An early exit extended Torontos futility with one of the longest championship droughts in sports. Cleveland has not won a title since 1948, but it has come close to winning one several times. General manager Billy Beanes innovative roster strategies have kept the As competitive on small-market budgets, particularly during the clubs Moneyball period in the early 2000s, but the franchise has reached just two ALCS since last winning the World Series in 1989. The Bucks have not won a series since then, although this year certainly looks promising. In the 1990s the Bills had a dynasty, winning four consecutive AFC Championships (a feat that has not been matched) from 1990-1993 with Hall of Famers Cornelius Bennett (LB), Jim Kelly (QB) James Lofton (WR), Andre Reed (WR), Bruce Smith (DE), Thurman Thomas (RB) and Coach Marvy Levy. The Lakers went on to win Game 7 at Sacramento in overtime 112-106. Of course, the NHL playoffs werent as kind to others. Only metros with at least one active NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS team were considered. Instead, it was the Rockets who swept the Magic as Hakeem Olajuwon outplayed the younger Shaq. The Sacramento Kings have the longest championship drought in the NBA and one of the longest playoff droughts in American sports. Required fields are marked *. The Bobcats, however, do have the distinction of having the worst record in NBA history in the strike-shortened 2012 season when they went a horrid 7-59 (.106). Featured Photo Credit: Doug Lemke / Shutterstock. The Rays pushed the Dodgers one game further in '20, but still came up short in six games. HotDog.com Blog Cities With the Longest Active Championship Droughts. 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. And some of these droughts are especially surprising. We see many teams continuing their hist. For example, Canadathe birthplace of hockeyis home to seven cities with NHL franchises, but none of them have brought home a Stanley Cup in the last 30 years. The Kansas City Royals have a chance to end a 29-year wait for a second world title. are the only original WNBA team with its original name that has never won a title, giving them a drought of 25 seasons. Led by Dwight Howard, the Magic stunned LeBron James and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. Your email address will not be published. They have two teams but took a World Series home in 1990. While it certainly isnt one of the longest championship droughts in sports, the 14-year stretch is one of the longest in franchise history. No city currently compares to Clevelands legendary sports curse, but many pro sports markets have nonetheless seen lengthy championship droughts in recent years. Mike Bibbys game-winning shot in Game 5 put them up 3-2 over the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with four total franchises between Nashville and Memphis, the state has never won a professional sports title in 25 years. Phoenix Suns - 53 years. They also won the pennant in 2006, when they lost in five games to the 83-win Cardinals. He started streaming early, back in 2007 when Netflix introduced what seemed revolutionary even then, "instant watch," or what would eventually become the totality of the company. . Whether curses are to blame or just bad management and worse luck, fans put up with a lot. 2023 HotDog.com | 1013 Centre Road, Suite 403S Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, 19805. Buffalos drought tops the next-highest city by nine years, and only two other cities besides Buffalo have championship droughts longer than 50 years. This is the second-longest championship drought the city has ever experienced dating back to 1900. After being eliminated from postseason contention in Week 18, the New York Jets have the longest active NFL playoff drought at 12 seasons. Ironically, the 2016 World Series loss to the Chicago Cubs snapped the longest championship drought ever, with the Cubs going 107 years without a title. Orioles: 39 seasons (Last title in 1983)Baltimores most recent trip to the World Series was its victory over the Phillies in 1983, when Cal Ripken Jr. was a 23-year-old who was only a year and a half into his consecutive-games streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) celebrates leading the Bucks to the NBA championship Tuesday night. Though no other American sports franchise has reached the century mark for years without a title, there . The first time was in 1920 behind the guise and bat of player/manager Tris Speaker. There are long-suffering franchises and fan bases across American sports. A season-ending Game 5 loss at Yankee Stadium in the 2022 AL Division Series extended the Guardians' MLB-record streak of elimination-game losses to 11. The As most recent ALCS appearance resulted in a sweep by the Tigers in 06. 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. Led by quarterback Stan Humphries, the Chargers came back from a 13-3 deficit to win 17-13. This list also counts all seasons since a team last won the league championship. . 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 Blue Jays' drought continued to grow in 2022 after they lost in the Wild Card Series to the Mariners. The Sabres made it to the Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007, but have not won a playoff series since then. Sacramento is the 27th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 2,324,884. The last championship in San Diego was the 1963 AFL Championship where the Chargers beat the Boston Patriots 51-10. 