Multiple major sports championship seasons explained

In the history of championships in major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada (which include the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL), a city/metropolitan area has been home to multiple championships in a season 19 times, most recently in 2020 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2020 Stanley Cup and Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV.[1] 2020 was also the first season where two different cities won multiple championships, with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the 2020 NBA Finals and the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the 2020 World Series. New York City is the only city to win multiple titles in back-to-back seasons, doing so in 1926–1927 and 1927–1928.[2] No city has ever won more than two championships in the four major sports in the same season. As of 2024, all 19 occurrences have been in American cities; no Canadian city has yet accomplished this feat.

A city has been home to multiple championships in a calendar year 18 times. This has not happened the same number of times as a city winning multiple championships in one season, as a city can win two titles in a season without those titles being in the same calendar year (for example, the New York Jets and New York Mets both won titles in the 1969 calendar year, but the Jets Super Bowl III win was for the 1968 season; likewise the Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Orioles both won championships in the 1970 season, but the Colts Super Bowl V win came in 1971). This most recently happened in 2021 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV and Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup, their second in a row. Like with single season championships, New York City is the only city to win multiple titles in back-to-back calendar years, doing so in 1927 and 1928. Also like with single season championships, no city has won more than two titles in a single calendar year.

Philadelphia is the only city to have all four major sports teams (MLB's Phillies, NBA's 76ers, NFL's Eagles, and NHL's Flyers) play in their respective championship game or series in the same season (1980), though only one of the four (Phillies) actually won the championship.[3] The Tampa Bay area, which does not have an NBA team, had all three of its major sports teams (MLB's Rays, NFL's Buccaneers, and NHL's Lightning) play in their respective championships in the 2020 season, with the Lightning and Buccaneers winning the championships.

Definitions

Because some of the present-day "big four" North American sports leagues have merged with other leagues and their championships in the past, this article considers the following to be major sports championships:

Teams which are based in the same metropolitan area are considered together for this article even if they are not based in the same city. For example, teams representing Oakland, California are grouped with other teams based in the San Francisco Bay Area and teams playing in or representing New Jersey are grouped with other teams based in the New York City metropolitan area.

While the Super Bowl game is held in February (January prior to 2002), a Super Bowl championship is considered to be the championship for the year in which the regular season was played; for example, Super Bowl LIII, played on February 3, 2019, was the championship game for the 2018 NFL season and is thus considered a 2018 championship. All other championships including pre-Super Bowl football championships are considered to have been won the year in which the championship was awarded.

Multiple championships in a season

YearCity or metro areaTeamLeagueTeamLeagueTeamLeague
1927[4] New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1928New York CityRangersNHLYankeesMLB
1933New York CityRangersNHLGiantsMLB
1935DetroitLionsNFLTigersMLB
1938New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1948ClevelandBrownsAAFCIndiansMLB
1952DetroitLionsNFLRed WingsNHL
1956New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1970BaltimoreColtsNFLOriolesMLB
1979PittsburghSteelersNFLPiratesMLB
1986Greater New YorkGiantsNFLMetsMLB
1988Los AngelesLakersNBADodgersMLB
1989San Francisco Bay AreaAthleticsMLB49ersNFL
2000Greater New YorkDevilsNHLYankeesMLB
2002Greater Los AngelesLakersNBAAngelsMLB
2004Greater BostonPatriotsNFLRed SoxMLB
2018Greater BostonPatriotsNFLRed SoxMLB
2020Los AngelesLakersNBADodgersMLB
2020TampaBuccaneersNFLLightningNHL
!City or metro area!Number of times winning multiple championships in one season
Greater New York7
Greater Los Angeles3
Greater Boston2
Detroit2
Baltimore1
Cleveland1
Pittsburgh1
San Francisco Bay Area1
Tampa1

Multiple championships in a calendar year

YearCityTeamLeagueTeamLeagueTeamLeague
1927New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1928New York CityRangersNHLYankeesMLB
1933New York CityRangersNHLGiantsMLB
1935DetroitLionsNFLTigersMLB
1938New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1948ClevelandBrownsAAFCIndiansMLB
1952DetroitLionsNFLRed WingsNHL
1956New York CityGiantsNFLYankeesMLB
1969New York CityJetsNFLMetsMLB
1979PittsburghSteelersNFLPiratesMLB
1988[5] Los AngelesDodgersMLBLakersNBA
1989San Francisco Bay Area49ersNFLAthleticsMLB
2000Greater New YorkDevilsNHL YankeesMLB
2002Greater Los AngelesLakersNBAAngelsMLB
2004Greater BostonPatriotsNFLRed SoxMLB
2009PittsburghSteelersNFLPenguinsNHL
2020Los AngelesLakersNBADodgersMLB
2021TampaBuccaneersNFLLightningNHL
City or metro areaNumber of times winning multiple championships in one calendar year
Greater New York7
Greater Los Angeles3
Detroit2
Pittsburgh2
Greater Boston1
Cleveland1
San Francisco Bay Area1
Tampa1

