Blog Archives
NFL: Back-to-Back Super Bowl Champions and Losers
The New England Patriots Are the Last Team to Repeat as Super Bowl Champions
It doesn’t look like the Baltimore Ravens are interested in repeating as Super Bowl Champions. Sure, they signed quarterback Joe Flacco to the largest contract in NFL history, but the Ravens are letting everyone else go it seems.
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin is now a San Francisco 49er. The Ravens let two key linebackers (Dannell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger) and safety Bernard Pollard split. Now it looks as though defensive backs Cary Williams and maybe even Ed Reed are on the way out.
On top of all that, the heart and soul of the franchise for most of the past 17 years, Ray Lewis, has hung it up.
It’s OK. It’s hard enough to win back-to-back Super Bowls – but not as hard as it’s usually made out to be.
In fact, football’s percentage of repeat champions is not far off from the percentages of the other three major sports since the beginning of the Super Bowl era.
How about that one.
There have been repeat winners eight times out of 47 Super Bowls (17%).
During the same period, baseball has had seven repeat winners out of 46 World Series (15%, 1994 cancelled), basketball has had 11 of 47 NBA Titles (23%) and hockey has had 12 of 46 Stanley Cups (26%, 2005 cancelled).
Also take into account that in the cases of basketball and hockey, some teams won three in a row, repeating twice (Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers) or four in a row, repeating three times (Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders).
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team to go back-t0-back twice. No team has ever won three Super Bowls in a row.
But one team did lose four in row – the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s. Ouch. They are the last team to post consecutive Super Bowl losses.
Two others – the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos – lost two big ones in a row.
By the way, that makes the Broncos the only team to both win and lose back-to-back Super Bowls.
Follow @VinGetzBACK-TO-BACK SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS
| YEAR (SEASON) | SUPER BOWL | CHAMPION | LOSER | SCORE | |
| 1. | 1967 (1966) | I | Green Bay Packers | Kansas City Chiefs | 35-10 |
| 1968 (1967) | II | Green Bay Packers | Oakland Raiders | 33-13 | |
| 2. | 1973 (1972) | VII | Miami Dolphins | Washington Redskins | 14-7 |
| 1974 (1973) | VIII | Miami Dolphins | Minnesota Vikings | 24-7 | |
| 3. | 1975 (1974) | IX | Pittsburgh Steelers | Minnesota Vikings | 16-6 |
| 1976 (1975) | X | Pittsburgh Steelers | Dallas Cowboys | 21-17 | |
| 4. | 1979 (1978) | XIII | Pittsburgh Steelers | Dallas Cowboys | 35-31 |
| 1980 (1979) | XIV | Pittsburgh Steelers | Los Angeles Rams | 31-19 | |
| 5. | 1989 (1988) | XXIII | San Francisco 49ers | Cincinnati Bengals | 20-16 |
| 1990 (1989) | XXIV | San Francisco 49ers | Denver Broncos | 55-10 | |
| 6. | 1993 (1992) | XXVII | Dallas Cowboys | Buffalo Bills | 52-17 |
| 1994 (1993) | XXVIII | Dallas Cowboys | Buffalo Bills | 30-13 | |
| 7. | 1998 (1997) | XXXII | Denver Broncos | Green Bay Packers | 31-24 |
| 1999 (1998) | XXXIII | Denver Broncos | Atlanta Falcons | 34-19 | |
| 8. | 2004 (2003) | XXXVIII | New England Patriots | Carolina Panthers | 32-29 |
| 2005 (2004) | XXXIX | New England Patriots | Philadelphia Eagles | 24-21 |
BACK-TO-BACK SUPER BOWL LOSERS
| YEAR (SEASON) | SUPER BOWL | CHAMPION | LOSER | SCORE | |
| 1. | 1973 (1972) | VIII | Miami Dolphins | Minnesota Vikings | 24-7 |
| 1974 (1973) | IX | Pittsburgh Steelers | Minnesota Vikings | 16-6 | |
| 2. | 1987 (1986) | XXI | New York Giants | Denver Broncos | 39-20 |
| 1988 (1987) | XXII | Washington Redskins | Denver Broncos | 42-10 | |
| 3. | 1991 (1990) | XXV | New York Giants | Buffalo Bills | 20-19 |
| 1992 (1991) | XXVI | Washington Redskins | Buffalo Bills | 37-24 | |
| 1993 (1992) | XXVII | Dallas Cowboys | Buffalo Bills | 52-17 | |
| 1994 (1993) | XXVIII | Dallas Cowboys | Buffalo Bills | 30-13 |
Photo: discountpostersale.com
Major League Baseball: Teams with Back-to-Back World Series Losses
The 2010 and 2011 Texas Rangers Were the Latest Back-to-Back World Series Victims
Losing one World Series is bad enough, but losing two in a row as the Texas Rangers did in 2010 and 2011? That’s painful.
