Teams With the Most Hall of Famers

The St. Louis Cardinals became one of just three MLB teams with 20 representatives in the Hall of Fame in 2020, when 1970s catcher Ted Simmons was voted in by the Veteran’s Committee. St. Louis trails only the Yankees in terms of World Series wins, with 11. The Cardinals have been home to some of baseball’s greatest players of all time, like Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Rogers Hornsby. Three-time MVP Albert Pujols will surely join their ranks once his career comes to a close.

The newly renamed Washington Football Team won five championships, two before the AFL-NFL merger and then three Super Bowls in a 10 year span. Typically, runs like these are linked to a quarterback, like Terry Bradshaw or Tom Brady, but Washington’s three Super Bowl wins came with three different quarterbacks. Those teams owe much of their success to Hall of Famers like wide receiver Art Monk, lineman Russ Grimm, and head coach Joe Gibbs.

With six Super Bowl wins, the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most successful teams in the modern NFL. Much of the Steelers’ success was in the early 1970s. Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris led the offense, and Jack Lambert and “Mean” Joe Greene led the defense, helping the team win four Super Bowls in six seasons.

The Detroit Pistons’ greatest teams often take on the gritty, blue collar attitude of the city itself. The “Bad Boy” Pistons won consecutive titles in 1989 and 1990, featuring Hall of Famers Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars, and Isiah Thomas.

None of the 22 Hall of Fame players in Blues history could ever bring the Stanley Cup to St. Louis. The franchise won its first-ever Cup in 2019, despite having a wealth of talented players in its history. The Blues lost in the Stanley Cup finals each of their first three seasons. St. Louis was home to Hall of Fame players like Bernie Federko and Brett Hull.

Of the 25 Giants Hall of Fame inductees, 20 primarily played for the team while it was still in New York, before it moved out west in 1957. Only Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Gaylord Perry have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as San Francisco Giants. Though the Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014, the team had a more than 50-year long championship drought after leaving New York. Barry Bonds, arguably the franchise’s greatest player in history, could miss out on the Hall of Fame because of his steroid controversy.

The Golden State Warriors may be at the tail end of one of the most dominant runs in NBA history, appearing in five straight Finals, winning three. This wasn’t the first time the team has been loaded with talent. The team won two championships in 1947 and 1956, when it was still located in Philadelphia and produced multiple Hall of Famers from the earliest days of the NBA. Players like Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry led the Warriors to dominance in the 1960s and 1970s. Twenty-five Warriors have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and others, like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, will likely join them after their careers end.

Though recent versions of the Atlanta Hawks have struggled to find success, the franchise has a rich history. In the early days of the NBA, the Hawks — located in Milwaukee and then St. Louis — were perennial threats to win the NBA championship with players like Bob Pettit and Zelmo Beaty. Even though the Hawks have been in Atlanta for 50 years, most Hawks in the Hall of Fame are from the franchise’s first 20 seasons.

The Green Bay Packers are the most successful franchises in NFL history, winning 13 championships, dating back to 1929 and the pre-Super Bowl era. Many Packers Hall of Famers revolutionized the game of football, including team founder Curly Lambeau and coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named. Over a dozen all-time great players suited up in Green Bay and helped the Packers win championships, including Don Hutson, Paul Hornung, and Reggie White.

With 27 World Series pennants, the New York Yankees are not only the most successful MLB franchise, but also arguably the greatest organization in American pro sports. Past Yankees like Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle are some of the most storied athletes in sports history. After closer Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous Hall of Fame selection in baseball history in 2019, Derek Jeter was named a Hall of Famer on 396 out of 397 ballots in 2020.

