Winning a championship, regardless of league, is no easy feat. The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins won the series 4-2. Active droughts are listed in bold type. Following the 2021-22 NBA season, Sacramento has missed the playoff in 16 consecutive seasons. The longest currently active championship drought belongs to the city of 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). With C-Town now anointed NBA champions, let's . 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. The Brewers have made it to the playoffs only three times since then. The Yankees swept the Padres, clinching Game 4 at Qualcomm Stadium. While it certainly isnt one of the longest championship droughts in sports, the 14-year stretch is one of the longest in franchise history. Charlotte is the 22nd largest metropolitan area and has a 2017 population of 2,525,305. New York then lost in the Finals three times from 1999 to 2002. 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. 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. 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. Ultimately, they were passed over for another city with a similar drought, only this city has four teams rather than two. 11/4/2016. AMAZON -- HotDog.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. With spring training having begun in baseball and basketball and hockey seasons ramping up towards the playoffs towards, hope springs eternal for dedicated fans. In the NBA Finals, the Magic faced Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers who beat them 4-1. Cleveland last won a championship 69 years ago, in 1948. The franchises most recent Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza, was 18 years old when the Mets won it all in 86. Charlotte has 2 active teams, the, There have been no championships in Vancouver history. Last championship: 1994 Getty Images The Rangers are one of the NHL's "Original Six" teams and last hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1994 to end a 54-year title drought. Of course, some have it worse than others. After losing to Detroit (4-1) in the 1984 World Series, the Padres won the pennant again in 1998 (in only their second playoff appearance since 1984). Since then, the franchise has endured six decades of losing seasons and the longest championship drought among active NFL franchises. The longest drought overall now belongs to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals at 69 years. Listed according to seasons waited. 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. Three more MLB teams have World Series droughts that extend 50-plus years: the. appreciated. The longest currently active championship drought belongs to the city of Buffalo, who has gone 116 seasons without winning a championship. Nashville is the nations 36th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 1,903,045. 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. By ending the 2021-22 season with a 30-52 record, the Kings have failed to reach the postseason for. The Padres made the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons in 2022 and upset the Mets and Dodgers to reach the NLCS. The following championships were included: Each sports season is referred to by the year that the season started. With the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs breaking their respective curses this century, the longest World Series drought now belongs to the Cleveland Guardians. The Las Vegas Aces organization also has never won an WNBA title in its 25-year history. The Wild has reached the Conference Finals only once getting swept by the Anaheim Ducks in 2003. 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. The Panthers have reached the Super Bowl twice. In their second season in Nashville, the Titans reached the Super Bowl for the only time in an amazing season that included surviving a near upset in the Wild Card game thanks to the infamous Music City Miracle 75-yard kick off return. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos playoff drought extended to seven seasons. 3) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - Last NFL Title: 1960. The Royals beat the New York Knicks in seven games to win the 1951 NBA Finals. Pittsburgh Pirates - 6 years. But if youre not going to count those as championships then you have to start counting years with the start of Super Bowls. 8 Philadelphia 76ers: 38 . Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals, losing both. As a one-sport city, Sacramento lives and dies by its Kings. and, in a few cases, century-long curses. Far more importantly, New York is in the playoffs for the first time since Ben McAdoo was the head coach, bringing an end to the Giants five-year playoff drought. The . . Here are the U.S. and Canadian metros with the longest active championship droughts. 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. In 1995, Charlotte became home to the NFL Panthers who have had much greater success, including making it to the NFC Championship game in their second year. The Kings haven't won a Stanley Cup . 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. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the nations 16th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 3,600,618. 10 of those cities have seen at least 2 teams total (in 2 different sports) win a championship ; 10 have seen at least 1 championship since 2010; 11 have seen at least 1 team win a championship since 2000 The team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego. Very little work got done in 2008. Sacramento Kings 16 seasons (last playoff . Instead, it was the Rockets who swept the Magic as Hakeem Olajuwon outplayed the younger Shaq. 