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. We have seen one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts end in recent years. The Philadelphia Phillies snuck into the postseason thanks to the added No. The Sacramento Kings have a historic playoff drought to go along with their historic championship drought. 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. The Mariners have gone 20 years without reaching the MLB playoffs, it is the longest active postseason drought in the top four American mens sports. Of course, the Cardinals arent the only franchise with a championship drought beyond 50 years. Then in the Super Bowl, they almost pulled off another miracle, as Kevin Dyson (who scored the Music City Miracle) was stopped a foot shy of a game-tying touchdown on the final play of the game. The Kings lost Game 6 in Los Angeles 106-102 in a controversial game that many have claimed demonstrates that the league wanted to ensure that the marquee Lakers and not the small-market Kings reached the NBA Finals; as in the final minutes, all foul calls and non-calls went the Lakers way. The longest drought since a championship of any kind is that of the Cardinals, at 75 seasons. To make matters worse in Sacramento, the Kings set an NBA record for the longest playoff drought in league history. and, in a few cases, century-long curses. 57 years. 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. However, they lost to the Houston Astros. San Diego is the nations 17th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 3,337,685. The Mariners ended their 21-year postseason drought in 2022 before losing to the division-rival Astros in the ALDS. The franchise is 0-4 in potential championship clinchers over its past two trips to the Series, having squandered a 3-1 advantage to the Cubs in 2016. We also cover VPNs, internet providers & more. Nashville is the nations 36th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 1,903,045. Since then, the franchise has endured six decades of losing seasons and the longest championship drought among active NFL franchises. gone 116 seasons without winning a championship. It is the longest playoff drought in NBA history, surpassing the Los Angeles Clippers (15, 1977-19992) and Minnesota Timberwolves (13, 2005-18). Charlotte has 2 active teams, the, There have been no championships in Vancouver history. It could be tantalizingly close misses, like the Buffalo Bills run of four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s. appreciated. At the metro level, one city currently stands out for the length of time without a professional sports title. The Bert Bell Benefit Bowl (aka the Playoff Bowl; 19601969) is considered an exhibition game for the purpose of this list. Locations were attributed championships for championships won by teams that were branded to be from the location at the time that they won the championship. 6 seed. Listed according to seasons waited. 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 then the Bills have won only one playoff game the 1995 Wild Card game. The Twins havent advanced past the LDS round since 02. 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. 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. The Rangers have since experienced their fair share of October agony, including back-to-back World Series losses in 2010-11 -- the latter featuring multiple instances in which Texas was one strike away from beating St. Louis and hoisting the trophy. Active droughts are listed in bold type. The franchise will hope to find a new quarterback in 2023, someone who can finally take this team back to the playoffs. 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. From 1917-67, Toronto won the Stanley Cup finals 13 times, they still have the second-most Stanley Cup wins in NHL history. Finally, the city of Cincinnati had be flummoxed. 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. Neither the Reds nor the Bengals have played in a Championship Game since then. But the team has had its stars -- including Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Johan Santana -- who led Minnesota to six AL Central titles from 2002-10 before the club suffered early postseason exits. It is the largest city on the list and the only one with teams in all major leagues. Thats it youll save money, take back control, and enjoy TV more! 1. In 1990, the Cincinnati Reds swept the favored Oakland As for their 5th World Series Championship. Ultimately, they were passed over for another city with a similar drought, only this city has four teams rather than two. The Hornets/Bobcats have made only 10 playoff appearances and have never advanced beyond the second round. 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. Minnesota's dry spell extends nearly 25 years, all the way back to . The Bucs only three postseason appearances since then (2013-15) all fell short of the NLCS. Buffalo has been home to the NFLs Buffalo Bills, the NHLs Buffalo Sabres and the NBAs Buffalo Bison (now Atlanta Hawks) and Buffalo Braves (now Los Angeles Clippers). Each sports season is referred to by the year that the season started. Researchers at HotDog.com ranked U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas according to active professional sports championship droughts. 