At least one New York Knicks player from each decade has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, starting with Harry Gallatin in the 1940s. During the Knicks heyday of the early 1970s, there were as many as six Hall of Fame players on the roster. Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, Jerry Lucas, Earl Monroe, and Willis Reed helped New York win its second NBA championship in four years. Though the team has fallen on hard times lately, Carmelo Anthony will likely one day represent the 2010s Knicks in the Hall of Fame, alongside Jason Kidd who played in New York during the 2012-2013 season

No NFL team has more Hall of Famers than the Chicago Bears. The Bears have a tradition of hard-nosed players, like Mike Ditka, Mike Singletary, and 2018 enshrinee Brian Urlacher. Though the Bears have won just one Super Bowl, the franchise was dominant in the early days of the NFL, particularly the 1930s and 1940s. Link Lyman, Bronko Nagurski, and other Bears from that era are among the most revered players in football history. The Bears became the first team with 30 Hall of Fame players when two former players were inducted as members of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class — Jimbo Covert, their left tackle from the 1980s, and Ed Sprinkle, an All-Pro end from the 1940s and 1950s.

The Minneapolis Lakers won championships in five of their first six seasons and have been a force in the NBA ever since, winning 16 titles overall. The Lakers dynasties have been led by some of the greatest basketball players ever, including Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and others. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis joining the team, the Lakers certainly have a chance to add more banners and boast more Hall of Famers in the future. All-time Laker legend Kobe Bryant headlined the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2020 class.

Since forming in 1993, the Ottawa Senators have only had one Hall of Fame player, Dominik Hasek, on their roster. But before the 58-season hiatus, the Senators were the class of the NHL, winning four championships from 1920 to 1927. Those early Senators teams are responsible for almost all of the Ottawa Hall of Famers — including legends like Art Ross, King Clancy, and Georges Boucher.

The Boston Celtics had the most dominant stretch in American pro sports history, winning 11 championships in 13 seasons, starting with the 1956-1957 season. That season, the Celtics had seven different Hall of Fame players on their roster, including Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. In total, Boston won 17 NBA titles and 40 of the team’s players have been voted into the Hall of Fame.

As one of the Original Six NHL teams, the Chicago Blackhawks are one of the oldest continuously-operating NHL franchises. Despite facing off against just five other teams during the Original Six era (1942-1967), the Blackhawks won just one Stanley Cup during that 25-year stretch and had fewer Hall of Fame inductees than the rest of the Original Six teams. Since then, more Blackhawks have been selected to the Hall of Fame. In 2020, Doug Wilson, a three-time All-Star defenseman from the 1980s, made the Hall of Fame as did Marian Hossa, who won three Cups with Chicago in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

The Boston Bruins have had two of the greatest hockey players of all time in Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. Orr, despite being a defenseman, was one of the greatest scorers ever. Bourque played 21 seasons for the Bruins and made 18 All-Star teams in that time. Other Bruins legends like Phil Esposito and Eddie Shore helped the team win six Stanley Cups in their history.

The New York Rangers narrowly edged out their rivals, the Boston Bruins, with 55 Hall of Famers. The team has struggled to find success since the 1994 Stanley Cup win, but it has often had at least one great player on its roster. Notable Ranger legends in the Hockey Hall of Fame include greats like Ed Giacomin and Brian Leetch.

No hockey team has won as many championships as the Montreal Canadiens. In 100 seasons, the Habs have won 25 titles — a mark no other hockey team can even come close to. Montreal won 15 Stanley Cups in 24 seasons starting in 1955, led by Hall of Fame players like Jacques Plante, Rocket Richard, and Jean Beliveau.

The Detroit Red Wings had more than 40 years of failure from the mid 1950s to the mid 1990s bookended by two impressive dynastiest. Detroit won the Stanley Cup in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955. They didn’t win again until their back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998. The 1950s Red Wings were led by Hall of Famers like captain Sid Abel and Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe. Many of the late 1990s Red Wings have also been inducted, including Igor Larionov, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom — a four-time Cup winner with Detroit.

No team in pro sports has had more members inducted into the Hall of Fame than the Toronto Maple Leafs. After a century of play, Toronto has 13 championships and 65 Hall of Famers. The franchise was especially great in the 1940s and 1960s, when players like Turk Broda, Syl Apps, Harry Watson, and Tim Horton dominated the ice. The first half of the Maple Leafs’ history is especially impressive compared to the second half. Toronto hasn’t won a championship since 1967 — and the flow of Hall of Fame players has decreased dramatically.