CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The Magic returned to the Eastern Conference Finals the next season, losing to the Celtics 4-2. Between the NHLs Sabres (established 1970) and the NFLs Bills (established 1960), Buffalo has never experienced a sports championship in 62 years of having teams. Pirates: 43 seasons (Last title in 1979)Only six franchises have won more championships than Pittsburgh (five), but its been a rough road for the franchise since Barry Bonds departure following a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. Minnesota United has yet to make the playoffs in two seasons of play in the MLS. It would take the Sabres 24 years to return to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced the Dallas Stars in 1999. Five Pro Sports Cities in a Championship Drought That Deserve a Ring. While the 2022 Stanley Cup finals wont wipe out one of the longest championship droughts, a streak of 20 consecutive years without hoisting of Lord Stanleys Cup, aka The Holy Grail of Hockey, came to an end. To make matters worse, a team with 17 championships in its history has just one (2008) in nearly 40 years. To make matters worse in Sacramento, the Kings set an NBA record for the longest playoff drought in league history. A handful of teams have finally gotten over the hump in recent years and ended. Listed according to seasons waited. But the Red Sox swept the Rockies that year in the franchises closest title attempt. They were followed by the World Football Leagues Jacksonville Sharks/Express (defunct), the NASLs Jacksonville Tea Men (defunct), the United States Football Leagues Jacksonville Bulls (defunct) and them, finally, the NFLs Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); HotDog is the internet's oldest guide to cordcutting, replacing expensive cable or satellite TV with cheaper or free live stream and OTA options. 6 seed. In 2001, the NBAs Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis after six seasons and a dismal 101-359 (.219) record. Thanks to the Capitals, Detroit has now moved up the list of cities with the longest-running title droughts. As a one-sport city, Sacramento lives and dies by its Kings. All Rights Reserved. The longest currently active championship drought belongs to the city of Rockies: 30 seasons (No titles)Colorado had all the momentum in 2007, when "Rocktober" swept Denver and the team won eight straight postseason games and the NL pennant after prevailing over the Padres in a Game 163. Advertisement. Researchers at HotDog.com ranked US and Canadian metropolitan areas according to active professional sports championship droughts, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS. NFL: Arizona Cardinals: 70 years: . Of course, we saw two of the longest MLB playoff droughts end this year. Following the 2021-22 NBA season, Sacramento has missed the playoff in 16 consecutive seasons. 2023 ChampsOrChumps.us Terms Privacy Policy, The most recent championship for Minneapolis was the, The most recent championship for New York was the, The most recent championship for Phoenix was the, The most recent championship for Cincinnati was the, There have been no championships in Charlotte history. (See The Vikings: Tale of Glory and Doom.). At the metro level, one city currently stands out for the length of time without a professional sports title. That 10-year drought is twice as long as anyone else in the NFL, as the Cardinals, Bengals and Broncos have all most . Prior to the 1972 season, the AFL's Oakland Raiders defeated the NFL's Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. One of the NHLs Original Six organizations has gone over five decades without lifting the Cup. Sacramento Kings 16 seasons (last playoff . For these teams, its practically impossible. Neither the Reds nor the Bengals have played in a Championship Game since then. San Diego is the nations 17th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 3,337,685. The Kansas City Royals have a chance to end a 29-year wait for a second world title. Pottsville won the game 21-7, a win that should have secured the championship. We recommend (And use!) Blue Jays: 29 seasons (Last title in 1993)The road to the World Series title ran through Toronto at the beginning of the 1990s, but dynastic days north of the border subsided at the turn of the millennium. Updated with completion of NFL season ending in 2023. While they have had some success in Memphis, they have only reached the conference finals once in 2013 where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. While it certainly isnt one of the longest championship droughts in sports, the 14-year stretch is one of the longest in franchise history. Under Coach Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars were a remarkably successful expansion franchise. The Magic faced the defending champion Houston Rockets who had struggled during the season, leading some to predict a Magic sweep. In this installment, we cover the 10 cities who have not seen a championship in 20 years or more in any major sport San Diego, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Charlotte, Orlando, Cincinnati, the Twin Cities, Jacksonville, and Nashville. In 2008-2009, the Arizona Cardinals came back from a 20-7 fourth quarter deficit to go ahead 23-20 with only 2:47 remaining in Super Bowl XLIII but Santonio Holmes amazing end zone catch gave the Pittsburgh Steeles the 27-23 win. The Bucks made it back to the conference finals in 2001 with a team led by Hall of Famer Ray Allen and Sam Cassell in the backcourt and power forward Glenn Big Dog Robinson. Updated Whether curses are to blame or just bad management and worse luck, fans put up with a lot. Locations were attributed wins for championships won by teams that were branded to be from the location at the time it took place. Tennessee Titans. If the Titans had completed the comeback, it would have . After that, the T-Wolves proceeded to miss the playoffs for 13 straight seasons until last year. The franchises most recent Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza, was 18 years old when the Mets won it all in 86. Since then the Bills have won only one playoff game the 1995 Wild Card game. Mariners: 46 seasons (No titles)With the Nationals making it to the Fall Classic in 2019, that left the Mariners as the only franchise without an appearance in baseballs championship event. 