The Year Every Team Won Their First Championship

The Anaheim Ducks won their first and only championship in 2007, the first year after the franchise’s name changed from The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The Cardinals franchise has two titles, won in 1925 and 1947, both in Chicago. The team has struggled to find postseason success since moving to St. Louis and then Arizona.

Arizona Diamondbacks fans did not have to wait long for a title. The team won its only World Series in just its fourth ever season in 2001.

The Braves franchise has the rare distinction of bringing a World Series championship to three different cities — Boston in 1914, Milwaukee in 1957, and Atlanta in 1995.

The Hawks franchise has just one title, won in 1958 in St. Louis. Since moving to Atlanta, the Hawks have never made the NBA finals.

The Baltimore Orioles were founded as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901, before changing to the St. Louis Browns the next season, then the Orioles in 1954. Before moving to Baltimore, the Browns had just one postseason appearance.

After shocking the NFL with a surprise move from Cleveland after the 1995 season, the Baltimore Ravens quickly rewarded their new fans, winning the Super Bowl after the 2000 season.

One of the NHL’s original six franchises, the Boston Bruins won their first of six Stanley Cups in 1929.

One of the most successful franchises in sports history, the Boston Celtics have 17 NBA championships. The team’s first title came in 1957, the first of 11 in 13 years.

Before changing their name to the Red Sox, the Boston Americans won the first officially recognized World Series in 1903, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in a best of nine series.

The Brooklyn Nets have not won a title since they joined the NBA. Their only banners come from their days in the competitor league the ABA, when Julius Erving led the team, then known as the New York Nets, to championships in 1974 and 1976.

Despite coming agonizingly close four times in the 1990s, the Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl. But the team did win back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and 1965.

Hall of Famers Al MacInnis and Lanny McDonald led the 1989 Calgary Flames to the franchise’s first and only Stanley Cup.

Formerly known as the Hartford Whalers, the Carolina Hurricanes won their first and only Stanley Cup in 2006, following the lockout of the 2004-2005 season.

One of the original NFL teams, the Chicago Bears, then known as the Staleys, actually won their first of nine titles before the NFL existed. The Staleys captured the American Professional Football Association title in 1921, the league’s second and final year before becoming the NFL.

The Chicago Blackhawks won their first title in 1934, then another in 1938. Chicago, despite being one of just six teams in the NHL, did not win another title until 1961. Blackhawks fans then had to wait 50 years for their fourth Stanley Cup.

The Chicago Bulls had little postseason success before Michael Jordan arrived. The team finally broke through and won their first title in 1991, their first of six championships in the 1990s.

The Chicago Cubs, one of the oldest MLB teams, won back-to-back titles in 1907 and 1908. The Cubs famously floundered for over a century before winning their third World Series in 2016.

The Chicago White Sox narrowly edged out their crosstown rivals, the Cubs, by a year, winning their first title in 1906.

The Cincinnati Reds won their first title in 1919 after more than 30 years as a pro baseball organization. They had never made the postseason before.

The Cleveland Browns started in the fledgling All-America Football Conference in 1946, a competitor to the NFL. They dominated the league, winning all four AAFC titles before it folded. The Browns proved they were for real after joining the NFL in 1950, winning the title in their first season in the league.

The famously heart-breaking and snakebitten Cleveland Cavaliers rewarded their fans’ patience in 2016. LeBron James returned home and helped the Cavs beat the heavily favored Golden State Warriors and brought the city Cleveland their first title in any sport over 50 years.

In their first 50 seasons, the Cleveland Indians made the postseason twice, in 1920 and 1948, winning the World Series both times. Since then, the team has lost in the World Series four times.

The Colorado Avalanche brought home the Stanley Cup in 1996 — their first season after moving from Quebec. The team won again 2001.

After forming in 1960, coach Tom Landry took the Dallas Cowboys from a hopeless expansion franchise to champions. The team won its first Super Bowl in 1971 after five straight playoff appearances the years before.

The Dallas Mavericks won their first and only title in 2011, the 11th consecutive season Dirk Nowitzki brought the franchise to the playoffs.

A few years after leaving Minnesota for North Texas, Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars hoisted the lone Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Before the Denver Broncos won their first Super Bowl after the 1997 season, the team lost the big game four times.

