I was reading online yesterday about how long the cities of Seattle and Pittsburgh have had to wait for a champion, now that they're playing each other in next week's Super Bowl. It got me to thinking... which city has the longest current streak of non-championship seasons for their "major" sports league team(s) (baseball, basketball, hockey and football)?

I ran the numbers last night ... it's Cleveland in a landslide.

Cleveland has endured 115 straight seasons without a champion. The last team there to hoist any type of championship hardware was the '64 Browns. Since then, Cleveland has had 35 Cavalier, 41 Indian, and 39 Brown seasons without a title. The next closest is Philadelphia with 90 seasons -- 23 Eagles, 22 76ers, 22 Flyers and 23 Phillies seasons have come and gone since the '83 Sixers won the NBA Finals.

Here's the whole list: Note - List has been updated through the Phillies victory in the (2008) MLB World Series - 10/29/08, and to reflect the Seattle (NBA) Supersonics relocation to Oklahoma City

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
124: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
99: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
88: (*)Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [MLB, NFL]
87: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
75: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
60: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
53: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
51: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
49: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
47: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
46: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
42: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
36: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
35: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
35: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
31: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
31: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
29: Salt Lake City [NBA]
28: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
27: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
27: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
23: Sacramento [NBA]
19: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
19: Orlando [NBA]
16: San Jose [NHL]
15: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
13: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: (*)Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
12: (*)Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
11: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
9: (*)Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
8: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
8: (*)Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
7: Columbus [NHL]
6: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
5: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
3: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
3: (*)New York ('07 Giants) [ALL]
2: Oklahoma City [NBA] (includes 2 seasons as home to the NO/OKC Hornets)
2: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
2: (*)Detroit ('08 Red Wings) [ALL]
1: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]
1: Boston ('08 Celtics) [ALL]
0: Philadelphia ('08 Phillies) [ALL]

(*) - City moved up at least one place in the standings in the most recent update.

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

In the above, I lump teams that are in the same market together. Thus, the Giants, Jets, Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Nets, Knicks, Yankees and Mets are all "New York". I consider the AFL to be an equivalent "major" league from 1960-65 since they had their own championship prior to playing the NFL champion in what would become the SuperBowl following the 1966 season. Also, I show AFL/NFL champions in the year the season was played, regardless of whether the championship occurred in December or January of the following year. Currently, the championships occur in this order: NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL; prior to the 2006, the NBA Finals occured prior to the Stanley Cup.

The list does NOT include cities who have had major league teams in the past but who are sports-less today (like Fort Wayne, Rochester and Omaha). The list also lumps all of Canada together and treats it as one "city".

Your number is off for Philadelphia because the Eagles haven't won a championship since 1960.

Your number is off for Philadelphia because the Eagles haven't won a championship since 1960.You misunderstand what the numbers are. It's the number of professional seasons the city has gone since it's last championship. True, the Eagles haven't won the NFL title since 1960, but the City of Philadelphia's last championship was the 76ers winning the 1983 NBA Finals. The measure is from that point forward. The Sixers are the most recent Philly team to win it all, and there have been 90 total sports seasons since then.

Durr. I understand now.


edit: sucks to be Cleveland ;)

90: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]


I quote this statistic frequently. :)

I think it is hilarious that Baltimore, which only has 2 major sports teams (and only had 1 of those (NFL) 10 of the 22 years since 1983), has 2 titles since Philly (fully represented) last won one.

What I think is amazing is that Indianapolis is so high. When I started to compile the data, I had no idea that there had been SIXTY professional seasons played in Indy! I knew that all of them were winless, but I would never have guessed that Indy had had teams long enough to be in the top 10 overall (Indy currently ranks #7)

What I think is amazing is that Indianapolis is so high. When I started to compile the data, I had no idea that there had been SIXTY professional seasons played in Indy! I knew that all of them were winless, but I would never have guessed that Indy had had teams long enough to be in the top 10 overall (Indy currently ranks #7)


As long as the Colts never win a title there, that's good enough for me.

I quote this statistic frequently. :)

I think it is hilarious that Baltimore, which only has 2 major sports teams (and only had 1 of those (NFL) 10 of the 22 years since 1983), has 2 titles since Philly (fully represented) last won one.If Philly and Cleveland keep it up, Philadelphia will catch Cleveland in 25 years (after the 2031 Stanley Cup Finals). Philly has a team in every league, while Cleveland has all of them except the NHL.

And since no other city has 4 teams AND more seasons without a champ than Philly, Philly controls their own destiny here.... they'll be #1 unless they win something, or unless another "major" sport pops up in the next quarter-century.

I ran the numbers last nighthow long did that take you?

but San Diego has been waiting the longest.

Why not make up lists of post season wins for each sport since 1960 and see where the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions end up(at the bottom like always).In three weeks the Pittsburgh Steelers have won more playoff games than the Detroit Lions have won in the last 50 yrs.

When Jose Mesa blew the World Series for the Indians a few years back, that had to suck :)

but San Diego has been waiting the longest.Yup, if you look just at # of years between titles, San Diego is the longest of those cities who have won a title... unless you count cities like Rochester, whose Royals won the NBA back in the 40's or some such, or Jacksonville which have NEVER won a championship since the earth cooled.

I like to measure futility in terms of seasons played where some other city got to celebrate.

Summer 2006 Update:

Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, marking the first time in 22 professional seasons that Charlotte has won a championship. Miami Heat win the NBA Championship, breaking an 8 season drought since the Marlins won the 2003 World Series.

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
116: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
92: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
86: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
82: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
76: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
70: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
61: Indianapolis [NBA, NFL]
53: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
48: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
44: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
44: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
41: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
39: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
35: Canada (all cities) ('03 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
31: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
29: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
27: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
27: Salt Lake City [NBA]
26: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
21: Sacramento [NBA]
19: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
18: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
18: St Louis ('99 Rams) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
17: Orlando [NBA]
16: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
14: San Jose [NHL]
11: Jacksonville [NFL]
11: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
10: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
10: Los Angeles ('02 Angels) [ALL]
9: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
8: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
6: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
5: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
5: Columbus [NHL]
5: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
3: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
1: Charlotte ('06 Hurricanes) [NBA, NHL, NFL]
1: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
1: San Antonio ('05 Spurs) [NBA]
0: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]

22: Charlotte [NBA, NHL, NFL]

That number seems (seemed) low. The Panthers have been around for ~12 years, Hurricanes ~10 years, and before the Bobcats, the Hornets were there for ~16 years. (I don't feel like looking up the years they started) So they were higher on the list before the 'Canes took the cup.

But... the 'Canes don't play in Charlotte - they play in Raleigh. So either they need their own category or it should be 'Carolina' instead of 'Charlotte'. -wink-

If you are going to lump New Jersey in with New York, shouldn't you also lump Oakland in with San Francisco?

EDIT: and San Jose

If you are going to lump New Jersey in with New York, shouldn't you also lump Oakland in with San Francisco?

EDIT: and San Jose
Yeah, seriously, I have a problem with the lumping.

I am a native NY'er and I despise teams from Jersey and any affiliation with them. I hate when NY papers cover those teams in any capacity (which they do only because so many NJ'ers work in NYC). NY has more Lakers, Celtics, and Bulls fans than Nets fans.

You split up teams in 1 state and combined teams from different states saying they're the same market?

If you dont like it, redo it. I think he's done a great job! Hopefully Dallas will move up soon (not much hope though until next year's NBA Unfortunately :fc: )

22: Charlotte [NBA, NHL, NFL]

That number seems (seemed) low. The Panthers have been around for ~12 years, Hurricanes ~10 years, and before the Bobcats, the Hornets were there for ~16 years. (I don't feel like looking up the years they started) So they were higher on the list before the 'Canes took the cup.