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. Back in 1925, the Cardinals faced the Pottsville Maroons in the 1925 NFL Championship game. 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. The Brewers had a 3-2 series lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, as the series moved back to St. Louis. NFL: Arizona Cardinals: 70 years: . The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks are the other NHL teams to go 50-plus years without winning the Stanley Cup. Padres fans can take comfort in the fact that the Yankees were simply that good, as they began a 10-game World Series winning streak as the Yankees also swept the Atlanta Braves in 1999 and beat the New York Mets (4-1) in 2000. The Sabres made it to the Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007, but have not won a playoff series since then. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons for teams. 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. Cleveland has not won a title since 1948, but it has come close to winning one several times. While championship droughts are the focus, some fan bases have gone more than a decade without even seeing their team in the playoffs. Note that for continuity purposes, the Cleveland Browns are officially considered to have suspended operations for the 1996, 1997, and 1998 seasons. Each season begins with optimism across the 30 MLB fanbases, and each one ends with some level of disappointment for 29 of them. This is a sortable table of all 32 current NFL teams. However, they lost to the Houston Astros. Each of the traditional Big Four sports leagues expanded into new markets throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, while Major League Soccer has only existed since 1996. have a historic playoff drought to go along with their historic championship drought. You can see his writing on low-budget and weird film at, Cities With the Longest Active Championship Droughts, Metros With the Longest Active Championship Droughts, Cities With the Most Professional Sports Championships, Cities With the Longest NBA Championship Droughts of All Time. New Orleans Saints (1967-2010): . drought started in 1966 and has been ongoing for Phoenix Suns - 53 years. There are long-suffering franchises and fan bases across American sports. 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. Only locations . 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. 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 Longest NFL Championship Droughts The wait can be miserable. The Philadelphia Phillies snuck into the postseason thanks to the added No. 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. Today, he streams pretty much everything while his library of thousands of Blu-rays and DVDs collects dust. But the Red Sox swept the Rockies that year in the franchises closest title attempt. 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. Tigers: 38 seasons (Last title in 1984)Detroits last trip to the World Series came in 2012, when the Tigers were swept at the hands of the Giants. Neither team has been crowned the NHLs champions since entering the league in 1970. Longest championship title droughts in NBA history. It could be a decades-long, mythic streak of losing, like the 86- and 108-year World Series droughts of the Boston Red Sox (ended in 2004) and the Chicago Cubs (ended in 2016). How else could he watch one to two films every day? Related: MLB power rankings 2022 Houston Astros, New York Yankees battle for No.1 spot. Seattle then went 20 years without making it back to the postseason, but that streak is now over. Time flies by and those same fans are capturing their children and even grandchildren in that same feeling. 57 years. 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. Full List Of Super Bowl Champions Longest Super Bowl Droughts Longest NFL Playoff Droughts Longest NFL Playoff Win Droughts All Time Best NFL Regular Seasons All Time Worst NFL Regular Seasons Most Consecutive NFL Seasons With Winning Records Most Consecutive NFL Seasons With Losing Records Most Consecutive NFL Seasons Making The Playoffs . No city currently compares to Clevelands legendary sports curse, but many pro sports markets have nonetheless seen lengthy championship droughts in recent years. Toronto Star via Getty Images. For current droughts, Minnesota leads all states in the US for the longest championship drought. For everything you need to know about Hulu, be sure to browse our Hulu + Live TV review. The Cardinals' 70-year championship drought is one year longer than the team the Cubs beat Wednesday. 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. Which WNBA team has the longest championship drought? The As most recent ALCS appearance resulted in a sweep by the Tigers in 06. 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. Your email address will not be published. This is a list of current National Football League (NFL) franchise post-season and Super Bowl droughts (multiple consecutive seasons of not winning). The Chargers traveled to Pittsburgh where, unlike the Freezer Bowl in Cincinnati, it was a balmy 59 degrees. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Ten Major Cities With Longest Championship Droughts. The Hornets would move to New Orleans after the 2002 season. Milwaukees only championships in the modern era are from the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks. Cyber Monday is coming with lots of deals on the things cord-cutters want and need from top providers like Hulu, ExpressVPN and NordVPN. 