The Detroit Lions won their first NFL championship in 1935, then took home three more titles in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the franchise has not come close to winning another title since.

Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and the rest of the Bad Boys squad led the Detroit Pistons to their first of two straight NBA titles in 1989.

One of the Original Six teams, the Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup in 1936, immediately followed with another in 1937. Altogether, Detroit has 11 Stanley Cups.

It took the Detroit Tigers five tries to win their first World Series. The franchise lost the Fall Classic in 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1934 before winning it all in 1935.

It takes most teams longer than five seasons to win a title, but most teams don’t have Wayne Gretzky. The Great One guided the Oilers to their first of five titles in 1984.

The Warriors’ first title predates the NBA. The franchise, then in Philadelphia, won the first ever BAA (Basketball Association of America) title in 1947 before the league became the NBA in 1949.

Since the beginning of the NFL no team has had more championships than the Green Bay Packers, with 13. The first title came in 1929 and was also the first of three consecutive titles Green Bay won.

The Houston Astros are one of the more recent teams to hang their first banner, taking home the 2017 World Series title.

Led by Hakeem Ojajuwon, the Houston Rockets won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.

Though they have never won an NBA title, the Indiana Pacers were dominant when they were in the ABA in the 1970s. The Pacers were ABA champs in 1970, 1972, and 1973.

Led by Johnny Unitas, the Baltimore Colts won NFL championships in 1958 and 1959. The team has since won two more Super Bowls.

The Dallas Texans only existed for three seasons, winning the AFL championship in 1962 before becoming the Kansas City Chiefs the following season.

The Kansas City Royals have hung two championship banners — the first won by the George Brett-led 1985 team, and the second 30 years later in 2015.

After making the postseason just three times in their first 40 seasons, the Angels franchise broke through for their lone World Series in 2002.

The LA Chargers were the class of the AFL, making the title game five times in six years, winning once. The NFL has been a different story. The Chargers’ only Super Bowl appearance ended in a 49-26 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.

Shortly before leaving for Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first World Series after seven prior losses in the modern era.

It took the Los Angeles Kings 45 years to win their first Stanley Cup, which came in 2012. The team earned its second title just two seasons later in 2014.

The Lakers franchise, still in Minneapolis, won the final BAA championship in 1949 and then the first ever NBA championship the next season in 1950. Those happened to be the first two seasons in Lakers history. The franchise now has 16 championships.

The Rams franchise won the 1945 NFL title in its final season in Cleveland before moving to Los Angeles, then to St. Louis, then back to LA.

The Miami Dolphins won their first Super Bowl in impressive fashion, posting a perfect 14-0 regular season. Head coach Don Shula led the Dolphins to a title the next season as well.

Shaquille O’Neal teamed up with Dwyane Wade to bring Miami its first ever NBA title in 2006.

The Miami Marlins have never won their division. Still, the team has made the playoffs twice as a wild card and won the World Series both times, in 1997 and 2003.

The lone title in Milwaukee Bucks’ history came in the franchise’s third season, largely thanks to the top overall pick from the season before, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Before moving to Minnesota in 1960, the Washington Senators franchise had just one title in 60 years, in 1924. Since moving, the Twins won it all in 1987 and 1991.

As an Original Six team, the Montreal Canadiens have more titles than any other pro hockey team in North America by far, with 25. The first came in 1919.

For most of the team’s history, the New England Patriots struggled. Since Tom Brady took over at QB, and with the coaching of Bill Belichick, the team has won a record six Super Bowls, the first coming after the 2001 season.

The glory days of the New Jersey Devils stretched from the mid 1990s until the mid 2000s. The team, paced by the steady goalkeeping of Martin Brodeur, won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000, and 2003.

For much of their history, the New Orleans Saints were known as the “Aints” because of their woeful performance. The tandem of coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees turned around their fortunes, and the team won the Super Bowl after the 2009 season.

The New York Giants first conquered the NFL in 1927. That was the first championship won by an NFL team that has never moved or changed its name.

The New York Islanders’ 1980 Stanley Cup was the first of the team’s astonishing four straight titles under coach Al Arbour.

The lone title in New York Jets history came on the heels of a bold guarantee from QB Joe Namath that his team would beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. It was the first time an AFL team won the Super Bowl.

Walt Frazier led the Knicks teams of the early 1970s to glory, winning NBA titles in 1970 and 1973.