But... the 'Canes don't play in Charlotte - they play in Raleigh. So either they need their own category or it should be 'Carolina' instead of 'Charlotte'. -wink-In my spreadsheet, I have the Panthers beggining play in the fall of 1995, and the 'Canes and Hornets in 1998. However, the Hornets started in 1988, not 1998.... I fat-fingered the data when I entered it. Also, I didn't account for there being no NBA in Charlotte for two seasons. I guess it doesn't matter, with the 'Canes having just lifted Lord Stanley, but it bugs me that I had that data wrong.

And I apologize for getting all the Tobacco Road cities confused. I understand the Cincinnati/Cleveland analogy completely, but I may end up lumping Raliegh and Charlotte anyway since there's no overlap in any of the professional sports between the two. Of course, that invalidates my reason for lumping all of the NY/NJ teams together.... :)

Yeah, seriously, I have a problem with the lumping.

I am a native NY'er and I despise teams from Jersey and any affiliation with them. I hate when NY papers cover those teams in any capacity (which they do only because so many NJ'ers work in NYC). NY has more Lakers, Celtics, and Bulls fans than Nets fans.

You split up teams in 1 state and combined teams from different states saying they're the same market?

Yeah you guys shouldn't cover the Jets or Giants.

Yeah you guys shouldn't cover the Jets or Giants.
Aaaahhhh, always the jealous neighbor... Don't you find it a slap in the face that they still go by "New York..."? We just play in your yard because we can. Rent's alot cheaper, as is property value. The Nets will find that out when they skip town and go to Brooklyn. Then the Devils will have Jersey all to themselves.

I don't mean to suggest the work kenbuzz did isn't admirable, I just wish NY and NJ were separate is all. I still think the list is cool, FWIW.

edit: sucks to be Cleveland

The way the Tigers and White Sox are playing, it looks like it'll be 117 and counting.

When Jose Mesa blew the World Series for the Indians a few years back, that had to suck

Some guy on either ESPN or SI had a blog about the most painful sports loss and this one was mine. Almost 9 years later, it still hurts to watch the replay of the series-winning hit.

Pre-Super Bowl XLI Update:

The St Louis Cardinals won the World Series last fall, dropping the Gateway City to the bottom of the list and adding one more season to the futility numbers for the other 29 MLB towns.

I have also incremented the futility number for all of the NFL cities except for Indianapolis and Chicago, whose teams are meeting in the Super Bowl. The winner drops to zero at the bottom of the list, the loser gets a +1.

Here's the current list:
Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
118: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
94: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
88: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
84: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
77: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
71: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
61: Indianapolis [NBA, NFL]
54: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
49: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
46: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
46: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
41: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
36: Canada (all cities) ('03 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
29: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
29: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
28: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
27: Salt Lake City [NBA]
26: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
21: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
21: Sacramento [NBA]
20: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
17: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
17: Orlando [NBA]
14: San Jose [NHL]
13: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: Los Angeles ('02 Angels) [ALL]
10: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
7: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
7: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
6: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
5: Columbus [NHL]
4: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
3: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
2: Charlotte/Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NBA, NHL, NFL]
2: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
1: San Antonio ('05 Spurs) [NBA]
1: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]

Don't get the NJ Nets/Devils placed in the NY group. Might as well put Balt and DC together then.

And if you want to get technical about NC, not like it matters in terms of the last title, but the Hurricanes spent their first two seasons in Greensboro before moving to Raleigh. :)

Are you counting the seasons of teams that used to play in a city but have since left?

For example, does San Diego and Buffalo's total include the Clippers? Looks like they were in Buffalo (as the Braves) for 8 years and San Diego for 6.

Curious about your Indy calculation of 61. You're not counting ABA titles, so do you start the Pacers count at the year they joined the NBA? The ABA folded in 76 and they joined the NBA= 30 years. Colts didn't get there until 1984 = 22 years. Or are you counting the Baltimore Colts in with the Indianapolis Colts?

The Pacers won the ABA title in 1973 = 33 years, so the most I could come up with is about 55.

May be all moot in 2 weeks...

Curious about your Indy calculation of 61. You're not counting ABA titles, so do you start the Pacers count at the year they joined the NBA? The ABA folded in 76 and they joined the NBA= 30 years. Colts didn't get there until 1984 = 22 years. Or are you counting the Baltimore Colts in with the Indianapolis Colts?I do not count the ABA. Only the four current major leagues plus the AFL. You could include the ABA if you'd like, I just don't consider it major "enough", since, unlike the AFL-NFL merger, the ABA's absorption into the NBA didn't include all of the franchises. Ditto the WHA.

You're right about my Indy calculation being off. I should be counting only NBA years... I apparently made a mistake in my spreadsheet when I plugged 1967 as the Pacers' inagural year when it really should have been 1976 (when they joined the NBA). I'll doublecheck all of the former ABA cities who saw their teams merge into the NBA (Nets, Nuggets, and Spurs) to see if there are any other similar mistakes. Thanks!

Update: The only change due to my ABA miscalculation is to Indianapolis. The Pacers have played in the NBA since 1976-77, which reflects 30 years without a championship. I had previously used 1967-68 as the Pacers first year, which added 9 seasons to the count, and was wrong anyway since the Pacers won 3 ABA championships (1969-70, 1971-72 and 1972-73). But all that is moot anyway since I'm not supposed to be including the ABA in my figures. For Indianapolis right now, it's 22 Colt seasons plus 30 Pacer seasons = 52 (pending Super Bowl XLI).

The other three ABA cities aren't affected by this, since all three markets have won a championship at least once since the NBA took the four ABA teams for the 1976-77 season. New Jersey Jets (New York market) -> NHL Devils, 2003 Denver Nuggets -> NHL Avalanche, 2001 San Antonio Spurs -> NBA Spurs, 2005I'll update everything and repost, but the only change I expect to see should be to Indianapolis, who will drop from 61 seasons to 52 seasons, putting them between Minneapolis and New Orleans, 8th overall,

Are you counting the seasons of teams that used to play in a city but have since left?

For example, does San Diego and Buffalo's total include the Clippers? Looks like they were in Buffalo (as the Braves) for 8 years and San Diego for 6.I should. The original calculations were done last year, so as I'm fixing the Pacer/ABA/NBA issue, I'll doublecheck the Clippers. In fact, I'll doublecheck ALL of the data. :)

Damn - I knew we were dying for a Championship team in San Diego for a reason!

No wonder radio stations were holding rallies for the Chargers and the city was preparing for a Super Bowl parade about 2 weeks early... We're all just dying to see it happen!

Marty better get it done with the Chargers next year, because as experienced as this Padres pitching staff is the team doesn't have enough bats to win a World Series.

About my choice of "lumping" different teams into the same markets...

New York metro: If I break the NJ Devils/Nets apart into their own market, then I have to take the two NFL teams as well, since their stadium is right across the parking lot from Continental Arena. I feel that the issues related to taking the Giants and Jets OUT of the New York market would far outweigh any issues related to placing the Nets and Devils INTO that market. So, like it or not, NY/NJ stays lumped.

Bay Area: Not an easy one. San Francisco and Oakland both have MLB and NFL teams, Oakland is home to the region's only NBA franchise, and San Jose hosts the only NHL team. If I make any changes to the listing, I would combine all three of these into a single market.

Carolina: Frankly, my ignorance of North Carolina geography made me assume that the Hurricanes (Raleigh) and Bobcats/Panthers (Charlotte) were neighbors. Now that I realize that there is significant distance between the two towns, I'm STILL going to lump them together since there is no overlap between leagues and since the three teams are generally supporting the same larger market. I realize that this also tends to lend credence to my thought that the Bay Area should be combined.