12. Jabbar played only one more season with the Bucks, but the franchise found new life in the 1980s under Coach Don Nelson with 7-straight 50-win seasons and three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals only to face dynastic Philadelphia and Boston teams. The Cardinals have the longest active title drought in the NFL (last title: 1947) and one of the longest droughts without a franchise QB. From 1917-67, Toronto won the Stanley Cup finals 13 times, they still have the second-most Stanley Cup wins in NHL history. Updated with completion of NFL season ending in 2023. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons for teams. 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. Tennessee also stands out for its pro sports struggles. Buffalos future is bright, but it is currently riding the longest playoff drought in NHL history with 11 consecutive seasons without an appearance in the NHL playoffs. They have not won a playoff series since then. The Rochester Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings, won the NBA Finals in 1951. 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. Here are the US and Canadian metros with the longest active championship droughts. Sacramento Kings - 71 years. Counted from the first Super Bowl season, 1966, to present. Thats it youll save money, take back control, and enjoy TV more! 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. The last time the Lions won a championship came in 1957, when they defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game. 7 seed in the NFC with a Seattle Seahawks loss in Week 18 and a Lions victory over the Green Bay Packers. Since 1984, a drought has existed in the United States. The Arizona Cardinals have the longest championship drought in the NFL, with their last title coming in 1947 as the Chicago Cardinals. The Mariners ended their 21-year postseason drought in 2022 before losing to the division-rival Astros in the ALDS. 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. The Blue Jays fell in back-to-back ALCS in 2015-16, representing their closest recent attempts. The Phoenix Suns have the longest championship drought by a team without a single title. Manchester United are middle of the pack when it comes to the longest trophy droughts ever suffered by the 20 current Premier League clubs. Further ties were broken by the team with the most active professional sports franchises. Over the last 25 years, 62.7% of cities have won a championship in either the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS. , Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills are the other franchises that were in existence before the Super Bowl era that have yet to take home the Lombardi Trophy. The Cubs last win came in 1945 against the . 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. Only locations with at least one currently active professional sports team were considered in the analysis. The data was sourced from pro-football-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, hockey-reference.com, and fbref.com. 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. Cincinnati is the 29th largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 2,179,082. The Colorado Avalanche last won the Stanley Cup in 2001. Since then, the team has used four different names and reached just two conference finals . Its also an essential tool for getting the most out of your streaming services. The Hornets/Bobcats have made only 10 playoff appearances and have never advanced beyond the second round. Researchers at HotDog.com ranked U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas according to active professional sports championship droughts. Active droughts are listed in bold type. The Bucks have not won a series since then, although this year certainly looks promising. Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) celebrates leading the Bucks to the NBA championship Tuesday night. Led by quarterback Stan Humphries, the Chargers came back from a 13-3 deficit to win 17-13. 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. 2023 HotDog.com | 1013 Centre Road, Suite 403S Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, 19805. Frank loves video. Kansas City Royals - 6 years. Orlando is the 23rd largest metropolitan area with a 2017 population of 2,509,831. While it was a finalist in MLBs 1993 and 1998 expansion, it got overlooked in favor of Miami and Tampa Bay. Welcome to SportsHistory!Today we took look at every single NFL team's championship drought and ranked them in order! 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. Sacramento has quite a playoff drought going, as it last reached . After consecutive first-round losses in 2005 and 2006, the Kings fired Adelman despite a .633 win percentage over 8 years. NBA championship drought: 39 seasons (1975-2013) Reason the drought ended: 2014 championship season (Warriors) Most recent championship season: 2017 season (Warriors) Total NBA championships: 4. Despite owning a dominant team, the Lakers have yet to win an NBA championship since 1988. 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. breaking their respective curses this century, the longest World Series drought now belongs to the Cleveland Guardians. Buffalo, who has 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. 