11/4/2016. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Even with four total franchises between Nashville and Memphis, the state has never won a professional sports title in 25 years. The Brewers have made it to the playoffs only three times since then. At least the Maple Leafs arent totally alone. The Detroit Lions, are one of seven teams without a Super Bowl win. Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals . 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. Things looked promising after they took a 7-0 on their first drive, but then the Philadelphia Eagles shut them down en route to a 38-7 win. semi-final defeat to a Manchester City side headed . 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 Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 52-year championship drought June 19, 2016, when they toppled the Golden State Warriors in a best-of-seven series. 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. After the Kings, the Atlanta Hawks hold the next-longest championship drought, which extends back to 1958. Buffalo, who has have a historic playoff drought to go along with their historic championship drought. 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. 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. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports. Last championship in the city: New York Giants (2012), or for Brooklyn specifically, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. After that, the T-Wolves proceeded to miss the playoffs for 13 straight seasons until last year. The Las Vegas Aces organization also has never won an WNBA title in its 25-year history. Over the last 25 years, 62.7% of cities have won a championship in either the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS. 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. Which MLB team has the longest World Series drought? 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. To make matters worse in Sacramento, the Kings set an NBA record for the longest playoff drought in league history. He specializes in technology, business, and film/television. Unfortunately, the wheels have fallen off in recent decades. Since then they have had only 7 winning seasons and 4 playoff appearances, never getting past the second round (most recently in 2017-18 when they lost 34-14 to the defending champion New England Patriots). In 2003-04, the Panthers battled the Patriots in a shootout, with a Jake Delhomme touchdown pass evening the score at 29 with 1:08 to go. After taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, Colorado is back on top of the NHL world. Most cities, however, have tasted recent success in a major sport in one form or another. Active droughts are listed in bold type. It has been home to the NFLs San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles Chargers), the NBAs San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets), San Diego Clippers (now Los Angeles Clippers) and briefly a second home for the Golden State Warriors, the ABAs San Diego Conquistadors, the NASLs San Diego Sockers (defunct) and the San Diego Padres. The New York Liberty are the only original WNBA team with its original name that has never won a title, giving them a drought of 25 seasons. Here are the longest title droughts among the remaining NBA playoff teams, starting with the longest. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons for teams. In fact, the last time Toronto hosted an Eastern Conference finals game came in 2002. Of active NFL teams 20 have won the Super Bowl, Of active NFL teams 7 have won AFL or NFL championship pre-merger Of active NFL teams 5 have not won any championship or Super Bowl. Once again, it would come down to a decisive Game 6 in Buffalo and a controversial moment between the Stars Hall of Fame winger Brett Hull and the Sabres Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek in triple overtime, as Hull scored the clinching goal with his skate in the crease. Teams that have never made it beyond each successive milestone are listed under the year in which they began NFL play. Thanks to the Capitals, Detroit has now moved up the list of cities with the longest-running title droughts. The team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego. Among teams that have never won a title, the Phoenix Suns have the longest drought at 54 seasons. Additionally, each location must have had at least one professional sports team operating in all years of its championship drought for that losing streak to count. The Brewers had a 3-2 series lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, as the series moved back to St. Louis. The Sacramento Kings have a historic playoff drought to go along with their historic championship drought. Shoutout to the city of Winnipeg, where there's never been a division title in the NHL, but the . Tennessee also stands out for its pro sports struggles. The Cardinals have the longest active title drought in the NFL (last title: 1947) and one of the longest droughts without a franchise QB. The Twin Cities have been home to MLBs Minnesota Twins, NFLs Minnesota Vikings, the NBAs Minneapolis Lakers (now Los Angeles Lakers), the NHLs Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars) and Minnesota Wild, the NASLs Minnesota Kicks (now defunct) and the MLS Minnesota United FC. Cleveland last won a championship 69 years ago, in 1948. For current droughts, Minnesota leads all states in the U.S. for the longest championship drought. Kansas City Royals - 6 years. 