Golden ages of sports cities

[Starman]

Seattle agrees.

Portland concurs.

 

[old_tony]

Miami has had a couple rosy periods, with the Dolphins in the 1970s and the Heat over the past decade, but never across the board success with all of their teams at once. There was also a lot of suck in between.

Detroit is the same way. There was a period in the 1980s (from '84 to '90) when the Tigers and Pistons were both good, but the Red Wings and Lions sucked. Then the Red Wings were dominant in the 90s, and everybody else was meh at best.

There's a corollary to the golden age, too, when one team is so popular and so successful that the others don't matter. I'd put Milwaukee (which claims the Packers as their own), Miami (Dolphins in the 70s, Heat in the 2000s) and Seattle (Seahawks in the 2010s) in that category.

Miami didn't have a second pro team to go with the Dolphins until the Heat joined the NBA in the 1988-89 season. And with the way the Marlins basically dismantled after their two World Series titles, there was never any kind of sustained success.

 

[CD Boogie]

Mag: Boston's decade of dominance

Boston has to be the only city (I hope) that ever earned a magazine headline as obnoxious as "Why Boston is better than you." Still, tough to beat Boston's run from 2001-2011, when the city won seven titles in four sports.

 

[CD Boogie]

Washington is a weird one, since they've only had one or two teams most of the time. Would theirs be, say 1978-87? Bullets won one title and played for another, and then the Redskins won two Super Bowls, played in another, and were contending for them the rest of the time.

DC in the early to mid-80s with the Redskins and Ewing-era Georgetown was a highlight

 

[Neutral Corner]

What about cities that have never had Golden Ages?

In Houston, the Oilers reached their peak in the mid-70s (but were never as good as the Steelers)

The Rockets basically have had two great seasons in 1994 ad '95.

The Astros didn't even make the playoffs until 1980 but were in the NL Championship and WS in 2004-05.

Never even had a decade with two teams winning or competing for championships.

True that. 1980 Astros ran into Pete Rose and the Phillies. 1986 Astros ran into the '86 Mets. The Love Ya Blue Oilers were pretty good but the road to the Super Bowl ran through Three Rivers, and that wasn't happening... although I still think Mike Renfro got a foot down in the end zone. Throw in the playoff game where Buffalo made the second half comeback on them, and the Superbowl where time ran out a yard short. University of Houston made three straight Final Fours with Phi Slama Jama, but could not finish. I loved Guy V. Lewis, but I'll never forgive him for taking his foot off the gas against NC State. He should have let those thoroughbreds run. The Run 'n Shoot Coogs under Jack Pardee were fun to watch and put up pinball numbers but that was it. There were so many NCAA violations under Bill Yeoman that Pardee paid for. Damn near no one saw the 1989 season, Ware's Heisman year, because probation kept them off of television, but that offense was insanely productive. Ware threw for 4900 yards, 46 TD's and 15 ints. Chuck Weatherspoon had a 9.1 yards per attempt all purpose, rush/rec/ret. Manny Hazard alone had 1689 yards receiving and 22 TDs.

If it wasn't for the back to back Rockets championships it would be unmitigated frustration in Houston.

Both of those U of H teams, football and basketball, were fun as hell to watch though.

 

[old_tony]

That Super Bowl where they ran out of time a yard short was after they moved to Tennessee.

 

[Neutral Corner]

That Super Bowl where they ran out of time a yard short was after they moved to Tennessee.

Shrug. Yeah, took a while for my Oiler to wear off. It was a throw in, I forgot that it was after the move. If I'd remembered I would not have included it. Bud Adams was a cocksucker.

 

[Batman]

True that. 1980 Astros ran into Pete Rose and the Phillies. 1986 Astros ran into the '86 Mets. The Love Ya Blue Oilers were pretty good but the road to the Super Bowl ran through Three Rivers, and that wasn't happening... although I still think Mike Renfro got a foot down in the end zone. Throw in the playoff game where Buffalo made the second half comeback on them, and the Superbowl where time ran out a yard short. University of Houston made three straight Final Fours with Phi Slama Jama, but could not finish. I loved Guy V. Lewis, but I'll never forgive him for taking his foot off the gas against NC State. He should have let those thoroughbreds run. The Run 'n Shoot Coogs under Jack Pardee were fun to watch and put up pinball numbers but that was it. There were so many NCAA violations under Bill Yeoman that Pardee paid for. Damn near no one saw the 1989 season, Ware's Heisman year, because probation kept them off of television, but that offense was insanely productive. Ware threw for 4900 yards, 46 TD's and 15 ints. Chuck Weatherspoon had a 9.1 yards per attempt all purpose, rush/rec/ret. Manny Hazard alone had 1689 yards receiving and 22 TDs.

If it wasn't for the back to back Rockets championships it would be unmitigated frustration in Houston.

Both of those U of H teams, football and basketball, were fun as hell to watch though.

And as an extra nut kick, right after the Rockets finally broke through, the Oilers left for Tennessee.

 

[DanOregon]

I will always root for Buffalo in a championship game or series. Good fans. Too much heartbreak. 0-3 in Stanley Cup finals, 0-4 in Super Bowls.

