There is no shortage of professional sports teams in the United States that have yet to win their first title. But there are also a lot of teams that – while they have a league championship on their records – haven’t gotten a taste of one since before nearly all of those teams were even established.
We’re taking a look today at the five teams that have gone well over six decades without winning a championship:
5. Atlanta Hawks – 66 Years
While the Atlanta Falcons may come to mind when you think of cursed sports franchises from The A, the Hawks were losing big games and blowing championships before it was cool – and before they even moved to Atlanta.
Since winning the 1958 NBA Finals as the St. Louis Hawks, the Hawks have had no shortage of playoff appearances but literally endless postseason failure. In 45 postseason appearances they’ve reached the NBA Finals twice and only reached the conference finals twice since the playoffs expanded.
4. Detroit Lions – 67 Years
In the 1950s the Detroit Lions were a dominant force in the NFL, winning three NFL Championships. But after winning it all in 1957, quarterback Bobby Layne allegedly “cursed” the Lions to 50 years without a championship after the team traded him.
Clearly the curse worked – and unfortunately for Detroit it’s been a heckuva lot longer than 50 years of pain and suffering in Motor City.
Neither the greatest running back of the 1990s nor the greatest wide receivers of the 2010s could get the Lions over the hump. Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders won just one playoff game during his illustrious career while Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson had more winless seasons (2008) than postseason wins.
3. Sacramento Kings – 72 Years
The 1940s and 1950s were a dominant period for the franchise formerly known as the Rochester Royals. But a title win over the Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals would be the last time the team ever found itself playing in a seven-game series with a championship on the line.
As the Cincinnati Royals, the team had a decent run in the 1960s. As the Kansas City Kings, they reached the Conference Finals in 1981. But after moving to Sacramento in the mid-80s and finding a period of dominance in the 90s, they had the misfortune of running into Shaq and Kobe.
On the plus side, Kings fans were at least able to see the recent end to one of the longest postseason droughts in American sports history, reaching the playoffs in 2023 after watching the postseason from home since 2006.
2. Cleveland Guardians – 76 Years
In 1948 the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Braves in the World Series, but bites of the apple in the 75-years since then have been few and far between.
Cleveland has won the AL pennant four times during their eight-decade drought and came frustratingly close on two occasions in the 1990s. The closest they came was in 2016, when the long-cursed Chicago Cubs finally ended their own drought at their expense.
They’ve won just four playoff games in the seven years since.
1. Arizona Cardinals – 77 Years
In 1947, the Chicago Cardinals won the NFL Championship Game after going 9-3 in the regular season and beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the title game. They would return to the NFL Championship Game the following year but postseason success was largely non-existent for the next 60 years.
Since their 1947 title, the Cardinals have won just four postseason games outside of their 2008 Super Bowl run. There have been a lot of downright terrible seasons in between their scarce playoff appearances.
Were it not for a miracle catch from Santonio Holmes, the Cardinals would have seen their drought end at 61 years.
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But 2024 is a new year and maybe this will be the year that one of those teams finally ends their drought.