Cities and Their Sports Championship Droughts
The Cleveland Cavaliers ended their city’s 52 year sports championship drought in dramatic fashion on Sunday night. As I wrote yesterday, that 52 year drought represented 146 seasons of Cleveland teams in the big four sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), from the Browns’ 1964 NFL title to the Cavs’ 2016 NBA crown. With Cleveland the reigning champions of the basketball world, which cities are now experiencing the longest droughts? I used the seasons model to determine the current leaders. For perspective on Cleveland’s drought, it was almost 50% as large as the current leaders — two cities that also last hosted a championship team in the mid-1960s.
Honorable Mentions
The Single-Team City Drought
Three cities with only an NBA team among the big four have droughts of 30 or more years. The Portland Trail Blazers won their only NBA title in 1977, 39 seasons ago. The Jazz moved to Utah 37 years ago, and the Kings to Sacramento 32 years ago. Neither city has seen a title winner, as each of their best hopes were foiled by a dynastic foe (the Malone/Stockton Jazz lost back-to-back finals to Michael Jordan’s Bulls; the C-Webb-led Kings couldn’t get past Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers). Consolation for some is that Portland and Salt Lake City (Utah)’s MLS teams have both won the league title in recent years.
The Long Suffering New York Mets/Jets/Knicks/Islanders fan.
Illustrating the problem of multi-team cities in this, a New Yorker cheering for these particular teams will have experienced no joy from the multiple Yankees or Giants titles in recent years. In fact, the combined 116 seasons since the Mets’ ’86 World Series win would rank 1st on this list. Even if this person cheered for the Rangers instead of the Islanders, the 88 seasons played would tie for 4th. New York, as with other multi-team cities Chicago and Los Angeles, has won at least one championship in recent years — the Giants in 2011 being the most current. Chicago and Los Angeles are one and two years respectively removed from winning the Stanley Cup.
The Longest Droughts By Seasons Played
12. Charlotte (Carolina). 47 seasons. Last Title: Never Won
The NBA’s Hornets won nothing from 1988–2002, then left for New Orleans. The Bobcats replaced them in 2004, eventually changed their names to the Hornets, and still haven’t even made the final. The NFL’s Carolina Panthers have reached the Super Bowl twice in 21 seasons, and were favored in their appearance last year, but lost both times.
11. Cincinnati. 50 seasons. Last Title: Reds, 1990
The Reds upset the heavily favored Oakland A’s to win the 1990 World Series. Since then, they’ve won one playoff series. The Bengals have never won a Super Bowl, and haven’t even won a playoff game since the Reds’ last World Series win.
10. Vancouver. 52 seasons. Last Title: Never Won
The NHL’s Canucks have made 3 Stanley Cup finals in their 46 years, but never won. The NBA’s Grizzlies played 6 unremarkable years before moving to Memphis.
9. Phoenix. 56 seasons. Last Title: Diamondbacks, 2001
The Phoenix area’s only professional championship came in 2001, when the Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Suns had success in the Steve Nash years, and the Cardinals made the Super Bowl in 2008 and the NFC title game last year. Aside from that, the four teams that call the Phoenix area home haven’t seen much success over the past 15 years.
8. Houston. 56 seasons. Last Title: Rockets, 1995
Since the Rockets’ second of back-to-back titles, Houston lost its NFL team (but ultimately gained an expansion franchise a few years later), and the Astros made the 2005 World Series, losing to the Chicago White Sox.
7. Toronto. 65 seasons. Last Title: Blue Jays, 1993
The Jays and Raptors made the semi-finals in their most recent seasons, and the Maple Leafs had some success in the ’90s and early ’00s. Yet, it’s largely been a bleak generation of pro sports in Toronto since the Blue Jays’ back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. After that, the Jays didn’t make the playoffs again until 2015. The Raptors won one playoff series in their first 20 years before making the conference final this season. The Leafs have made the playoffs once since the 2004–05 lockout, and that ended with a heartbreaking Game 7 loss.
6. Atlanta. 72 seasons. Last Title: Braves, 1995
Atlanta gained three pro sports teams (MLB’s Braves, NFL’s Falcons, NBA’s Hawks) in the mid-late ’60s. They’ve had and lost two NHL expansion teams in that time. The Braves’ 1995 World Series win is the city’s only championship. The Braves made it to two more series after that (after appearing in two prior to their win), and the Falcons made a Super Bowl. The Hawks have yet to make a final, and the city’s second NHL team decamped for Winnipeg in 2012 after 11 years.
5. Washington. 83 seasons. Last Title: Football Club, 1991
The Football Club won its third Super Bowl in a decade in the 1991 season, and hasn’t come close since. Despite having generational talents, the Capitals (Alex Ovechkin) and the Nationals (Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg) have both come up short in the playoffs. The Wizards haven’t even gotten as far as the conference final, adding up to a generation of frustration in D.C.
4. Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minnesota). 88 seasons. Last Title: Twins, 1991
The Twins won a memorable World Series in 1991. Since then, they struggled for a decade, were threatened with contraction, won a series of division titles in the 2000s but only once made it as far as the ALCS, and have struggled again since. The Vikings have been done in during their best seasons by missed field goals in the playoffs. The Timberwolves have had little success. Two years after the Twins’ victory and their own Stanley Cup finals appearance, the North Stars left for Dallas and Minnesota had to wait 8 years for another hockey team.
3. Milwaukee.* 90 seasons. Last Title: Bucks, 1972
Most of Milwaukee cheers for the Green Bay Packers, whose championship drought is a mere 6 seasons, hence the asterisk. Yet the city itself hasn’t hosted a title winner since 1972. Shortly afterwards, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar decamped for Los Angeles. The Brewers made the World Series in 1982 and neither Milwaukee team has been to a championship final since.
2. Buffalo. 104 seasons. Last Title: Bills, 1965
Buffalo won back to back AFL titles in 1964 and 1965, the last two seasons before the Super Bowl era. Since then, the city is mostly known for losing four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s. The Sabres have lost their only 2 Stanley Cup finals appearances, and also lost in the conference final in 2006 — when they would have been the favourite in the final- while missing as many as five of their six regular defensemen. They couldn’t even win the draft lottery in 2015 when they tanked for Connor McDavid. Back in the ‘70s, the NBA’s Buffalo Braves had 8 unremarkable seasons before moving away, which feels benign compared to the fate of the other two teams. They also whiffed on their attempt to land an MLB expansion team in the 1980s and ’90s. For years, it was expected that they would lose the Bills once Ralph Wilson passed away. Locals Terry and Kim Pegula — who also own the Sabres- ended up buying the team, the most unqualified Buffalo sporting success in years. Add in the economic decline experienced in Western New York, and this starts to take on the same vibe that Cleveland had. Yet Buffalo’s drought falls short of the top spot by one season.
- San Diego. 105 seasons. Last Title: Chargers, 1963
A couple of links between our top two teams. The Chargers won the AFL Championship in 1963, the city’s last pro title. They lost the next two AFL title games to the Bills. In 1978, NBA’s Braves moved to San Diego, became the Clippers, then after 6 seasons where they had a winning record only once, moved to Los Angeles. Back to the Chargers. In the Super Bowl era, they’ve made it to the big game once. The Padres joined Major League Baseball in 1969, and have made it to the World Series twice. In all three finals, the San Diego team has been beaten badly. Now, the NFL has given the Chargers permission to move to Los Angeles if San Diego doesn’t help pay for a new stadium.
San Diego is a beautiful city. It has great weather, beaches, food, and drink. But the sports? Pure agony.