 

[Gator]

Gainesville, Fla.: 2006-2008. Four championships, two in football, two in basketball. Can any other college claim that?

 

[dixiehack]

Gainesville, Fla.: 2006-2008. Four championships, two in football, two in basketball. Can any other college claim that?

No basketball titles, but Tuscaloosa has had a national champion every year from 2011-15 (and counting). Three in football, two each in men's golf and women's gymnastics, one each in softball and women's golf.

 

[Ace]

Gainesville, Fla.: 2006-2008. Four championships, two in football, two in basketball. Can any other college claim that?

And basketball isn't even really a thing there.

 

[Donny in his element]

Gainesville? Ughh.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

True that. 1980 Astros ran into Pete Rose and the Phillies. 1986 Astros ran into the '86 Mets. The Love Ya Blue Oilers were pretty good but the road to the Super Bowl ran through Three Rivers, and that wasn't happening... although I still think Mike Renfro got a foot down in the end zone. Throw in the playoff game where Buffalo made the second half comeback on them, and the Superbowl where time ran out a yard short. University of Houston made three straight Final Fours with Phi Slama Jama, but could not finish. I loved Guy V. Lewis, but I'll never forgive him for taking his foot off the gas against NC State. He should have let those thoroughbreds run. The Run 'n Shoot Coogs under Jack Pardee were fun to watch and put up pinball numbers but that was it. There were so many NCAA violations under Bill Yeoman that Pardee paid for. Damn near no one saw the 1989 season, Ware's Heisman year, because probation kept them off of television, but that offense was insanely productive. Ware threw for 4900 yards, 46 TD's and 15 ints. Chuck Weatherspoon had a 9.1 yards per attempt all purpose, rush/rec/ret. Manny Hazard alone had 1689 yards receiving and 22 TDs.

If it wasn't for the back to back Rockets championships it would be unmitigated frustration in Houston.

Both of those U of H teams, football and basketball, were fun as hell to watch though.

Didn't the 1981 Astros lose a one-game playoff to the Dodgers too?

 

[MTM]

I wonder how often the four sports town has but al;

Didn't the 1981 Astros lose a one-game playoff to the Dodgers too?

Even worse, they blew a 2-0 lead in the division series brought on by the strike. The Dodgers became the first team to overcome a two-game deficit and win a five-game series.

 

[BTExpress]

Gainesville, Fla.: 2006-2008. Four championships, two in football, two in basketball. Can any other college claim that?

Claim away. Golden age, indeed.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Claim away. Golden age, indeed.

Is that how they normally put handcuffs on inmates? Doesn't look too comfortable.

 

[RubberSoul1979]

How many cities/markets can say they had as many Hall of Famers competing at one time as the Bay Area did from the mid-'80s to mid-'90s?
49ers: Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, Charles Haley, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young
Giants: Barry Bonds
A's: Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley
Warriors: Chris Mullin, Don Nelson
Sharks: Igor Larionov

Started thinking about the Bay Area's recent sports success -- the Warriors, the Sharks finally breaking through, the Giants winning a few World Series, the Niners getting good again for a hot minute -- and it seems like a good time to be a sports fan in that area. It's also weird how, when one team in a city gets good others seem to follow in short order.
What are some other "Golden Ages" for cities, in terms of sports success?
Boston, for example, is unquestionably 2001-2014, with all four of their teams winning championships and playing for several more in that span.
Philadelphia was probably 1974-83, with the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies all winning titles and being consistently good, and the Eagles reaching a Super Bowl.

What would be considered some of the others?

Don't forget Stanford football (two Rose Bowl wins and an Orange Bowl victory since 2010). David Shaw only got there in 2011 and already has the third-most wins in program history,

 

[DanOregon]

Three HOF coaches/managers in Walsh, Nelson and LaRussa. Art Shell doesn't count. Stanford hoops and baseball (two CWS titles in the era) weren't too shabby either - and I'm a Cal guy. (Hey we had the Kidd era in hoops and the Bruce Snyder era at Cal so it wasn't so bad either).

 

[cyclingwriter2]

How many cities/markets can say they had as many Hall of Famers competing at one time as the Bay Area did from the mid-'80s to mid-'90s?
49ers: Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, Charles Haley, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young
Giants: Barry Bonds
A's: Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley
Warriors: Chris Mullin, Don Nelson
Sharks: Igor Larionov


Don't forget Stanford football (two Rose Bowl wins and an Orange Bowl victory since 2010). David Shaw only got there in 2011 and already has the third-most wins in program history,

That is an impressive list with four sports, but off the top of my head I would say:

Green Bay/ Milwaukee in the early 1960s with 12 packers and Aaron, Mathews and Spahn with the Braves.

Bay Area in the early 70s with mccovey, mays and marichal with the Giants, jimmy Johnson and Dave Wilcox on the 49ers, archibald and Thurmond on the Warriors, Jackson, fingers and hunter on the athletics and a slew of raiders: stabler, blanda, Caspar, biletnikoff, Otto, brown, upshaw, shell, Hendricks, guy and Larry brown.

Early 1980s New York: islanders had bossy, trottier, smith, potvin, gillies. Rangers had Esposito. Yankees had Jackson, Winfield and Gossage. Giants had Taylor and Carson. Knicks had Bernard King.