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. 1. The Bills lost all four Super Bowls, with the closest one being in the 1990-91 season when Scott Norwoods potential game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt with 8-seconds remaining was wide by a foot. They lost the championship the following season and did not reach the championship game for 60 years before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl LIII. Of course, the Cardinals arent the only franchise with a championship drought beyond 50 years. Teams that have never made it beyond each successive milestone are listed under the year in which they began NFL play. The closest the Kings have come to an NBA title, however, was in 2002 when Kings played in their only Conference Finals since moving from Kansas City. The Bucks were in their third year as a franchise and were led by MVP Kareen Abdul-Jabbar in his second season, Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and the great power forward Bob Dandridge. However, their drought pales in comparison to ones endured by other franchises. The Game 1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals also represented the Phillies first playoff victory since Game 3 in the 2011 NLDS on Oct. 4, 2011. The Magic came back and won 60 games, but could not get past the 72-win Chicago Bulls who swept the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. 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. Only one team can win the World Series every year, but some fanbases have been waiting a long time to see their team raise the Commissioners Trophy. Sacramento has only one active team, the, The most recent championship for Miami was the, The most recent championship for Ottawa was the, There have been no championships in Orlando history. A citys sports misfortunes can come in different forms. In 1990, the Cincinnati Reds swept the favored Oakland As for their 5th World Series Championship. The club they defeated, the Indians, still maintains the record for the longest World Series drought in baseball history. San Jose has only one active team, the, The most recent championship for Chicago was the, There have been no championships in Winnipeg history. Which NHL team has the longest Stanley Cup drought? Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks back to the NBA Finals in 1974 against the Boston Celtics. Longest championship drought, by sport. In the event of a tie, the location with fewer total professional championships was ranked higher. Nashville has 2 active teams, the, The most recent championship for Portland was the, The most recent championship for Dallas was the, There have been no championships in Salt Lake City history. The Cardinals have the longest active title drought in the NFL (last title: 1947) and one of the longest droughts without a franchise QB. Back in 1925, the Cardinals faced the Pottsville Maroons in the 1925 NFL Championship game. Athletics: 33 seasons (Last title in 1989)The As have enjoyed as many dynastic runs as any team outside the Yankees over the breadth of Major League history, but the last three decades have been a dry period in Oakland. In the 67 years since their last title, the . 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. The Hornets would move to New Orleans after the 2002 season. 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. 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Though no other American sports franchise has reached the century mark for years without a title, there . Which NFL team has the longest Super Bowl drought? After snapping one of the longest playoff droughts in MLB, the Phillies made it back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. 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. Seattle then went 20 years without making it back to the postseason, but that streak is now over. Further ties were broken by the team with the most active professional sports franchises. Which teams have the longest championship droughts? Of course, some have it worse than others. Even with four total franchises between Nashville and Memphis, the state has never won a professional sports title in 25 years. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers are now at a 27-year championship drought. Further ties were broken by the team with the most active professional sports franchises. The team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego. (SeeThrowback Thursday: Bucks wintitle.). The Cardinals' 70-year championship drought is one year longer than the team the Cubs beat Wednesday. The 2007-08 Celtics rolled to a stop-the-insanity 131-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 17, 2008, after which no Boston team would win a championship until . To make matters worse in Sacramento, the Kings set an NBA record for the longest playoff drought in league history. The last championship in San Diego was the 1963 AFL Championship where the Chargers beat the Boston Patriots 51-10. Between the NHLs Sabres (established 1970) and the NFLs Bills (established 1960), Buffalo has never experienced a sports championship in 62 years of having teams. drought started in 1966 and has been ongoing for The Twins win came months after the Minnesota North Stars lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. Active droughts are listed in bold type. Fans growing up as children hoping desperately to see their favorite club they were raised to support one day lift the banner declaring the champions. Kansas City Royals - 6 years. Manchester United are middle of the pack when it comes to the longest trophy droughts ever suffered by the 20 current Premier League clubs. The Bengals have been 1-8 in eight post-season appearances and have not played in a title game since losing Super Bowl XXIII in 1988-89. 