Multiple championships involving other professional teams

YearCityTeamLeagueTeamLeagueTeamLeagueTeamLeague
1975PittsburghSteelersNFLWTT
1977MontrealCanadiensNHLAlouettesCFL
1977Greater New YorkYankeesMLBCosmosNASL
1987EdmontonOilersNHLEskimosCFL
1997DetroitRed WingsNHLVipersIHL
1998ChicagoFireMLSBullsNBAWolvesIHL
2001Los AngelesSparksWNBALakersNBA
2002Greater Los AngelesSparksWNBALakersNBAAngelsMLBGalaxyMLS
2003[6] TampaBuccaneersNFLStormAFL
2007Greater BostonRed SoxMLBNew England RevolutionU.S. Open Cup
2008PhiladelphiaSoulAFLPhilliesMLB
2008DetroitShockWNBARed WingsNHL
2009MontrealImpactUSL First DivisionAlouettesCFL
2012Greater Los AngelesKingsNHLGalaxyMLS
2014SeattleSoundersU.S. Open CupSeahawksNFL
2014Kansas City metropolitan areaFC Kansas CityNWSLCometsMISL
2014Greater Los AngelesKingsNHLLA GalaxyMLS
2015Kansas City metropolitan areaFC Kansas CityNWSLRoyalsMLBSporting Kansas CityU.S. Open Cup
2015San Francisco Bay AreaSabercatsAFLWarriorsNBASanta Cruz WarriorsD-League
2016ClevelandCavaliersNBAMonstersAHL
2016DenverBroncosNFLOutlawsMLL
2016Dallas–Fort Worth metroplexAmericansECHLFC DallasU.S. Open Cup
2016Greater New YorkRed Bulls IIUSLCosmosNASL
2017Greater HoustonScrap Yard DawgsNPFAstrosMLB
2017Greater Toronto AreaArgonautsCFLToronto FCMLS, Voyageurs CupWolfpackRugby League 1Raptors 905D-League
2018TorontoMarliesAHLWolfpackRFL Championship
2018Washington, D.C.CapitalsNHLValorAFL
2019 Greater St. LouisBluesNHLRascalsFL
2019TorontoRaptorsNBAWolfpackRFL Championship
2019Washington, D.C.MysticsWNBANationalsMLB
2019Orange County, CaliforniaCal UnitedNISALA Galaxy OCUWS
2020[7] Tampa Bay areaBuccaneersNFLLightningNHLRowdiesUSL Championship
2022 Los AngelesRamsNFL Los Angeles Football ClubMLS
2022DenverAvalancheNHL MammothNLL
2023Las VegasGolden KnightsNHLAcesWNBA
2023Dallas–Fort Worth metroplexRenegadesXFLRangersMLB

See also

References

  1. Web site: How Tampa Bay became Champa Bay - the go-to place for glory in US sport. 2021-10-06. www.scotsman.com. en.
  2. Web site: Mukherjee. Rahul. Ten Cities have won more than one title in a year. The Dodgers win makes Los Angeles tie for the most of any of them.. 2021-10-06. Los Angeles Times. en.
  3. Web site: Flaherty. Dan. 2011-12-13. The Grand Slam Of 1980 Philadelphia Sports. 2021-10-06. thesportsnotebook.com. en-US.
  4. Web site: 2020-10-28. Cities with 2 major sports championships in same season. 2021-10-06. List Wire. en-US.
  5. Web site: Weiner. Allen. 2017-05-19. Which Cities Won Multiple Sports Championships in a Single Year?. 2021-10-06. Sportscasting Pure Sports. en-US.
  6. Web site: Tampa Bay Storm 2003 ArenaBowl Champions. 2021-10-06. wtsp.com. en-US.
  7. Web site: Company. Tampa Publishing. After Lightning and Bucs, here are Champa Bay's recent titles. 2021-10-06. Tampa Bay Times. en.

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