Filling the void left by the departed Dodgers and Giants, the New York Mets won a title in just their eighth season in existence in 1969.

The New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 1928 — the first team outside of Canada to win the NHL title.

No team in the big four sports leagues can stack up with the New York Yankees and their 27 championships. Surprisingly, the Yankees were around 20 years before winning their first title in 1923.

The Philadelphia Athletics were terrific in the 1910s, winning the World Series in 1910, 1911, and 1913. The team would win two more titles in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City and playing there from 1955 to 1967. In Oakland, the A’s have won four more titles.

Although the Oakland Raiders were champions of the AFL in 1967, they lost Super Bowl II, so this isn’t considered the year of their first title. The Raiders finally won their first Super Bowl after the 1976 season.

Before moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder franchise played in Seattle as the SuperSonics for more than 40 years, winning the 1979 NBA title.

The Philadelphia 76ers were once the Syracuse Nationals, a team that made the playoffs in each of the 14 seasons it existed, including 1955, when the team won its first title.

The Philadelphia Eagles began their playoff history with three straight championship game appearances. The team lost the 1947 NFL title game but won it all in 1948 and 1949.

The back-to-back titles Philadelphia won in 1974 and 1975 remain the only Stanley Cups in Flyers history.

Formed in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers, the Philadelphia Phillies franchise took nearly a century to win their first title, which came in 1980.

Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been lucky enough to watch two different once-in-a-generation superstars on their team — Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. Lemieux captained the Penguins to their first two titles in 1991 and 1992, while Crosby led the way for the next three in 2009, 2016, and 2017.

A team older than the World Series itself, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the 1909 World Series, the first of five titles in team history.

For roughly the first half of their existence, the Pittsburgh Steelers were lousy, making just one playoff appearance from 1933 to 1971. But head coach Chuck Noll helped install a winning culture and guided the team to four Super Bowls in the 1970s, the first coming after the 1974 season.

A famously unlucky franchise, the Portland Trailblazers won their only title in 1977 in the team’s first ever playoff appearance.

After four moves and a change of nickname, today’s Sacramento Kings bear little resemblance to the Rochester Royals of the 1940s and 1950s. The Royals won the 1951 NBA title in just the third season in franchise history.

Certain coaches can completely alter the course of an entire franchise. Gregg Popovich is one such coach. He led the Spurs to all five of their titles and the team has never missed the playoffs when he had a full season in charge.

The first Niners title, which came after the 1981 season, was the start of a dynasty. By the end of the 1994 season, the franchise had five Super Bowls.

The Giants have technically a championship 10 times, but two of the titles, in 1888 and 1889, predate the modern era and were not considered for this list. The first modern World Series victory in Giants history came in 1905.

It took the Seattle Seahawks more than three decades to win their first Super Bowl, but they finally accomplished the feat after the 2013 season.

In the St. Louis Blues’ first three seasons, the team made the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose each time. The team finally excised those 50-year old demons by winning the 2019 Stanley Cup behind rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington.

The St. Louis Cardinals trail only the New York Yankees for most modern-era World Series titles, with 11. The Cardinals won their first title in 1926, beating the Yankees in seven games.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have just six playoff wins in franchise history — three of which came during their lone Super Bowl run following the 2002 season.

In just the team’s third playoff appearance, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2004 Stanley Cup over the Calgary Flames.

The Houston Oilers franchise got off to a great start, winning the first two AFL championships in its first two seasons, 1960 and 1961. But the team could not regain its winning ways in the NFL, later moving to Tennessee and becoming the Titans.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays made the World Series a true international event, when they became the first and only non-American team to win the title. They did it again the next year.

Toronto’s NHL franchise has won titles under three different names: first as the Arenas in the team’s first season of 1918, then the St. Patricks in 1922. Since changing its name to the Maple Leafs in 1926, the team won 11 Stanley Cups.

The Toronto Raptors are the most recent team to win their first championship, downing the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals.

After years and years of playoff disappointments, the 2018 Washington Capitals were able to beat their playoff rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and hoist the Stanley Cup.

The Washington Redskins won their first title in 1937, the first season after the franchise left Boston.

The Washington Wizards have changed names and cities multiple times in their existence. During the only championship season the team had, 1978, they were known as the Washington Bullets.