)

Colorado Avalanche (2001)

Denver Broncos (1998)

Florida Marlins (2003)

Houston Rockets (1995)

Miami Dolphins (1973)

Minnesota Twins (1991)

New York Knicks (1973)

New York Mets (1986)

Oakland Raiders (1980)

Philadelphia 76ers (1983)

Philadelphia Flyers (1975)

Philadelphia Phillies (2008)

Toronto Blue Jays (1993)

1

Anaheim Ducks (2007)

Arizona Diamondbacks (2001)

Atlanta Braves (1995)

Baltimore Ravens (2000)

Calgary Flames (1989)

Carolina Hurricanes (2006)

Dallas Stars (1999)

Golden State Warriors (1975)

Indianapolis Colts (2006)

Kansas City Chiefs (1969)

Kansas City Royals (1985)

Los Angeles Angels (2002)

Miami Heat (2006)

Milwaukee Bucks (1971)

New Orleans Saints (2009)

New York Jets (1968)

Ottawa Senators (1927)

Portland Trail Blazers (1977)

San Diego Chargers (1963)

St. Louis Rams (1999)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002)

Tampa Bay Lightning (2004)

Washington Wizards (1978)

Present teams with no championships at any time in their history, preceded by the number of years they’ve existed in their current location:

 2   Oklahoma City Thunder (originated in this location in 2008)

 5   Washington Nationals (2005)

 6   Charlotte Bobcats (2004)

 8   New Orleans Hornets (2002)

 8   Houston Texans (2002)

 9   Memphis Grizzlies (2001)

10   Columbus Blue Jackets (2000)

10   Minnesota Wild (2000)

11  Atlanta Thrashers (1999)

12  Nashville Predators (1998)

12  Tampa Bay Rays (1998)

13  Tennessee Titans (1997)

14  Phoenix Coyotes (1996)

15  Toronto Raptors (1995)

15  Carolina Panthers (1995)

15  Jacksonville Jaguars (1995)

17  Florida Panthers (1993)

17  Colorado Rockies (1993)

19  San Jose Sharks (1991)

21  Minnesota Timberwolves (1989)

21  Orlando Magic (1989)

22  Arizona Cardinals (1988)

25  Sacramento Kings (1985)

26  Los Angeles Clippers (1984)

30  Dallas Mavericks (1980)

31  Utah Jazz (1979)

33  Seattle Mariners (1977)

34  Denver Nuggets (1976)

34  Indiana Pacers (1976)

34  New Jersey Nets (1976)

34  Seattle Seahawks (1976)

36  Washington Capitals (1974)

38  Texas Rangers (1972)

40  Buffalo Sabres (1970)

40  Cleveland Cavaliers (1970)

40  Vancouver Canucks (1970)

40  Milwaukee Brewers (1970)

41  San Diego Padres (1969)

42  Atlanta Hawks (1968)

42  Phoenix Suns (1968)

42  Cincinnati Bengals (1968)

43  St. Louis Blues (1967)

43  Los Angeles Kings (1967)

44  Atlanta Falcons (1966)

48  Houston Astros (1962)

49  Minnesota Vikings (1961)

52  San Francisco Giants (1958)

Notes:

 

• Every present team in major league baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League is on this list. This list is presently applicable November 2009, with 122 teams currently playing in these sports leagues.

 

• No defunct teams are on this list. No titles of teams achieved in other previous metro areas are on this list either. The most recent of these is the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder, who were once the Seattle Supersonics having an NBA championship in 1979. No defunct sports leagues are included here, and if a team played in a defunct league but later moved into the pre-eminent league represented here, its participation in that league is not considered here, with the one exception of the American Football League (see note below).

 

• For major league baseball, the titles are counted from 1903. This is the year the World Series began being played. For the NFL, titles are counted from 1933, when actual title games began being played. Super Bowl champions are counted as NFL champions from 1966. (See the note regarding the AFL title exceptions just below.) For the NBA, titles are counted from the 1946-1947 season. For the NHL, titles are counted from the 1926-1927 season, when the NHL took over the Stanley Cup. Each of these standard measurements of season play and title consideration are the most widely accepted.

 

• The San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills titles are from the AFL, years 1960 to 1965. The 1968 and 1969 NFL titles were won by the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings, respectively, but the Super Bowls in those years were won by the AFL’s New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. It is those titles that are counted here. If AFL titles are not counted –  and the argument that they shouldn't is a very reasonable one –  the Bills would be at 49 years without an NFL/Super Bowl title, and the Chargers would be at 48 (if only those years since being in San Diego are considered for it spent its first year in 1960 in Los Angeles). The reason these titles are counted for San Diego and Buffalo is because the franchises were legitimately in operation competing in professional football with the same caliber players of the NFL, but they did not have an opportunity to earn an NFL title until 1966 when the Chiefs of the AFL did play in Super Bowl I against the Packers of the NFL.

 

• The Indiana Pacers (70, 72, 73) and New York Nets (74, 76) won titles in the ABA before they were absorbed into the NBA for the 1976-1977 season, but those titles are not considered here. The reason the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers AFL titles are included while the Pacers and Nets ABA titles are not is because (1) the AFL competed against the NFL and did comparably well (the AFL Jets and Chiefs defeated the NFL representatives in two Super Bowls). The ABA never had any such challenge to the NBA. (2) All of the AFL teams were brought into the NFL in the merger of 1970. Only a handful of the ABA teams were incorporated into the NBA in 1976.

 

• The Washington Bullets title in 1978 is counted even though they are now called the Wizards. Other minor team name changes are likewise not considered for ineligibility in present-team championship totals, such as the change of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to just Ducks or the name-shifting of the California-to-Anaheim-to-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

 

• All considered team-years exclude any years the team was not playing in that city, but include all total years even if non-continuous. The Ottawa Senators won their title in 1927, and shortly thereafter left the league for over sixty years. They returned in 1992. The Cleveland Browns became the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, but the Cleveland Browns assembled a new team of players and returned in 1999. These two Browns entities are considered one in the same for these purposes. The Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and then back to Oakland in 1995. The team’s Los Angeles title in 1983 is not counted in that team’s total.

 

• The number used for the second list is years, representing years-in-the-league, in that given city or municipality. This is noted because of the presumption that during season-ending strikes (such as 1994 for baseball and 2004-2005 for hockey) there would have otherwise been a season played.

 

• The year listed for the NBA and NHL championships is the year of that season's NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals. The year listed for the NFL's Super Bowl title is for that established season even though the game is played in the following year.

 

• This is all through June of 2010, with the NBA Finals played in that month (won by the Los Angeles Lakers) the last championship of record here. It is the humble intention of the author of this site to update this list every time a championship is achieved.

 

• This list only comprises the teams from these four major professional sports leagues in North America, generally accepted as the most renowned. Because it includes only these four leagues and no others does not mean any statement is being made against any other sports league.

 

Championship Frequency of Metropolitan Areas 

 

NFL Team Names

 

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This page updated on June 17, 2010