At least they have some company. And it gets worse too.
What about, egad man, losing three World Series in a row? Two teams have done that – the Detroit Tigers and the New York Giants.
All together, 11 teams* boast back-to-back World Series losses.
The New York Yankees had a hand in six of the occurrences. Makes sense. The Yanks have been in 40 of the 108 official* World Series.
Follow @VinGetz| YEAR | WINNER | LOSER | SERIES | |
| 1. | 1887 | Detroit Wolverines | St. Louis Browns | 10-5 |
| 1888 | New York Giants | St. Louis Browns | 6-4 | |
| 2. | 1907 | Chicago Cubs | Detroit Tigers | 4-0 |
| 1908 | Chicago Cubs | Detroit Tigers | 4-1 | |
| 1908 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Detroit Tigers | 4-3 | |
| 3. | 1911 | Philadelphia Athletics | New York Giants | 4-2 |
| 1912 | Boston Red Sox | New York Giants | 4-3 | |
| 1913 | Philadelphia Athletics | New York Giants | 4-1 | |
| 4. | 1921 | New York Giants | New York Yankees | 5-3 |
| 1922 | New York Giants | New York Yankees | 4-0 | |
| 5. | 1923 | New York Yankees | New York Giants | 4-2 |
| 1924 | Washington Senators | New York Giants | 4-3 | |
| 6. | 1936 | New York Yankees | New York Giants | 4-2 |
| 1937 | New York Yankees | New York Giants | 4-1 | |
| 7. | 1952 | New York Yankees | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-3 |
| 1953 | New York Yankees | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-2 | |
| 8. | 1963 | Los Angeles Dodgers | New York Yankees | 4-0 |
| 1964 | St. Louis Cardinals | New York Yankees | 4-3 | |
| 9. | 1977 | New York Yankees | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 |
| 1978 | New York Yankees | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 | |
| 10. | 1991 | Minnesota Twins | Atlanta Braves | 4-3 |
| 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays | Atlanta Braves | 4-2 | |
| 11. | 2010 | San Francisco Giants | Texas Rangers | 4-1 |
| 2011 | St. Louis Cardinals | Texas Rangers | 4-3 |
* The first official World Series was in 1903, so technically it’s 10 teams.
Thanks to baseball-reference.com!
Photo: bleacherreport.com
Baseball’s Longest World Series Appearance Streaks
1952 New York Yankees Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, Irv Noren, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle
Yesterday, Sports List of the Day took a look at all of Major League Baseball‘s back-to-back and dynastic World Series winners.
But what about just making it to the World Series?
Thirty-eight teams have made it to the Fall Classic at least twice in a row. Listed below are the 18 teams that went at least three consecutive years, a full half of them being the New York Yankees.
The Yankees are also the only team to make it to the World Series five times in a row – they did it twice. Four teams made it four times in a row – three of them Yankees, as well. The New York Giants were the fourth.
The 1907-1909 Detroit Tigers and 1911-1913 New York Giants are the only two teams to lose the World Series back-to-back-to-back.
Things have gotten more competitive over the years, though. Back in those 1920′s, 30′s, 40′s and 50′s, there were only as many as 16 teams in the league at most, and only one playoff round – the Series itself.
Today there are 30 baseball teams, more regular season games and more playoff rounds.
