The 10 Greatest Franchises in Sports History
Submitted by podizz on Sat, 01/30/2010 - 15:23
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- Yankees In 1920, Babe Ruth joined the New York Yankees. In the 90 years that would follow, the pinstripes would appear in what would feel like almost every other World Series hence, en route to a mind-boggling 27 championships. The Bombers have sent enough brass to Cooperstown that they could open their own wing; 44 players enshrined to date with at least a handful more assuredly on their way. Key 5: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter.
- Celtics Key 5: The Green Men's 17 championships is tops in the NBA, a mere one more than their rival Lakers. 21 conference titles. A ridic 33 men with celtic ties are enshrined in Springfield Key 5: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Paul Pierce.
- Lakers Key 5: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Kobe Bryant.
- Canadiens Though the Habs are stuck in a considerable Cup draught, they have won an astounding 24 championships, essentially a quarter of all Stanley Cups won throughout history. They've also sent a ridiculous 44 members to the Hall of Fame. Key 5: Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Maurice Richard, Patrick Roy.
- UCLA basketball Behind arguablely the greatest coach that ever lived, UCLA epitomized dominance in the sixties and seventies en route to 11 national championships and 30 conference titles After falling out of favor for much of the eighting and nineties, the Bruins seized back their prominance under Ben Howland with 3 consecutive final four appearances from 2006-2008. Key 5: Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Ed O'Bannon, Sidney Wicks.
- Brazil National Soccer Team- In the world of international soccer, Brazil is the gold standard-bar none. Of the 18 World Cups that have been held, Brazil has starred in seven finals, capuring a whopping five Cups. They've also taken down 3 Confederations Cups and 8 Copa America Cups. They will enter South Africa this year as the number #1 ranked team in the world. Key Five: Pele, Ronaldo, Garrincha, Zico, Rivaldo, Kaka.
- Notre Dame football- Though the glory days of Notre Dame football are behind us (last championship was 1988), the Fightin' Irish will always hold a special place in college football lore. Notre Dame leads all schools with 48 alumni in the College Football Hall of Fame, and positively churns out NFL talent like no other, having produced nearly 500 NFL draft selections and ten pro football hall of famers (Did someone say Joe Montana?). Though national championships are always a bit murky to conclusively determine pre-BCS (and even post, sadly enough) many credit the school with 13 national championships, good for tying the Tide for tops all-time. Key 5: Joe Montana, Leon Hart, Paul Hornung, Joe Theisman, Alan Page.
- Alabama football UCLA had John Wooden, Notre Dame had Knute Rockne, and Alabama had one Paul "Bear" Bryant." From 58-82, Bear took the Tide to six of their 13 (again, this is up for debate) national championships. Over their 114 year history, Alabama Football has captured 26 conference titles and appeared in more bowl games than any other NCAA school with 57. Perhaps their greatest acheivement was managing to someone take 113 years before finally producing a Heisman winner. Key 5: Harry Gilmer, Lee Roy Jordan, John Hannah, Ozzie Newsome, Mark Ingram.
- Soviet National Hockey Team When most of us think of the Soviet National Ice Hockey Team, one phrase comes to mind, “Do you believe in miracles?!!” Well believe me when I tell you that that win was a miracle and then some. From the mid-fifties to the early-nineties (when the communist empire crumbled), Soviet hockey ruled with an iron fist, winning just about everything there was to win for an international hockey team. Seven gold medals over nine Olympics and another 19 golds at the World Championships. Key 5: Vladislav Tretiak, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Valeri Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov, Aleksandr Maltsev.
- Tennessee Lady Vols Though the UConn women are all the rage today, when it comes to women's college hoops, one school stands above all the rest, Pat Summit's Lady Vols. In the 28 march tournaments that have taken place, the white and orange have appeared in 27 sweet sixteens, an astounding 18 final fours, and have won eigth championships. Key 5: Holly Warwick, Bridgette Gordon, Deadra Charles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings.
- Honorable Mentions: USC Football, UNC Tarheels women's soccer, Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, UCLA Rugby, Duke Blue Devils basketball, Chicago Bulls, St. Louis Cardinals, Real Madrid, San Francisco 49ers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, UConn Women's basketball, USA National Men's Basketball, Juventus, AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Kentucky Wildcats, Indiana Hoosiers, UNC Tarheels, Oklahoma St Cowboys Wrestling.
Author Comments:
I thought this list might be like the greatest actual teams instead of franchises. You ever thinking of doing one like that? (for example, with the 86 Celts, the 07 Pats, the 96 Packers *ahem*)
Pretty good list though. Yankees/Celtics/Lakers have each won around 25% of the titles in their respective sport, IMO that's simply incredible(or incredibly stupid if you're not from NY, LA, or Boston)
I hate the Yankees with a passion but they have one of the most undeniably successful franchises of all time. I mean, you look at the key 5, and EVERYONE knows those names.