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. Neither team has been crowned the NHLs champions since entering the league in 1970. Cleveland has not won a title since 1948, but it has come close to winning one several times. The Reds have been 2-11 in its four post-season appearances since then and has finished in last or next to last 11 times including the last five seasons. Here are the teams with the longest-running droughts in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and WNBA: Twelve NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl, but no team has gone longer without a championship than the Arizona Cardinals. The city of Los Angeles has the longest championship drought of any NBA city. However, they were stripped of the title and the Maroons were suspended by the NFL for playing an exhibition game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The T-Wolves fell 4-2 to the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers. The 10 longest championship droughts in professional sports. But there is one important caveat: most of these cities have not had pro sports franchises for very long. From 1917-67, Toronto won the Stanley Cup finals 13 times, they still have the second-most Stanley Cup wins in NHL history. Unfortunately for the Padres, they faced the New York Yankees, who at 114-48 had posted the second-best record in Major League history. The Braves swept the Reds in the 95 NLCS, and the franchise has not advanced past the LDS since then. And some of these droughts are especially surprising. 2023 HotDog.com | 1013 Centre Road, Suite 403S Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, 19805. A championship appearance is listed as appearing in an NFL Championship (19321969), AFL Championship (19601969), or Super Bowl Championship (1966present). 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. Among teams that have never won a title, the Phoenix Suns have the longest drought at 54 seasons. Researchers at HotDog.com ranked U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas according to active professional sports championship droughts. Last championship in the city: New York Giants (2012), or for Brooklyn specifically, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. Reds: 32 seasons (Last title in 1990)The 1970s were dominated by the Big Red Machine, but aside from Cincinnatis most recent title in 1990, its been a different story since in the Queen City. Buffalo, who has The Toronto Maple Leafs have played 54 seasons since winning their last championship in the 1966-67 season. With C-Town now anointed NBA champions, let's . For example, Canada the birthplace of hockey is home to seven cities with NHL franchises, but none of them have brought home a Stanley Cup in the last 30 years. New York went from 1906-1920 without a championship, and that dry spell was bookended by World . The Browns last appeared in the AFC Championship Game during the 1989 season when they fell . Orlando has not won a title since becoming a pro-city in 1989 when the Orlando Magic joined the NBA. The longest drought overall now belongs to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals at 69 years. Guardians: 74 seasons (Last title in 1948) Cleveland has had its chances during this time, but it lost World Series in 1954, '95, '97 and 2016 -- four of the club's 12 postseason appearances since beating the Boston Braves in the 1948 Fall . The Padres were the last San Diego team with a shot at a title. The Bucks swept through the NBA playoffs beating Nate Thurmond and the San Francisco Warriors (4-1), Wilt Chamberlain and the Los Angeles Lakers (4-1) and sweeping Wes Unseld and the Baltimore Bullets. It is also possible that the NHL championship drought will extend to Los Angeles. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. 3) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - Last NFL Title: 1960. The Braves had been one of those teams entering the 2021 season, but they became the latest team to end a lengthy drought by clinching their first title since 1995 by beating the Astros to take home the 2021 World Series trophy that fall. They have not made the playoffs since then. The organizations last championship came in 1951, when the team was the Rochester Royals. To put that 21-year drought into perspective, 28-year-old Jaromir Jagr led the NHL in points (121) during the 2000-01 regular season. After taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, Colorado is back on top of the NHL world. Buffalo Last Title: Never No city currently compares to Clevelands legendary sports curse, but many pro sports markets have nonetheless seen lengthy championship droughts in recent years. Brewers/Pilots: 54 seasons (No titles)After one season in Seattle, the franchise moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Your email address will not be published. Jacksonvilles debut as a pro-sports city came in 1970 when the American Basketball Associations The Floridians played some of their games in Jacksonville as a regional franchise in 1970 and 1971. They are one of 11 teams without an NBA championship. 