Only five teams below made their mark post-1960.
Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.
| TEAM | YEAR | RESULT | OPPONENT | SERIES | |
| 5 | New York Yankees | 1949 | W | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-1 |
| 1950 | W | Philadelphia Phillies | 4-0 | ||
| 1951 | W | New York Giants | 4-2 | ||
| 1952 | W | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-3 | ||
| 1953 | W | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-2 | ||
| 5 | New York Yankees | 1960 | L | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4-3 |
| 1961 | W | Cincinnati Reds | 4-1 | ||
| 1962 | W | San Fransisco Giants | 4-3 | ||
| 1963 | L | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-0 | ||
| 1964 | L | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-3 | ||
| 4 | New York Giants | 1921 | W | New York Yankees | 5-3 |
| 1922 | W | New York Yankees | 4-0 | ||
| 1923 | L | New York Yankees | 4-2 | ||
| 1924 | L | Washington Senators | 4-3 | ||
| 4 | New York Yankees | 1936 | W | New York Giants | 4-2 |
| 1937 | W | New York Giants | 4-1 | ||
| 1938 | W | Chicago Cubs | 4-0 | ||
| 1939 | W | Cincinnati Reds | 4-0 | ||
| 4 | New York Yankees | 1955 | L | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-3 |
| 1956 | W | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-3 | ||
| 1957 | L | Milwaukee Braves | 4-3 | ||
| 1958 | W | Milwaukee Braves | 4-3 | ||
| 4 | New York Yankees | 1998 | W | San Diego Padres | 4-0 |
| 1999 | W | Atlanta Braves | 4-0 | ||
| 2000 | W | New York Mets | 4-1 | ||
| 2001 | L | Arizona Diamondbacks | 4-3 | ||
| 3 | Chicago Cubs | 1906 | L | Chicago White Sox | 4-2 |
| 1907 | W | Detroit Tigers | 4-0 | ||
| 1908 | W | Detroit Tigers | 4-1 | ||
| 3 | Detroit Tigers | 1907 | L | Chicago Cubs | 4-0 |
| 1908 | L | Chicago Cubs | 4-1 | ||
| 1909 | L | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4-3 | ||
| 3 | New York Giants | 1911 | L | Philadelphia Athletics | 4-2 |
| 1912 | L | Boston Red Sox | 4-3 | ||
| 1913 | L | Philadelphia Athletics | 4-1 | ||
| 3 | New York Yankees | 1921 | L | New York Giants | 5-3 |
| 1922 | L | New York Giants | 4-0 | ||
| 1923 | W | New York Giants | 4-2 | ||
| 3 | New York Yankees | 1926 | L | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-3 |
| 1927 | W | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4-0 | ||
| 1928 | W | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-0 | ||
| 3 | Philadelphia Athletics | 1929 | W | Chicago Cubs | 4-1 |
| 1930 | W | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-2 | ||
| 1931 | L | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-3 | ||
| 3 | New York Yankees | 1941 | W | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4-1 |
| 1942 | L | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-1 | ||
| 1943 | W | St. Louis Cardinals | 4-1 | ||
| 3 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1942 | W | New York Yankees | 4-1 |
| 1943 | L | New York Yankees | 4-1 | ||
| 1944 | W | St. Louis Browns | 4-2 | ||
| 3 | Baltimore Orioles | 1969 | L | New York Mets | 4-1 |
| 1970 | W | Cincinnati Reds | 4-1 | ||
| 1971 | L | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4-3 | ||
| 3 | Oakland Athletics | 1972 | W | Cincinnati Reds | 4-3 |
| 1973 | W | New York Mets | 4-3 | ||
| 1974 | W | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-1 | ||
| 3 | New York Yankees | 1976 | L | Cincinnati Reds | 4-0 |
| 1977 | W | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 | ||
| 1978 | W | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-2 | ||
| 3 | Oakland Athletics | 1988 | L | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4-1 |
| 1989 | W | San Francisco Giants | 4-0 | ||
| 1990 | L | Cincinnati Reds | 4-0 | ||
| 2 | 20 Teams Tied |
Photo: usatoday.com