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. 2023 Cable News Network. Then Hulu started and he was hooked. A Warner Bros. Here are some of sports' longest-standing droughts for things other than championships. 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). A championship appearance is listed as appearing in an NFL Championship (19321969), AFL Championship (19601969), or Super Bowl Championship (1966present). Cleveland Guardians (MLB) - 73 years. Neither the Reds nor the Bengals have played in a Championship Game since then. With the Mariners getting the monkey off their back, here are the 12 active longest postseason droughts between the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL . Check out our Cyber Monday Shoppers Guide! Despite having a team in each of the five major sports, it has been more than three decades since . Among teams that have never won a title, the Phoenix Suns have the longest drought at 54 seasons. 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. 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. Which NHL team has the longest Stanley Cup drought? Here is a look at the longest active championship droughts, all of which go back to at least 1998. In fact, the last time Toronto hosted an Eastern Conference finals game came in 2002. Theyve made it twice total since last winning in 1984. Things looked promising for the Magic when they landed Shaquille ONeal with the #1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. By ending the 2021-22 season with a 30-52 record, the Kings have failed to reach the postseason for 16 consecutive seasons. 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 organizations last championship came in 1951, when the team was the Rochester Royals. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers are now at a 27-year championship drought. The Blue Jays' drought continued to grow in 2022 after they lost in the Wild Card Series to the Mariners. At the metro level, one city currently stands out for the length of time without a professional sports title. Here are the longest title droughts among the remaining NBA playoff teams, starting with the longest. 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). 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. We have seen one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts end in recent years. The second came in 1948 with manager Lou Boudreau calling the shots and Bob Lemon and Bob Feller manning the mound. The team came close to winning the inaugural WNBA championship in 1997 but fell to the Houston Comets. Since then, the Os have fallen in the ALCS in 1996, 97 and 2014. Finally, the city of Cincinnati had be flummoxed. There are long-suffering franchises and fan bases across American sports. Required fields are marked *. 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. It could be tantalizingly close misses, like the Buffalo Bills run of four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s. Your email address will not be published. Which NBA team has the longest championship drought? Teams With Longest Championship and Playoff Droughts 2019 Edition Trophy Lives, Seattle Kraken Set NHL Record With 7-0 Road Trip, Dec-23-79: Bruins-Rangers Donnybrook at MSG, England France Meet in World Cup For Only Third Time, First Elimination Round Match. We recommend (And use!) The Buffalo Bills won AFL championships in 1964 and 1965 prior to Super Bowls between the two football leagues. The Maple Leafs have now gone 55 years without being crowned NHL champions. Detroit Tigers - 7 years. 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). The Chargers were 19-point underdogs against Steve Young and San Francisco 49ers, who jumped to a 42-10 lead and coasted to a 49-26 win. 2. Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks back to the NBA Finals in 1974 against the Boston Celtics. 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. At least the Maple Leafs arent totally alone. The Cleveland Browns are tied for the second-longest conference championship game drought at 29 years. The closest Milwaukee came to a title since 1971, however, was in 1982 when the Harvey Wallbanger Brewers won their only pennant in their 50-year history. The Rays pushed the Dodgers one game further in '20, but still came up short in six games. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons for teams. 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. semi-final defeat to a Manchester City side headed . 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. The sport was also just two years removed from Wayne Gretzky retiring. Salt Lake City has only one active team, the, The most recent championship for Montreal was the, There have been no championships in Sacramento history. They also won the pennant in 2006, when they lost in five games to the 83-win Cardinals. Keep in mind, that this happened when this franchise played in Rochester, New York as the Rochester Royals. The Kansas City Royals have a chance to end a 29-year wait for a second world title. And here are the 10 longest World Series title droughts in MLB history that are no longer active (going back to the inaugural World Series in 1903): Cubs: 107 years (1909-2016)White Sox: 87 years (1918-2005)Red Sox: 85 years (1919-2004)Phillies: 77 years (1903-80)Orioles/Browns: 63 years (1903-66)Twins/Senators: 62 years (1925-87)Astros: 55 years (1962-2017)Giants: 55 years (1955-2010)Dodgers: 52 years (1903-55)Nationals/Expos: 50 years (1969-2019), MLB-record streak of elimination-game losses.