The Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, the Chicago Blackhawks ended a 49-year streak back in 2010 and just a few months ago the Cleveland Cavaliers won its first NBA title snapping a 52-year Cleveland sports team championship dry spell in the process.
The Chicago Cubs joined that club Wednesday when they ended a 108-year World Series drought, defeating the Cleveland Indians in a dramatic Game 7.
It was the longest streak in North American pro sports – and had been for several decades – so it got us thinking about which teams are still in the middle of lengthy title droughts.
The Indians currently have the longest streak in baseball at 68 years. During that stretch they’ve been to the World Series four times.
The longest drought overall now belongs to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals at 69 years. Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald came within a minute of ending that streak in 2007, but a six-yard Santonio Holmes touchdown off a Ben Roethlisberger pass with 35 seconds remaining in Super Bowl XLIII broke the hearts of Cardinals fans.
In the NBA it’s the Sacramento Kings franchise that has gone without a title the longest. Its last championship was in 1951 when they were the Rochester Royals.
Lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fans cringe when they see the number 67 — and no that’s not a dig at Robert Svehla! The last time the Maple Leafs hoisted the Stanley Cup was in 1967, the final season in which the NHL was a six-team league. The Maple Leafs have come close to reaching the Cup final a handful of times since their last championship, losing in the conference finals in 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2002. With Auston Matthews and a crop of young stars on the rise, Maple Leafs fans are hopeful this drought will end at some point in the next decade. The 49-year stretch is the longest of any NHL franchise currently. The St. Louis Blues haven’t won a Stanley Cup in their 46-year history, which amounts to the second longest streak in hockey.
Here’s a chart of the 10 longest active droughts in North American pro sports. The Maple Leafs didn’t quite crack the top 10 but they represent the NHL’s longest streak going, so they’re included at the bottom.
| Franchise | League | Last Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | NFL | 1947 (69 Years) |
| Cleveland Indians | MLB | 1948 (68 Years) |
| Sacramento Kings | NBA | 1951 (65 Years) |
| Detroit Lions | NFL | 1957 (59 Years) |
| Atlanta Hawks | NBA | 1958 (58 Years) |
| Philadelphia Eagles | NFL | 1960 (56 Years) |
| Texas Rangers | MLB | Never (55 Years) |
| Tennessee Titans | NFL | 1961 (55 Years) |
| Houston Astros | MLB | Never (54 Years) |
| San Diego Chargers | NFL | 1963 (53 Years) |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 1967 (49 years) |
