A citys sports misfortunes can come in different forms. The Twins havent advanced past the LDS round since 02. Prior to the 1972 season, the AFL's Oakland Raiders defeated the NFL's Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. Since then, the Os have fallen in the ALCS in 1996, 97 and 2014. Basketball fans must go all the way back to the 1051 NBA to find the last Kings championship. The Toronto Maple Leafs have played 54 seasons since winning their last championship in the 1966-67 season. After the Cav's NBA championship last night, the city that's endured the most seasons without a major sport championship is San Diego. Orlando has not won a title since becoming a pro-city in 1989 when the Orlando Magic joined the NBA. With their Game 7 win in the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers became the first professional sports team in Cleveland to win a championship in 52 years ending what had been the longest drought between . Entire US Womens Soccer Team Sues US Soccer for Gender Discrimination, we covered franchise championship conference titles, conference finals, and playoff appearance droughts, team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego. A Warner Bros. The sport was also just two years removed from Wayne Gretzky retiring. Since then the Bills have won only one playoff game - the 1995 Wild Card game. There were World Series chances in '84 and 98, but the Padres won just one Fall Classic game in those years against the Tigers and Yankees, respectively. In 2015, the MLS added Orlando FC, which has yet to qualify for the playoffs. Having played more seasons naturally makes it more likely that a team would win a championship at some point. Things looked promising for the Magic when they landed Shaquille ONeal with the #1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. Only streaks with consecutive years of professional sports operating within a location were considered. But cities that have been awarded franchises recently have an additional disadvantage, because there are now more teams to compete against than in earlier years. Only locations with at least one currently active professional sports team were considered in the analysis. San Diego is the nations 17th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 3,337,685. Rays: 25 years (No titles)Tampa Bay debuted as the Devil Rays and began with some lean times, averaging 97 losses over its first 10 seasons. After losing in the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics have now gone 14 years without winning a title. The organization's last championship came in 1951, when the team was the Rochester Royals. After losing Game 6, the Brewers jumped to a 3-1 lead in Game 7 and were 9 our away from a World Series title, but the Cardinals came back to win 6-3. The data was sourced from pro-football-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, hockey-reference.com, and fbref.com. The team lost the World Series four times over the last 73 seasons, most recently in 2016 when the Cubs snapped their unprecedented 108-year skid. No city currently compares to Clevelands legendary sports curse, but many pro sports markets have nonetheless seen lengthy championship droughts in recent years. Twins: 31 seasons (Last title in 1991)The days of Jack Morris, Kirby Puckett and the "Homer Hanky" are growing further and further into the rearview mirror for the Twins. Kansas City Royals - 6 years. The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 52-year championship drought June 19, 2016, when they toppled the Golden State Warriors in a best-of-seven series. And in some cases, it could be all of a citys sports franchises struggling simultaneously, like in Cleveland, which experienced a 52-year championship drought from the Browns 1964 NFL title to the Cavaliers 2016 NBA championship. Tennessee Titans. The other seven clubs (Cardinals, Lions, Oilers/Titans, Chargers, Browns, Bills, and Vikings) all won an NFL or AFL championship prior to the AFLNFL merger; in the case of the Vikings, however, the Super Bowl existed at the time they won their only league title (in 1969), leaving them and the Falcons as the only two teams to have never won the highest championship available to them. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Ten Major Cities With Longest Championship Droughts. The Philadelphia Phillies snuck into the postseason thanks to the added No. A championship appearance is listed as appearing in an NFL Championship (19321969), AFL Championship (19601969), or Super Bowl Championship (1966present). Winning a championship, regardless of league, is no easy feat. Boston went 21 years without winning the NBA Finals from 1986-2007. List of NFL franchise post-season droughts, AFC/NFC Championship Game appearance droughts, Super Bowl or NFL championship appearance droughts, Super Bowl or NFL championship win droughts, Cities/regions awaiting first Super Bowl crown, Closest approaches without winning the Super Bowl, Longest NFL / AFL / Super Bowl championship droughts through history, Longest NFL / AFL / Super Bowl championship appearance droughts through history, Playoff droughts of at least five seasons, Most consecutive post-season losses in team history, Longest post-season droughts in team history, Last edited on 13 February 2023, at 03:43, claimed an unrecognized 1921 championship, Chicago/St. Your email address will not be published. The data was sourced from pro-football-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, hockey-reference.com, and fbref.com. A citys sports misfortunes can come in different forms. The 10 longest championship droughts in professional sports. Keep in mind, that this happened when this franchise played in Rochester, New York as the Rochester Royals. The team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego. Within two years, the Magic had the best record in the Eastern Conference and reached the 1994-95 NBA Finals. What is the longest championship drought ever? At least the Maple Leafs arent totally alone. Its made just one Fall Classic, in '82, when the Brew Crew was unable to finish off a 3-2 lead against the Cardinals. Here are some of sports' longest-standing droughts for things other than championships. But the Red Sox swept the Rockies that year in the franchises closest title attempt. The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks are the other NHL teams to go 50-plus years without winning the Stanley Cup. The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans. (SeeThrowback Thursday: Bucks wintitle.). 