Canada: I can't come up with any other way to do this other than to list ALL of the Canadian cities individually. Since most of them are one-team towns, and since most of the country tends to rally behind the one team that's gone the farthest in whichever post-season is being competed at the time, I have no significant problem with lumping all of the Great White North's teams into one "market".

Washington/Baltimore: I tend to agree that these markets should be lumped, but both cities are large enough to stand alone without the other. I need to give it some more thought.

Here's the update, with footnotes to show where corrections have been made:

Here's the current list:
Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
119: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL] (Note 1)
94: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
92: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL] (Note 2)
84: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL] (Note 3)
83: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL] (Note 4)
71: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
63: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL] (Note 5)
52: Indianapolis [NBA, NFL] (Note 6)
46: New Orleans [NBA, NFL] (Note 7)
46: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
46: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
40: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL] (Note 8)
36: Canada (all cities) ('03 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
30: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL] (Note 9)
29: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
28: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL] (Note 10)
27: Salt Lake City [NBA]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL] (Note 11)
21: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
21: Sacramento [NBA]
20: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
17: Orlando [NBA]
16: Nashville [NHL, NFL] (Note 12)
14: San Jose [NHL]
13: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
11: Los Angeles ('02 Angels) [ALL] (Note 13)
10: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
7: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
7: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
6: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
5: Columbus [NHL]
4: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
3: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
2: Carolina (all cities) ('06 Hurricanes) [NBA, NHL, NFL]
2: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
1: San Antonio ('05 Spurs) [NBA]
1: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]

Footnotes:
Added 2 seasons for 1976-78 NHL Barons, corrected NFL miscount. Breakdown since 1964 NFL Championship is... NHL Barons (1976-78, 2 seasons) + NBA Cavaliers (1970-pres, 36 seasons) + MLB Indians (1965-pres, 42 seasons) + NFL Browns I (1965-95, 31 seasons) + NFL Browns II (1999-pres, 8 seasons) = 119. Added 6 seasons for 1978-84 NBA Clippers. Breakdown since 1963 AFL Championship is... NBA Clippers (1978-84, 6 seasons) + MLB Padres (1964-pres, 43 seasons) + AFL/NFL Chargers (1964-pres, 43 seasons) = 92. Added 8 seasons for 1970-78 NBA Braves. Breakdown since 1965 AFL Championship is... NHL Sabres (1970-pres, 35* seasons) + NBA Braves (1970-78, 8 seasons) + AFL/NFL Bills (1966-pres, 41 seasons) = 84. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season). Corrected NBA miscount. Breakdown since 1978-79 NBA Championship is... NBA SuperSonics (1979-pres, 27 seasons) + MLB Mariners (1979-pres, 28 seasons) + NFL Seahawks (1979-pres, 28 seasons) = 83. Corrected NHL miscount. Breakdown since 1991 MLB Championship is...NHL North Stars (1991-93, 2 seasons) + NHL Wild (2000-pres, 5* seasons) + NBA Timberwolves (1991-pres, 15 seasons) + MLB Twins (1992-pres, 15 seasons) + NFL Vikings (1991-pres, 16 seasons) = 53. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season). Corrected NBA miscount. Breakdown of Indianapolis pro seasons (no championships) is... NBA Pacers (1976-pres, 30 seasons) + NFL Colts (1984-pres, 22** Seasons) = 52. (pending Super Bowl XLI result). Corrected NBA miscount. Breakdown of New Orleans pro seasons (no championships) is...: NBA Jazz (1974-79, 5 seasons) + NBA Hornets (2005-pres, 1 season) + NFL Saints (1967-pres, 40 seasons). TOTAL = 46. Corrected NHL miscount. Breakdown since 1995 MLB Championship is... NHL Thrashers (1999-pres, 6* seasons) + NBA Hawks (1996-pres, 11 seasons) + MLB Braves (1996-pres, 11 seasons) + NFL Falcons (1995-pres, 12 seasons) = 40. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season). Added 2 seasons for 1995-96 NFL Oilers. Breakdown since 1994-95 NBA Championship is... NBA Rockets (1995-pres, 11 seasons) + MLB Astros (1995-pres, 12 seasons) + NFL Oilers (1995-96, 2 seasons), + NFL Texans (2002-pres, 5 seasons). TOTAL = 30. Corrected NHL miscount. Breakdown since 1999-2000 NHL Championship is... NHL Stars (1999-pres, 6* seasons) + NBA Mavericks (1999-pres, 7 seasons) + MLB Rangers (2000-pres, 7 seasons) + NFL Cowboys (1999-pres, 8 seasons) = 28. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season). Corrected MLB/NFL miscounts. Breakdown since 1994 NFL Championship is... MLB Giants (1995-pres, 12 seasons) + NFL 49’ers (1995-pres, 12 seasons).= 24. Corrected NFL miscount. Breakdown of Nashville pro seasons (no championships) is... NHL Predators (1998-pres, 7* seasons) + NFL Oilers/Titans (1998-pres, 9 seasons) = 16. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season). Corrected NHL miscount. Breakdown since 2002 MLB Championship is... NHL Kings/Ducks (2002-pres, 3* seasons) + NBA Lakers/Clippers (2002-pres, 4 seasons) + MLB Dodgers/Angels (2003-pres, 4 seasons) = 11. (* = no 2004-05 NHL season).As always, I'm soliciting for corrections.

Wow - you have a lot of time on your hands, don't you? ;)

There is absolutely no reason to lump Baltimore and Washington together. The Wiz and Caps only enjoy a moderate following in Baltimore. Now that DC has it's own baseball team, there is no real tie to the Orioles. Also, Baltimoreans detest Washington, while Washingtonians basically ignore Baltimore. Most importantly, they are separate media markets (unlike the Bay Area, LA/Anaheim, and NY/NJ).

Also, Baltimoreans detest Washington...
I think it's pronounced "Balti-http://www.collectinghollywood.com/EMoran1.jpg-s"

I grew up in Baltimore. It isn't.

Now if you are making a joke, nevermind.

Yup, it's a joke, but I moved from in-between BALmer and WaRRshington two years ago, and depending on who you met.... it is. ;)

Good work.

UH, Ken, not to cause any complications, but the Rockets were in San Diego for a couple years....

From the Rockets official website (history section):

The Houston Rockets were introduced to the NBA as the San Diego Rockets in 1967, the same year that the American Basketball Association launched itself as a rival league. Despite boasting the great Elvin Hayes through the early years, the Rockets never caught on in San Diego and moved to Houston after only four seasons.

UH, Ken, not to cause any complications, but the Rockets were in San Diego for a couple years....

From the Rockets official website (history section):

The Houston Rockets were introduced to the NBA as the San Diego Rockets in 1967, the same year that the American Basketball Association launched itself as a rival league. Despite boasting the great Elvin Hayes through the early years, the Rockets never caught on in San Diego and moved to Houston after only four seasons.Good to know. The Rockets played 4 seasons in San Diego (1967/68 thru 1970/71) before moving to Houston. The Houston NBA entry in the table is correct, I just need to add 4 NBA seasons to San Diego's count.

I've also broken the Carolina entry apart into Charlotte (NFL, NBA) and Raleigh (NHL) entries. The two seasons the (Raleigh) Hurricanes played in Greensboro do not appear because (a) the Canes have won the Stanley Cup since then, so the Raleigh count is at zero, and (b) Greensboro does not at present have a pro sports team. If Greensboro lands a team in the future, their count would start at two for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 NHL seasons.

Here comes an update...