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. Sacramento is the 27th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 2,324,884. Total professional sports championships: 18. Note that the NFL did not institute a permanent playoff tournament until 1967 and that the NFL Championship Game and any impromptu one-game playoffs (played only in the event of a tie atop the division standings) were the only postseason matchups in this era. 11/4/2016. Check out our Cyber Monday Shoppers Guide! The team came close to winning the inaugural WNBA championship in 1997 but fell to the Houston Comets. All NFL championships since the NFL was founded in 1920 were included; all NBA championships since the NBA was founded in 1946 were included; all World Series were included, dating back to 1903; all NHL championships since the NHL was founded in 1917 were included; and all MLS championships since MLSs first season in 1996 were included. Since returning 24 years ago, they have only made the playoffs twice, while the Baltimore Ravens are considered to be a separate team that began play in 1996. Kansas City's last three playoff losses have come by a total of nine points a freak 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh in a divisional game after the 2016 season, a 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans after the 2017 season and a 37-31 overtime loss to the New England Patriots in the . A championship is listed as winning an NFL Championship (19201969), AFL Championship (19601969), and Super Bowl Championship (1966present). But if youre not going to count those as championships then you have to start counting years with the start of Super Bowls. The data was sourced from pro-football-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, hockey-reference.com, and fbref.com. Despite having a team in each of the five major sports, it has been more than three decades since . They returned to the AFC Championship in 2002-03, losing to the Oakland Raiders 41-24. Jacksonville has only one active team, the, The most recent championship for Newark was the, The most recent championship for New Orleans was the, There have been no championships in Columbus history. Rocky Widner / NBA. What is the longest championship drought ever? Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals . The Kings also have one of the longest playoff droughts in American professional sports. Instead, it was the Rockets who swept the Magic as Hakeem Olajuwon outplayed the younger Shaq. Ten teams have multiple losing streaks where they lost an equal number of post season games before breaking the drought. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders, List of NFL franchise post-season streaks, List of current National Football League consecutive playoff appearances, List of last undefeated NFL teams by season, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_NFL_franchise_post-season_droughts&oldid=1139056286, Tied for most consecutive losses in team history, 1967, 19701972, 1975, 1977, 19801981, 1986, 1964, 1966, 1971, 19731974, 19761978, 1980, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 03:43. "Hotdog" is a registered trademark of Incognito Mode LLC. Nashville became a major league city in 1998 when the NFLs Tennessee Oilers moved from Memphis (they became the Titans the following season) and the Nashville Predators debuted as an NHL expansion team. Ultimately, they were passed over for another city with a similar drought, only this city has four teams rather than two. The team was an original WNBA team as the Utah Starzz starting in 1997 before turning into the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2003 and the Aces in 2018. Seattle tied the record for the most wins in an MLB season (116), but lost in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees. Theyve made it twice total since last winning in 1984. For some fans, however, hope all is all they have had for too long. The Queen City is home to the MLBs Cincinnati Reds, NFLs Cincinnati Bengals and MLS FC Cincinnati (debuting this season) and was once home to the NBAs Cincinnati Royals (now Sacramento Kings) and the World Hockey Associations Cincinnati Stingers. Since 1984, a drought has existed in the United States. Over the last 25 years, 62.7% of cities have won a championship in either the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS. The Minnesota Timberwolves reached the conference finals only once in 2004 when league MVP Kevin Garnett led them to a conference-best record of 58-24. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. In the world of major professional sports, some cities are known as consistent winners, while others have a long history of hard luck in the search for a sports championship. In 2017-18, they returned to the AFC Championship and had a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter over the defending champion New England Patriots, but Tom Brady led the Patriots back to a 24-20 win. Active droughts are listed in bold type Since then the Twins have only advanced as far as the ALCS once (2002). The team has two WNBA Finals appearances in its history: 2008 and 2020. A citys sports misfortunes can come in different forms. Charlotte has been a professional city since 1988 when the NBA expanded with the Charlotte Hornets. Atlanta Hawks - 63 years. Buffalos drought tops the next-highest city by nine years, and only two other cities besides Buffalo have championship droughts longer than 50 years. The Bucks have not won a series since then, although this year certainly looks promising. It is the second largest city on this list. 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). Since then, the franchise has endured six decades of losing seasons and the longest championship drought among active NFL franchises. Projected by many as a contender entering the season, Russell Wilson regressed and Nathaniel Hackett didnt make it a full season before he was fired. In 1991, the Minnesota Twins went from finishing in last place the year before to winning the World Series in a dramatic Game 7. While it was a finalist in MLBs 1993 and 1998 expansion, it got overlooked in favor of Miami and Tampa Bay. Around a quarter (25.5%) have never won a championship, but one important caveat is that most of these cities have not had pro sports franchises for very long. 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. The sport was also just two years removed from Wayne Gretzky retiring. appreciated.