4:20 PM EDT, Sun October 23, 2016. Despite having a team in each of the five major sports, it has been more than three decades since Minnesota last saw a title, when the MLBs Twins won in 1991. How else could he watch one to two films every day? Five Pro Sports Cities in a Championship Drought That Deserve a Ring. Last Title: 1948 (74-year drought) The Guardians have been the kings of the MLB twice in their 122 seasons of play. The Original Ottawa Senators last won the Stanley Cup in 1927. In that span since the 1984 title, theyve also found themselves on the precipice of the World Series three additional times -- losing the ALCS in 2013, 2011 and 1987. The Lakers went on to win Game 7 at Sacramento in overtime 112-106. Which NHL team has the longest Stanley Cup drought? With a first-round exit in the 2022 playoffs, the Maple Leafs tied the record for longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history, matching the New York Rangers mark from 1940 to 1994. Milwaukee has been home to MLBs Milwaukee Braves (now Atlanta Braves), the Milwaukee Brewers, the NBAs Milwaukee Hawks (now Atlanta Hawks) and Milwaukee Bucks, the NFLs Milwaukee Badgers and the Green Bay Packers which played some games in Milwaukee from 1933-1994 (Green Bay is not part of the Milwaukee metro area). Of the 12 teams that have never won the Super Bowl, four are expansion franchises younger than the Super Bowl itself (the Bengals, Panthers, Jaguars, and Texans), while the Falcons began playing during the season in which the Super Bowl was first played. But the magic hasnt been sufficient enough in the years since, though the Mets did enjoy plenty of memorable moments during their NL pennant runs in 2000 and 15. Further ties were broken by the team with the most active professional sports franchises. The Twins win came months after the Minnesota North Stars lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. But there is one important caveat: most of these cities have not had pro sports franchises for very long. Minnesota United has yet to make the playoffs in two seasons of play in the MLS. Even with four total franchises between Nashville and Memphis, the state has never won a professional sports title in 25 years. While it certainly isnt one of the longest championship droughts in sports, the 14-year stretch is one of the longest in franchise history. The team came close to winning the inaugural WNBA championship in 1997 but fell to the Houston Comets. 1. Jacksonville is the nations 40th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of1,504,980. Which teams have the longest championship droughts? Ultimately, they were passed over for another city with a similar drought, only this city has four teams rather than two. The Sabres made it to the Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007, but have not won a playoff series since then. Neither the Reds nor the Bengals have played in a Championship Game since then. (All-time and active). Throughout the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), franchises have had various postseason and World Series droughts.. All 16 of the original Major League franchises (i.e., those in place when the first World Series was played in 1903) have won the World Series, with the longest wait for a franchise's first championship being for the Phillies (77 seasons, ending in 1980). The Cleveland Browns are tied for the second-longest conference championship game drought at 29 years. The NBA team with the longest championship drought is the sad-Sack-ramento Kings, who last won the league championship in 1951 as the (wait for it) Rochester Royals . Pittsburgh Pirates - 6 years. Unfortunately for the Padres, they faced the New York Yankees, who at 114-48 had posted the second-best record in Major League history. They returned to the AFC Championship in 2002-03, losing to the Oakland Raiders 41-24. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons for teams. It also has struggled with its back against the wall. By: Jill R. Dorson -. Paul) owns the longest championship drought of all American cities that have teams in the four major sports. Brewers/Pilots: 54 seasons (No titles)After one season in Seattle, the franchise moved to Milwaukee in 1970. The City of Minneapolis (1991-Present): No Minneapolis franchise has claimed a championship in 25 years, excluding three, maybe four WNBA titles . The Mariners ended their 21-year postseason drought in 2022 before losing to the division-rival Astros in the ALDS. Padres: 54 seasons (No titles)An expansion team in 1969, San Diego has yet to bring home a title. In the NBA Finals, the Magic faced Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers who beat them 4-1. Did you encounter any technical issues? 1. Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Mets: 36 seasons (Last title in 1986)It took a series of miracles for the Mets to come back in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series before eventually prevailing in Game 7. The Cardinals' 70-year championship drought is one year longer than the team the Cubs beat Wednesday. The Detroit Lions, are one of seven teams without a Super Bowl win. Sadly for hockey fans in Philly, the Philadelphia Flyers arent far behind. Of course, some have it worse than others. Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals . The last Buffalo championship was in 1965 when the Bills won their second consecutive AFL title with a 23-0 win over the San Diego Chargers led by quarterback Jack Kemp (who would go on to be a New York Congressman). Shaq would leave for the Lakers the next season and it would not be until 2008-2009 that the Magic would return to the conference finals. Cincinnati is the 29th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 2,179,082. The Buffalo Bills won AFL championships in 1964 and 1965 prior to Super Bowls between the two football leagues. Since then, the franchise has endured six decades of losing seasons and the longest championship drought among active NFL franchises. This is the second-longest championship drought the city has ever experienced dating back to 1900. Unfortunately, the wheels have fallen off in recent decades. 9. Buffalo's drought tops the next-highest city by nine years, and only two other cities besides Buffalo have championship droughts longer than 50 years. Answer (1 of 3): Counting AFL championships and defunct teams, the longest current droughts for an entire city winning any major sports championship are: 1. Led by Dwight Howard, the Magic stunned LeBron James and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. Total professional sports championships: 18. When the Mariners host the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Division series, it will be Seattles first MLB playoff game since Oct. 18, 2001. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. Phoenix, which is home to MLBs Arizona Diamondbacks, the NBAs Phoenix Suns, the NFLs Arizona Cardinals and the NHLs Arizona Coyotes, won its only championship ever in 2001 when the Diamondbacks won a thrilling World Series over the New York Yankees by scoring two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 7. The Blue Jays fell in back-to-back ALCS in 2015-16, representing their closest recent attempts. Oklahoma City has only one active team, the, The most recent championship for Green Bay was the, The most recent championship for Washington DC was the, The most recent championship for Toronto was the, The most recent championship for San Antonio was the, There have been no championships in Las Vegas history. The Sacramento Kings have the longest championship drought in the NBA and one of the longest playoff droughts in American sports.