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
119: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
96: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL] (Note 1)
94: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
84: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
83: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
71: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
53: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
46: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
46: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
46: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
40: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
36: Canada (all cities) ('03 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
30: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
29: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
28: Charlotte [NBA, NFL] (note 2)
28: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
27: Salt Lake City [NBA]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
21: Sacramento [NBA]
21: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
20: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
17: Orlando [NBA]
16: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
14: San Jose [NHL]
13: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
11: Los Angeles ('02 Angels) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
10: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
7: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
7: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
6: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
5: Columbus [NHL]
5: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
3: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
2: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
1: San Antonio ('05 Spurs) [NBA]
1: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
0: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL] (note 3)
0: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

Footnotes

1. Added 4 seasons for 1967/68 - 1970/71 San Diego Rockets

2. New entry, broken out from previous "Carolina" entry. Charlotte has never won a championship, having hosted 16 NBA seasons (Hornets 1888/89 thru 2001/02, Bobcats 2004/05 thru 2005/06) and 12 NFL seasons (Panthers 1995-2006).

3. New entry, broken out from previous "Carolina" entry. Raleigh is home to the defending Stanley Cup champions, so their "dought" count is at zero.

Does the fact that New York has multiple teams in every sport not affect their score? It seems, for example, that for every NFL season that goes by they have missed 2 opportunities to win a title.

Thanks for the update, Ken. I expect the Cleveland number to increase by 3 at the end of the year since I don't think the Cavs are going to win with the Pistons and the Heat in their way

It will be very tough for the Indians to win the World Series, since they're now in the toughest division in baseball. They could win 90 games and not make the playoffs like the White Sox did last year!

I don't think anyone honestly expects the Browns to be a Super Bowl contender this year.

I'm going to copy the list and send it to my dad. I'm sure he'll be interested in seeing the list and be depressed at the same time! :)

Does the fact that New York has multiple teams in every sport not affect their score? It seems, for example, that for every NFL season that goes by they have missed 2 opportunities to win a title.That's a great question.

The short answer is Yes. I *did* think about those markets that have more than one team competing in the same league. I decided when I was compiling these numbers that since we're talking about the number of pro seasons since a market has had a championship, it seems to only matter THAT a market competed in a particular league -- not that they competed with multiple teams. If the Jets or the Giants were to win the Super Bowl, it would be a New York win regardless of which team was hoisting the Lombardi... similarly, if neither win it this year, the New York market has endured ONE additional NFL season without a title.

PS, if I were to lump the three Bay Area cities into one "market", we'd go from this:
46: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
14: San Jose [NHL]

To this:
47: Bay Area ('94 49ers) [ALL]

Every year from 1995 to 2006 (12 years), the Bay Area has competed in all 4 pro sports EXCEPT for the 2004/05 NHL season that wasn't competed. 4 x 12 - 1 = 47. This would be the 8th longest current drought.

Fox sports has an article similar to this. Here's how they ranked the cities:


1. Buffalo
2. Cleveland
3. Seattle
4. Philadelphia
5. Milwaukee
6. Minneapolis/St. Paul
7. Cincinnati
8. San Diego
9. Kansas City
10. New Orleans

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6889548?MSNHPHCP&GT1=10136

Anaheim (LA) won the Stanley Cup last night, beating Ottawa (Canada, all cities) 4 games to 1. This moves LA to the bottom of the futility rankings, and increments all metro markets with an NHL team up one season. Here are the up-to-the-moment rankings:

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
119: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
96: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
95: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
85: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
83: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
71: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
54: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
47: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
46: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
46: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
41: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
37: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
30: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
29: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
29: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
28: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
27: Salt Lake City [NBA]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
22: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
21: Sacramento [NBA]
20: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
17: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
17: Orlando [NBA]
15: San Jose [NHL]
14: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
11: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
8: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
8: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
6: Columbus [NHL]
6: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
6: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
4: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
3: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
2: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
1: San Antonio ('05 Spurs) [NBA]
1: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
0: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
0: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB] (note 1)

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

note 1: Fixed LA listing, had previously shown [ALL] leagues, when in fact there's no NFL team there.

With Cleveland playing, uhhh, (Googling) the Spurs (that would be San Antonio), for the NBA Championship starting this week, there's a chance that we could see a shake-up at the top.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market. Personally, I find this less an indicator of 'futilty' than consecutive non-championship seasons, but some may find it interesting:

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 Seattle
1979 *Salt Lake City
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2003 New York
2004 Detroit
2004 Tampa
2004 Boston
2005 San Antonio
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

After the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, Philly will be removed from the list.

:D

After the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, Philly will be removed from the list.

:D

MUST YOU JINX IT?

When Brian Westbrook trips going down the stairs in his house tomorrow and shatters his leg, and then Brian Dawkins breaks hims arm punching a wall after hearing of Westbrook's injury, I'm blaming you.

kenbuzz -- I think it's a typo and your numbers are still correct, but Canada's last title was the '93 Blue Jays, not '03.

Only the four current major leagues plus the AFL.

Four current major leagues? Let's see: MLB, NFL, NBA ... is there another one? Let's see.... women's softball makes it onto ESPN.... men's lacrosse is on ESPN2... major league soccer is on Fox Sports Net.... then there's some game played on ice that has it's championship on some random cable channel that 80% of the country doesn't get...

-bitter-

MUST YOU JINX IT?

When Brian Westbrook trips going down the stairs in his house tomorrow and shatters his leg, and then Brian Dawkins breaks hims arm punching a wall after hearing of Westbrook's injury, I'm blaming you.

I am so far beyond simple jinxes at this point. :lol:

San Antiono sweeps Cleveland (ha!) for the 2007 NBA Crown

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
120: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
96: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
96: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
85: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
84: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
72: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
55: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
48: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
47: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
47: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
42: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
38: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
31: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
30: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
30: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
29: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
28: Salt Lake City [NBA]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
23: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
22: Sacramento [NBA]
21: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
18: Orlando [NBA]
17: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
15: San Jose [NHL]
15: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
12: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
9: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
8: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
7: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
7: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
6: Columbus [NHL]
4: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
4: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
2: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
1: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
1: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
1: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
0: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market.

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 Seattle
1979 *Salt Lake City
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2003 New York
2004 Detroit
2004 Tampa
2004 Boston
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles
2007 San Antonio

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

kenbuzz -- I think it's a typo and your numbers are still correct, but Canada's last title was the '93 Blue Jays, not '03.Yeah, you're right. I've fixed it.... thanks!

8: Los Angeles ('02 Angels) [ALL]


How dare they call '02 Angels "Los Angeles"?! It was ANAHEIM Angels at that time! :mad:

And Ducks does not belong to Los Angeles, too!

Don't suppose anyone wants to further that list into futility of even making the playoffs and/or getting to a championship? Nice work Kenbuzz

How dare they call '02 Angels "Los Angeles"?! It was ANAHEIM Angels at that time! :mad:

And Ducks does not belong to Los Angeles, too!Dude, please read the top of this thread. This is about metro markets - Anaheim's teams are included in the Los Angeles market.

There's been a lot of discussion on this topic. :)

How dare they call '02 Angels "Los Angeles"?! It was ANAHEIM Angels at that time! :mad:

And Ducks does not belong to Los Angeles, too!

I'd rather it say the Lakers if you're going to use a team to represent 02. :)

Well, excuse me for hating Los Angeles. I stopped support Angels because they changed from Anaheim to Los Angeles. It's just that there's a certain rival between Los Angeles County & Orange County.

Assuming that neither San Diego nor Philadelphia win the World Series or Super Bowl XLII, Philly will have a chance to pass San Diego into sole posession of 2nd place following next year's Stanley Cup Finals.