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. Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals, losing both. In their last appearance, the Vikings were playing for a chance to play in the Super Bowl to be held in Minneapolis. Basketball fans must go all the way back to the 1051 NBA to find the last Kings championship. Since 1984, a drought has existed in the United States. The Longest NFL Championship Droughts The wait can be miserable. Not included are some long-suffering cities whose prayers were recently answered such as Atlanta (Atlanta United), Cleveland (Cavaliers), Houston (Astros), Kansas City (Royals), Portland (Timbers) and Washington (Capitals). 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. 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. Ten teams have multiple losing streaks where they lost an equal number of post season games before breaking the drought. The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans. The longest currently active championship drought belongs to the city of Boston went 21 years without winning the NBA Finals from 1986-2007. Tom Brady, however, drove the Patriots 37 yards to set up the game-winning Adam Vinatieri 41 yard field goal. New Orleans Saints (1967-2010): . Researchers at HotDog.com ranked U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas according to active professional sports championship droughts, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and 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. 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. While championship droughts are the focus, some fan bases have gone more than a decade without even seeing their team in the playoffs. Longest championship title droughts in NBA history. The Braves swept the Reds in the 95 NLCS, and the franchise has not advanced past the LDS since then. Super Bowl odds: Every teams championship futures for 2023 NFL season, NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl, MLB power rankings 2022 Houston Astros, New York Yankees battle for No.1 spot, MLB playoffs 2023: MLB postseason predictions, World Series and playoffs info, Who is the oldest NBA player? Longest playoff drought - New York Jets: With the Browns and Bucs both having made the playoffs in 2020, the Jets now own the longest drought, not having appeared in a postseason contest since the 2010 AFC Championship Game. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Last Title: 1948 (74-year drought) The Guardians have been the kings of the MLB twice in their 122 seasons of play. 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. If the Titans had completed the comeback, it would have . This The franchise was originally based in Los Angeles, but moved to Oakland prior to the 1982 season. 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. Since then the Twins have only advanced as far as the ALCS once (2002). Having played more seasons naturally makes it more likely that a team would win a championship at some point. With C-Town now anointed NBA champions, let's look at the cities with two or more "Big Four" sports teams (meaning from the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL sorry, MLS and college sports) that have gone the longest without a title. 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. The Titans came just a yard short of having a chance to send Super Bowl XXXIV to overtime against the St. Louis Rams. Ottawa. The Predators, after missing the playoffs their first five seasons, have made the playoffs 12 of the 15 seasons since then. Once part of the NFL, the Chargers made it to the AFC Championship Game four times: (i) losing to the Oakland Raiders 34-27 in 1980-81; (ii) losing 27-7 to Cincinnati in the famous Freezer Bowl in 1981-82; (iii)losing to the undefeated Patriots 21-12 in 2007-08; and (iv) then there was the 1994-95 season. The Indians now have the longest World Series drought of any baseball team, as well as the . Cleveland reached the World Series multiple times (1954, 95, 97 and 2016). The Blue Jays fell in back-to-back ALCS in 2015-16, representing their closest recent attempts. Here's a look at the longest championship droughts for teams still in their original cities. In 2015-16, Cam Newton would lead the Panthers to a 15-1 season that was capped off with a 49-15 rout of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game. The data was sourced from pro-football-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, hockey-reference.com, and fbref.com. Milwaukee since has made two National League Championship Series appearances. The Phoenix Suns have the longest championship drought by a team without a single title. Colorado has yet to capture an NL West division title. 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. Related: MLB power rankings 2022 Houston Astros, New York Yankees battle for No.1 spot. It could be tantalizingly close misses, like the Buffalo Bills run of four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s.