The Canadian "lumping" has an error in it. :lol:
1993 for the Blue Jays and Habs.

And for including any Canadian cities you could just list Toronto. Blue Jays and Leafs. The only real 2 sport Canadian city now that the Expo's are gone.

The Canadian "lumping" has an error in it. :lol:
1993 for the Blue Jays and Habs.What's the error, again? I didn't understand your post.

What's the error, again? I didn't understand your post.


He means you didn't list the Canadiens (the Habs) for NHL.

Well, excuse me for hating Los Angeles. I stopped support Angels because they changed from Anaheim to Los Angeles.


Ditto.

I don't want to have anything to do with that shithole called LA.

What's the error, again? I didn't understand your post.You list it as ought 3 instead of 1993.

And yes you missed the Habs. And in retrospect wildcat saw it to.

Uhhh..... the Ducks won the Stanley Cup just a couple of week ago. Are you arguing over an entry in a list that was made a year ago and that is obsolete now by the current list? If so, I'd recommend reading the entire thread, not just posts made a year ago. Or you can just read the first post, it was updated 3 days before your most recent reply. :)

I also point out that the Habs' championship was after the 1992-93 season, with them winning Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the series 4-1, on 24 May 93. The Jays' won Game 6 of the 1993 World Series beating Philadelphia 8-6 in SkyDome on Joe Carter's walk-off 3-run HR on 23 Oct 93. Thus the Blue Jays are Canada's most recent championship team.... which to my knowledge is what the list shows.

The original list showed Blue Jays '03, which was a typographical error that wildcat helped bring to light. Nevertheless, the Jays are still the most recent Canadian champion. What is the point you are trying to make?

I'm happy to update this to correct mistakes, as you can see if you scroll back through this thread. That said, complaints about errors that are typographical in nature rather than factually based are unwelcomed... particularly those that are fixed prior to the complaintant posting a gripe. Please be a contributor, not a critic.

I think the list you keep updated is a great idea. Better to see you do it well rather than have it attempted multiple times by people who will not put in the effort or the time you obviously have.

And for no other reason than the amount of information you have had to do and redo some things will be missed. But as an Expos fan, a Hab's fan (one of my last personal hilites) for a long time and a Canadian the year, the omission and the lumping of the country seemed worth mentioning. And I skipped the last few posts assuming the error was not yet corrected as it had been in place for quite a time. Certainly my error there.

As for:

"That said, complaints about errors that are typographical in nature rather than factually based are unwelcomed... particularly those that are fixed prior to the complaintant posting a gripe. Please be a contributor, not a critic."

In my posts I neither deride you nor your list. We have almost no history here but you have seen me around. Posts like yours are often one of the reasons I am not here more. Assume less that people are attacking you or your work. 'Cause they probably aren't.

For you not wishing to correct certain errors I do not clearly understand your meaning, since the time you have put in indicates your wish to have this list reflect the best truth possible. I'll assume there is some typographical error in it I am not seeing.

Assuming that neither San Diego nor Philadelphia win the World Series or Super Bowl XLII, Philly will have a chance to pass San Diego into sole posession of 2nd place following next year's Stanley Cup Finals.


What if the Padres and Eagles both win? Would it blow your mind? ;)

And I skipped the last few posts assuming the error was not yet corrected as it had been in place for quite a time. Certainly my error there.
Thank you for being a stand-up guy. Some folks here aren't.
As for:

"That said, complaints about errors that are typographical in nature rather than factually based are unwelcomed... particularly those that are fixed prior to the complaintant posting a gripe. Please be a contributor, not a critic."

In my posts I neither deride you nor your list. We have almost no history here but you have seen me around. Posts like yours are often one of the reasons I am not here more. Assume less that people are attacking you or your work. 'Cause they probably aren't. It's hard to intuit your meaning when one of your first contributions to this thread was

The Canadian "lumping" has an error in it. :lol:
1993 for the Blue Jays and Habs.

Sure seemed like a critical comment to me. Maybe I'm thin-skinned, but there have been a lot of mini-threads here about "lumping" teams, and I honestly thought I covered the Canadian issue months ago when I wrote:Canada: I can't come up with any other way to do this other than to list ALL of the Canadian cities individually. Since most of them are one-team towns, and since most of the country tends to rally behind the one team that's gone the farthest in whichever post-season is being competed at the time, I have no significant problem with lumping all of the Great White North's teams into one "market".
The additional comment about the Jays and Habs made it look like you weren't aware that the list only tracks the most recent champion... and that the Habs' championship wasn't the most recent.

Thanks for the response.

I simply stole the word "lumping" from your quote above. And the choice is understandable with only 8 major sports teams in Canada.

Until the NHL fixes up, there are only 2 major sports teams in Canada.

I just caught a minor error. Phoenix had been reported as having gone 21 seasons since the Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2001. The actual count should be 22. Here are the champions since the 2001 World Series

2001 NFL Patriots
2002 NBA Lakers / NHL Red Wings / MLB Angels / NFL Buccaneers
2003 NBA Spurs / NHL Devils / MLB Marlins / NFL Patriots
2004 NBA Pistons / NHL Lightning / MLB Red Sox / NFL Patriots
2005 NBA Spurs / NHL (none) / MLB White Sox / NFL Steelers
2006 NHL Hurricanes / NBA Heat / MLB Cardinals / NFL Colts
2007 NHL Ducks / NBA Spurs

No NHL Playoffs in 2005. NBA finished after NHL starting in 2006.

Not sure how Phoenix's count got off, but it's fixed now:

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
120: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
96: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
96: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
85: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
84: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
72: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
55: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
48: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
47: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
47: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
43: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
42: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
38: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
33: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
31: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
30: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
30: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
29: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
28: Salt Lake City [NBA]
24: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
23: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
22: Sacramento [NBA]
22: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
18: Orlando [NBA]
17: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
15: San Jose [NHL]
15: New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
12: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
9: Boston ('04 Patriots) [ALL]
8: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
7: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
7: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
6: Columbus [NHL]
4: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
4: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
2: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
1: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
1: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
1: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
0: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

121 and counting for Cleveland....:(

121 and counting for Cleveland....:(


Poor Cleveland. They get nothing and Boston gets everything (baseball, football, and even a good basketball team now).

Poor Cleveland. They get nothing and Boston gets everything (baseball, football, and even a good basketball team now).

didn't you hear? Lebron is going to deliver at least the next 8-10 NBA championships to cleveland.. So they should be ok.

I just caught a minor error.

Maybe I added wrong, but did you accidentally count the 1994 MLB season?

Just read through this thread because of the recent bumps -- great work, kenbuzz!

I've often debated what is the greater futility--not winning championships or not even making it to the postseason? Cleveland fans have suffered, but they've had some good, entertaining teams in recent years--some that have competed at a championship level.

Of course, that's a whole other debate...one that I had with folks prior to the Cards winning in '06. I was talking with friends who cheered on the Cubs and while they were bemoaning not making it to the World Series in forever, I pointed out that the Cards had made it ('85, '87, '04) and lost in ugly fashion... Whose pain is worse? Who can say for sure.

Poor Cleveland?

What about San Diego - it's been a year longer for San Diego since our last title than for Cleveland, AND we've lost TWO NBA teams (Rockets, Clippers).

San Diego has never won a World Series OR Super Bowl, and has just ONE AFL Championship to our credit. We've been teased many times over the years with good teams, but they've never come through with the big win.

Believe me, sports fans in San Diego are frustrated like you wouldn't believe.

Poor Cleveland?

What about San Diego - it's been a year longer for San Diego since our last title than for Cleveland, AND we've lost TWO NBA teams (Rockets, Clippers).

San Diego has never won a World Series OR Super Bowl, and has just ONE AFL Championship to our credit. We've been teased many times over the years with good teams, but they've never come through with the big win.

Believe me, sports fans in San Diego are frustrated like you wouldn't believe.

Well, it's not like San Diego is a real city or anything. Maybe kinda on par with Tampa or Charlotte. Most of the residents just jumped on the bandwagon when they moved there within the last 10 years or so. ;)

Well, it's not like San Diego is a real city or anything. Maybe kinda on par with Tampa or Charlotte. Most of the residents just jumped on the bandwagon when they moved there within the last 10 years or so. ;)

:rolleyes:

I know you're kidding, but there is some of that attitude out there. 7th largest city in the country and we still get no respect - no respect I tellya!

(Hey, I'm a 2nd generation SoCal native - born in San Diego in '68!)

sports futility: the rockies attempting to sell world series tix!

sports futility: the rockies attempting to sell world series tix!

That's because the state workers got shut out:

The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 10/19/2007 07:17:25 PM MDT

A plan for state emergency workers to buy World Series tickets using work computers has been quashed after 9News obtained a memo on the proposal.

Employees at the Colorado Emergency Operations Center in Centennial were encouraged in an office e-mail this morning to attempt to buy World Series tickets using their fast, state-owned supercomputers, 9News reported.

"I need volunteers to help push the buttons in attempting access. You will need to use break time, lunch time or leave time to do this and the only real perk I can offer right now is that if someone does not pay for their tickets within 3 days, you will get first crack at them," said David Holm, who had recently been acting director of the Division of Emergency Management.

The e-mail says workers were going to start at around 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning. The tickets are set to go on sale on ColoradoRockies.com on Monday at 10 a.m.

Susan Kirkpatrick, the executive director of the Department of Local Affairs, approved the plan, according to the e-mail.



Full story (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7228374)

Boston sweeps Colorado for the 2007 MLB Crown

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
121: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
97: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
97: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
85: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
85: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
73: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
56: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
49: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
48: (*)Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
47: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
44: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
43: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
39: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
34: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
32: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
31: (*)Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
30: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
29: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
28: Salt Lake City [NBA]
25: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
24: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
23: (*)Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
22: Sacramento [NBA]
18: Orlando [NBA]
17: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
16: (*)New York ('03 Devils) [ALL]
15: San Jose [NHL]
13: (*)Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
13: (*)Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
12: Jacksonville [NFL]
10: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
9: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
8: (*)Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
7: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
6: Columbus [NHL]
5: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
5: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
3: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
2: (*)Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
1: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
1: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
0: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]
0: Boston ('07 Red Sox) [ALL]

(*) - City moved up at least one place in the standings in the most recent update.

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market.

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 *Salt Lake City
1979 Seattle
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2003 New York
2004 Detroit
2004 Tampa
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles
2007 San Antonio
2007 Boston

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

Maybe I added wrong, but did you accidentally count the 1994 MLB season?

Dunno. I'll certainly go back and check, though my spreadsheet clearly shows NO MLB champion in 1994. Perhaps since the season was played but there was no playoffs, I might be counting the season as a non-championship one for all cities with MLB teams that year.

As I said, I dunno, but I'll check here during lunch.

1994 should count, IMO.

1994 should count, IMO.
I tend to agree, but I still need to double-check the numbers to ensure that that assumption was used for all of the cities surveyed.

So far, I've not yet found any other city whose count is off. I don't know how Phoenix got off by one, but all of the other cities (especially those whose last championship came pre-1994) seem to be correct. If anyone comes up with something different than what I've posted above, please let me know and I'll double-check your work, but I think these numbers are correct.

Note, I apparently *am* counting the 1994 MLB season as played for all MLB cities, even though there was no champion that year. This is different than the 2005 NHL season which was cancelled outright.

You can add 1 more year to Cleveland's total, since the Titans just beat the Colts to beat out the Browns for the 6th AFC playoff spot. :(

Yaay, not only did Tennessee's win knock the Brownies out, but the fact that the Colts lost AND scored under 16 points won me and my family a steak dinner at my boss's expense!

We bet during preseason on the Colts and Bengals. Whichever won more games against common opponents would earn a steak dinner, with total points scored in those games as the tiebreaker. Cincy went 3-2, with wins over Baltimore (twice) and Tennessee, and losses to KC and New England. Indy was 3-1, having lost to New England. The tiebreaker was 116-100 Bengals going into the final game, so either a Colt victory OR Indy putting 17 points on the board would've cost me, but I dodged both (thank you Jim Sorgi!) and me and my family will be dining well in January!

:banana:

Can we get this updated? Long suffering NY fans finally have a championship. ;)

Can we get this updated? Long suffering NY fans finally have a championship. ;)

While the city of Cleveland continues to suffer.....:( ;)

While the city of Cleveland continues to suffer.....:( ;)
That's true, but those Canadian Soldiers (flying ants) kicked the Yanks butts this fall. :grumble:

Can we get this updated? Long suffering NY fans finally have a championship. ;)Okay, working on it now...

The Giants knock off the Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
122: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
98: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
98: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
86: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
86: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
73: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
57: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
50: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
49: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
48: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
45: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
44: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
39: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
35: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
33: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
32: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
30: (*)Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
30: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
28: Salt Lake City [NBA]
26: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
25: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
24: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
22: Sacramento [NBA]
18: Orlando [NBA]
18: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
15: San Jose [NHL]
14: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
14: Detroit ('04 Pistons) [ALL]
13: Jacksonville [NFL]
11: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
10: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
9: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
7: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
6: Columbus [NHL]
6: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
6: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
4: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
2: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
2: (*)Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
1: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
1: (*)Boston ('07 Red Sox) [ALL]
0: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]
0: New York ('07 Giants) [ALL]

(*) - City moved up at least one place in the standings in the most recent update.

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market.

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 *Salt Lake City
1979 Seattle
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2004 Detroit
2004 Tampa
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles
2007 San Antonio
2007 Boston
2007 New York

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

Seems to me that Milwaukee and Green Bay should be considered one market. For years, the Packers played 3 regular season games in Milwaukee County Stadium and even today, they still have the Milwaukee Season Ticket Package (3-games + 1 preseason) for Packer games.

Interesting observation. If they were combined into a single "Wisconsin" market (with NFL, NBA and MLB teams), they would have gone 22 seasons since a championship, their most recent being the '96 Packers. Well, 21, considering the recent non-NHL year. The market would drop from 6th to 23rd, sitting between Sacramento and Orlando.

San Diego, Cleveland and Buffalo, I feel for you guys. :(

San Diego, Cleveland and Buffalo, I feel for you guys. :(

I used to feel for San Diego. Not so much anymore. ;)

Stay classy San Diego.

100 Seasons without a title for Philadelphia (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/05/14/philadelphia.drought/index.html?eref=T1)

FanNation blog on the same topic. (http://fannation.com/blogs/post/194533)

As bad as that is, Cleveland still takes the crown. No titles since 1964 and numerous heartbreaks since then:

Red Right 88
The Drive
The Drive II
The Catch
The Fumble
The Shot
The Sweep
The Comeback by the Red Sox in '07
Jose Mesa in Game 7 in '97
David Justice in Game 6 in '95

Always great to see the Philly futility extended. :thumbsup:

Too bad the NHL and NBA appear to not help any long suffering cities this year unless New Orleans pulls out a title.

With the Sixers and Flyers gone, Philly joins the Century Club. (The Cavs just renewed Cleveland's membership yesterday.)

Always great to see the Philly futility extended. :thumbsup:
It's well deserved, isn't it? The asshole fans in that town would burn half the fucking thing down if they were to win something somehow...

Detroit's number is reset to 0! Woohoo!

Fans in Cleveland have to be thankful that they don't have a NHL team. ;)

Red Wings defeat Penguins 4 games to 2 to win the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
122: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
99: (*)Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
98: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
87: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
86: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
73: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
58: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
51: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
49: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
48: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
45: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
45: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
40: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
35: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
33: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
33: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
30: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
30: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
28: Salt Lake City [NBA]
26: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
26: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
25: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
22: Sacramento [NBA]
19: (*)Nashville [NHL, NFL]
18: Orlando [NBA]
16: San Jose [NHL]
14: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
13: Jacksonville [NFL]
11: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
11: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
10: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
7: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
7: Columbus [NHL]
7: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
7: Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
5: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
3: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
2: (*)Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
2: Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
2: Boston ('07 Red Sox) [ALL]
1: (*)New York ('07 Giants) [ALL]
0: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]
0: Detroit ('08 Red Wings) [ALL]

(*) - City moved up at least one place in the standings in the most recent update.

Ties are broken in favor of cities that have never won a championship, then by cities that have had the most time elapse since their last championship.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market.

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 *Salt Lake City
1979 Seattle
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2004 Tampa
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles
2007 San Antonio
2007 Boston
2007 New York
2008 Detroit

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

If the cities with the longest drought (in years) win the next dozen championships, those champions would be:

'08 NBA = Los Angeles Lakers
'08 MLB = San Diego Padres
'08 NFL = Cleveland Browns
'09 NHL = Buffalo Sabres
'09 NBA = New Orleans Hornets
'09 MLB = Milwaukee Brewers
'09 NFL = Seattle Seahawks
'10 NHL = Philadelphia Flyers
'10 NBA = Portland Trailblazers
'10 MLB = Kansas City Royals
'10 NFL = Oakland Raiders
'11 NHL = San Jose Sharks

Same list, using seasons instead of years to define longest drought:

'08 NBA = Los Angeles Lakers
'08 MLB = Cleveland Indians
'08 NFL = Philadelphia Eagles
'09 NHL = Buffalo Sabres
'09 NBA = Seattle Supersonics
'09 MLB = San Diego Padres
'09 NFL = Minnesota Vikings
'10 NHL = Washington Capitols
'10 NBA = Milwaukee Bucks
'10 MLB = Oakland A's
'10 NFL = New Orleans Saints
'11 NHL = Atlanta Thrashers

As a heads' up (and more, as a note to myself), following the 2008 NBA finals I plan to add a few lines of data for "defunct" pro cities. These are cities who at one time used to have a pro team but have none now. The intent is to have a starting point for them should they land a pro team at some point in the future, and to address the only glaring hole in the data that I am currently aware of.

Now when I do this, there might be some changes to the current list. For example, Columbus (OH) is 0-for-7 in the NHL, but they used to be home to two NFL franchises back in the 1920's: the Panhandles and Tigers (collectively, 1920-1926, 7 seasons). This will result in Columbus' count doubling to 14.

Of course, I don't expect any of that data to change once it's been compiled, so please don't expect updates. :)

100 Seasons without a title for Philadelphia (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/05/14/philadelphia.drought/index.html?eref=T1)

FanNation blog on the same topic. (http://fannation.com/blogs/post/194533)

As bad as that is, Cleveland still takes the crown. No titles since 1964 and numerous heartbreaks since then:

Red Right 88
The Drive
The Drive II
The Catch
The Fumble
The Shot
The Sweep
The Comeback by the Red Sox in '07
Jose Mesa in Game 7 in '97
David Justice in Game 6 in '95


On top of that, they end up losing their NFL team to Baltimore, and then 2 years later that team wins a championship...

'09 NFL = Minnesota Vikings

^ I can deal with that!!

Detroit's number is reset to 0! Woohoo!

Fans in Cleveland have to be thankful that they don't have a NHL team. ;)
Columbus that's close enough to Cleveland ;)

On top of that, they end up losing their NFL team to Baltimore, and then 2 years later that team wins a championship...

How the hell did I forget about that?

Celtics defeat Lakers 4 games to 2 to win the 2008 NBA Finals

Seasons: City (Last Champion) [leagues]
123: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
100: Philadelphia ('83 76ers) [ALL]
98: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
87: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
87: Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
74: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
59: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
52: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
50: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
49: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
46: (*)Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
45: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
41: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
35: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
34: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
34: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
31: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
31: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
29: Salt Lake City [NBA]
27: (*)Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
26: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
26: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
23: Sacramento [NBA]
19: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
19: Orlando [NBA]
16: San Jose [NHL]
14: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
13: Jacksonville [NFL]
11: Green Bay ('96 Packers) [NFL]
11: Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
11: Chicago ('05 White Sox) [ALL]
8: Memphis [NBA] (includes 1 season as home to the Tennessee Oilers)
8: (*)Miami ('06 Heat) [ALL]
7: Columbus [NHL]
7: Pittsburgh ('05 Steelers) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
5: St Louis ('06 Cardinals) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
4: Los Angeles ('07 Ducks) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
3: (*)Indianapolis ('06 Colts) [NBA, NFL]
2: Raleigh ('06 Hurricanes) [NHL]
2: New York ('07 Giants) [ALL]
1: San Antonio ('07 Spurs) [NBA]
1: Detroit ('08 Red Wings) [ALL]
0: Boston ('08 Celtics) [ALL]

(*) - City moved up at least one place in the standings in the most recent update.

Here's the same list, ranked in terms of number of years since a championship, regardless of the number of teams playing in a given market.

1963 San Diego
1964 Cleveland
1965 Buffalo
1967 *New Orleans
1971 Milwaukee
1977 Portland
1979 *Salt Lake City
1979 Seattle
1983 Philadelphia
1985 *Sacramento
1985 Kansas City
1989 *Charlotte
1989 *Orlando
1989 Oakland
1990 Cincinnati
1991 *San Jose
1991 Minneapolis
1991 Washington
1993 Canada (all cities)
1994 San Francisco
1995 Houston
1995 Atlanta
1995 *Jacksonville
1996 Green Bay
1997 *Memphis
1998 *Nashville
2000 Dallas
2000 *Columbus
2000 Baltimore
2001 Denver
2001 Phoenix
2004 Tampa
2005 Chicago
2005 Pittsburgh
2006 Miami
2006 Raliegh
2006 St Louis
2006 Indianapolis
2007 Los Angeles
2007 San Antonio
2007 New York
2008 Detroit
2008 Boston

* = City has zero championships. Date is based on first professional season played there.

Being from the Philly area, our fanbase is desperate for a championship, and to see our neighbors to the north in the New England area get 2 rings for the RedSox, 3 rings for the Pats, and now the Celts, we are really jealous!

I will say that the reason Philly hasn't won a Championship in 25 years is that our 4 teams rarely willl get that player at the trade deadline or in free agency to get us over the hump. We got Moses in '82 to bring us a ring for the 76ers in '83, and we got Pete Rose in '79 to bring us a ring in 1980.

The Eagles refuse to go after a WR, the Flyers have never gone after that #1 goalie, the 76ers haven't had that big man since they traded the #1 pick in Brad Daugherty in 1986, and the Phillies won't pay for Free Agent pitchers, and this has all led to 100 seasons of 0 rings.

If the cities with the longest drought (in years) win the next dozen championships, those champions would be:

'08 MLB = San Diego Padres
'08 NFL = Cleveland Browns
'09 NHL = Buffalo Sabres
'09 NBA = New Orleans Hornets
'09 MLB = Milwaukee Brewers
'09 NFL = Seattle Seahawks
'10 NHL = Philadelphia Flyers
'10 NBA = Portland Trailblazers
'10 MLB = Kansas City Royals
'10 NFL = Carolina Panthers (was: Oakland Raiders)
'11 NHL = San Jose Sharks
'11 NBA = Utah Jazz (new)

Same list, using seasons instead of years to define longest drought:

'08 MLB = Cleveland Indians
'08 NFL = Philadelphia Eagles
'09 NHL = Buffalo Sabres
'09 NBA = Seattle Supersonics
'09 MLB = San Diego Padres
'09 NFL = Minnesota Vikings
'10 NHL = Washington Capitols
'10 NBA = Milwaukee Bucks
'10 MLB = Oakland A's
'10 NFL = New Orleans Saints
'11 NHL = Atlanta Thrashers
'11 NBA = Toronto Raptors (new)

If the cities with the longest drought (in years) win the next dozen championships, those champions would be:

'08 NFL = Cleveland Browns

Same list, using seasons instead of years to define longest drought:

'08 MLB = Cleveland Indians


If that happens, I think the city of Cleveland will go up in flames! ;)

If that happens, I think the city of Cleveland will go up in flames! ;)At least the river will. ;)

Boston fans are just very lucky to have good owners. The krafts changed the patriots completely around. They were one of the biggest jokes in the leagues until the Kraft family took over.
Now the sox have John Henry and a great management group running the red sox. The red sox were not cursed for86 years, they had owners that didnt care for 86 years, now we have an owner that wants to win a couple championships per decade. Theo's contract is up this year and who knows how long John Henry wants to own the team for. He may look at it as owning one of the premiere teams in the league.
Now Wyc Grousbeck the primary owner of the C's has come around and realized that the rabid fanbase needs a winner in basketball, if he goes over the salary cap a little and puts a quality product on the floor, then there will be alot of other large company sponsors and merchandise sales go through the roof that will more than offset any additional expenses.
Boston has the highest ticket prices and costs to go to a game in the country. The #1 sports radio show, and a newspaper/media group thats as annoying as new york's.
Being a Boston fan, this celtics championship was the biggest win.
This celtics team, I had the highest hopes and expectations for since the 03 and 04 sox teams. This was bigger than any patriots championship. The first SB in 2001 was such a surprise, they were such big underdogs and had got crushed in previus superbowls. When they won, it was a shock, then they repeated and have had a few great years, they could stink for 5 years and noone would really care. 18-1 hurt a little bit as it was right there and the history factor, but patriots fans' bellies are already full. The 07 sox championship, my championship hats and shirts havent even been worn in when that one came. But the celtics, I wasnt old enough to stay up that late to watch those games nor was I really into basketball until 1990 or so.

Please bold the important parts.

Please bold the important parts.He did.

Uh oh! Don't look now, but the Phillies are in the World Series.

If Cleveland doesn't get off the dime and win a championship, Philadelphia WOULD have overtaken them in 23 years. If Philadelphia gets a championship, then nobody can out-futile Cleveland until Minneapolis does it 64 years from now (following the 2073/74 NHL season, I think.)

Uh oh! Don't look now, but the Phillies are in the World Series.

If Cleveland doesn't get off the dime and win a championship, Philadelphia WOULD have overtaken them in 23 years. If Philadelphia gets a championship, then nobody can out-futile Cleveland until Minneapolis does it 64 years from now (following the 2073/74 NHL season, I think.)

Couldn't New York do it in about 25 years? With 7 teams.... not saying it'll happen, but it could, mathematically.

Love this thread, and your work Ken.

But since you may already have the work handy, how about a line item listing the total number of sports seasons a city has had, along with the total number of championships.

That would be another way to measure futility.

Couldn't New York do it in about 25 years? With 7 teams.... not saying it'll happen, but it could, mathematically.

New York isn't getting double credit for their teams. With both the Mets and Yankees not winning the World Series this year, New York's total is just going up by 1 (one total baseball season without a championship) instead of 2 (two chances to win a championship).

Yup, Wally's got it surrounded. In this tabulation, each metro area gets a +1 for each sports season they participate in without winning a championship regardless of the number of franchises they have.

There were, fundamentally, two decisions I had to reach for this list: (a) how to group teams into markets, and (b) what to do with markets that had more than one team in the same sport. There's a lot of discussion on the first pages of this thread talking those decision through. I made the decisions one way, another person might have made them differently.

And to answer you, Trevor, I unfortunately do NOT have the necessary raw data on hand to regenerate the list using "total" sports seasons. However, as I have listed the last franchise in each market to have won a championship (and the year they did it), one might be able to reconstruct that on one's own.

And to answer you, Trevor, I unfortunately do NOT have the necessary raw data on hand to regenerate the list using "total" sports seasons. However, as I have listed the last franchise in each market to have won a championship (and the year they did it), one might be able to reconstruct that on one's own.

Thanks Ken, I just didn't want to re-invent the wheel (if I ever take on the task).

Was mainly just curious, and thought it would be a good ranking of a city/area's true futility.

For example, and this is just conjecture, even if Philly wins the series, the city still may have the fewest number of total championships per professional sports season. That list would be a nice complement to your list.

I see what you're after. Off the top of my head, the tough thing would be how to reconcile multi-francise cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and (of course) New York. The Cubs and White Sox cannot BOTH win the World Series in any given year, so Chicago is guaranteed to have a "loser" even if those two teams were to win every World Series for the next 5 decades. You'd almost have to give a city like that a +1 for each season for EVERY team in their market, unless one of those teams won the title, in which case the entire market would get a +0.

Hmmm.... that might be hard.

^:lol: Don't boggle your mind over it. Your list is great just the way it is and thanks for consistently updating it. :up:

Also, it looks like the jinx is on for Philly. ;)

Cleveland's lead has increased to 25 seasons now that the Phillies have reduced Philadelphia's number to 0.

San Diego moves up to 2nd place.

Their lead over cities with 3 franchises is 36 (Buffalo).

Their lead over cities with 4 franchises is 64 (Minneappolis).

Philadelphia Phillies win the 2008 World Series, 4 games to 1, over the Tampa Bay Rays

124: Cleveland ('64 Browns) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
99: San Diego ('63 Chargers (AFL)) [MLB, NFL]
88: (*)Seattle ('79 Supersonics) [MLB, NFL]
87: Buffalo ('65 Bills (AFL)) [NHL, NFL]
75: Milwaukee ('71 Bucks) [NBA, MLB]
60: Minneapolis ('91 Twins) [ALL]
53: Washington ('91 Redskins) [ALL]
51: Oakland ('89 Athletics) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
49: New Orleans [NBA, NFL]
47: Atlanta ('95 Braves) [ALL]
46: Kansas City ('85 Royals) [MLB, NFL]
42: Canada (all cities) ('93 Blue Jays) [NHL, NBA, MLB]
36: Cincinnati ('90 Reds) [MLB, NFL]
35: Houston ('95 Rockets) [NBA, MLB, NFL]
35: Dallas ('00 Stars) [ALL]
31: Charlotte [NBA, NFL]
31: Portland ('77 Trail Blazers) [NBA]
29: Salt Lake City [NBA]
28: Denver ('01 Avalanche) [ALL]
27: San Francisco ('94 49ers) [MLB, NFL]
27: Phoenix ('01 Diamondbacks) [ALL]
23: Sacramento [NBA]
19: Nashville [NHL, NFL]
19: Orlando [NBA]
16: San Jose [NHL]
15: Baltimore ('00 Ravens) [MLB, NFL]
13: Jacksonville [NFL]
12: (*)Tampa ('04 Lightning) [NHL, MLB, NFL]
12: (*)Chicago ('05 White Sox) [A