The Honorables Mentioned, Part IV

Can this BE anymore exciting???

Oh, wait, word just in from the Iowa Democratic Party:  the Yankees have won the 2020 World Series!  All right!

Okay, okay, let's press on with this Bataan Death March of a series and get you the pro football honorable mentions for my All-Time Top Ten Professional Sports Dynasties of North America.

Our story so far:  the Top Ten.

10. Chicago Cubs, 1906-1910.

9. Boston Red Sox, 1912-1918.

8. Los Angeles Lakers, 1980-1991.

7. New York Yankees, 1994-2003.

6. Green Bay Packers, 1960-1967.

5. Chicago Bulls, 1988-1998.

4. Montreal Canadiens, 1955-1979.

3. Boston Celtics, 1956-1969.

2. New England Patriots, 2001-2020.

1. New York Yankees, 1920-1964.


And the top two runners-up:

New York Islanders, 1975-1984.

San Francisco 49ers, 1981-1998.


And the hockey runners-up:

Toronto Maple Leafs, 1941-1951.

Toronto Maple Leafs, 1961-1967. 

Detroit Red Wings, 1948-1956.  

Detroit Red Wings, 1994-2009.

Edmonton Oilers, 1982-1990.

New Jersey Devils, 1993-2003.


And the basketball runners-up:

Minneapolis Lakers, 1948-1954.

Los Angeles Lakers, 1999-2010.

San Antonio Spurs, 1998-2016.

Golden State Warriors, 2014-2019.

Boston Celtics, 1979-1992.

LeBron James, 2003-    .


And now your football runners-up:

Green Bay Packers, 1929-1931.

Besides the 1965-1967 Packers, this is the only NFL team to win three straight championships, and the 12-0-1 team in 1929 is the only undefeated NFL champion in history other than the 1972 Miami Dolphins.  All told, Curly Lambeau's team went 44-5-2, mostly with stellar defense.  The 1929 team gave up just 22 points in 13 games—4 of them on safeties!—surrendered no more than 6 points in any one game, and compiled 8 shutouts.

But of course, this was the old, pre-playoffs NFL, with no set schedule—teams played as many as 19 games, and as few as 6—and the likes of the Frankfort Yellow Jackets, Minneapolis Red Jackets (what WAS with all the jackets?), Boston Bulldogs, Providence Steam Roller, Orange Tornadoes (also the name of a popular LSD brand), Buffalo Bisons, Dayton Triangles, and Staten Island Stapletons (yes, Virginia, there is a Staten Island).

For that matter, they were playing with a football that was even shaped differently, making it damned hard to pass, even if you WEREN'T playing the Patriots in the playoffs.  (Thank you, thank you!  Please remember your waitresses!)

New York Giants, 1933-1946.

Another power of the early NFL.  They won 8 division titles, lost a playoff for a 9th, and won the famous "Sneaker Game" against the Bears.  Still, just 2 championships in this time marked them as not quite best-of-era.

New York Giants, 1956-1963.

Ditto.  A wonderful team, full of charismatic players—Sam Huff, Y.A. Tittle, Del Shofner, Giff, etc.—and they took 6 division titles in 8 years.  But despite playing some of the most memorable championship games in NFL history—most notably the 1958, overtime loss to Baltimore that put the league on the map—they took home only 1 title.

Chicago Bears, 1932-1946.

The original Monsters of the Midway!  They won 8 division titles and took 6 league championships in 15 seasons (1 in the pre-playoff year of 1932).  Behind George "Papa Bear" Halas (briefly, a Yankee outfielder) and Columbia Sid Luckman, they revolutionized the sport.

They also won 10 or more games four times,  twice went undefeated in the regular season (13-0 in 1934, 11-0 in 1942), and set the record for the biggest blowout in a championship, with their 1940, 73-0 win over Washington.

But much of their greatest success came during the war years, they lost the title game after each of their undefeated regular seasons, and they were usually playing in an eight-team league with a couple of franchises barely holding on.

Cleveland Browns, 1946-1957.

Another team that revolutionized the sport, under a legendary coach—the only person any team has been named after in North America, for any length of time.  Paul Brown's team drove the Rams out of Cleveland, completely dominating the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) for 4 years.  They went 14-0 in 1948, 47-4-3 overall, and won all 4 AAFC championship.

They then went over to the NFL and won the title in their first season, making it 5 in a row.  They went on to win the East Division their first 6 years in the league, making it 10 straight first-place finishes in a row.  Two more titles followed, along with another division crown in Jim Brown's first year.

All this made them a top contender for the Top Ten.  But it's hard to really count the AAFC as being just as good as the NFL, and once over in the established league they lost 4 title games in 7 goes.

Dallas Cowboys, 1966-1983.

Tom Landry's Cowboys missed the playoffs only once in 18 seasons, won 10 or more games 15 times (and 12 or more 6 times), and became a merchandising bonanza.  They also finished first 12 times, and won 2 Super Bowls.

Trouble is, there were just a few too many other big-game losses:  3 other Super Bowls, those heartbreaking NFL championship losses to Green Bay in 1966-1967, and 5 other NFC conference championships.

When it came to the big game, too often Dallas came up just short.  And they were never "America's Team."

Dallas Cowboys, 1991-1996.

Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones' noxious creation took 3 Super Bowl in 4 years, won 5 straight division titles, and ran up 70 wins in 6 seasons.  Give the devil his due—just not quite sustained enough to make the Top Ten.

Miami Dolphins, 1970-1975.

Don Shula sure could put together some great teams, and his 1972 Dolphins, of course, were the only one to go undefeated and win the championship in the playoff era.  His 67 wins and 4 division titles in these 6 seasons were impressive, and his team had some great characters.  But only 2 titles doesn't quite cut it.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972-1979.

A very near miss.  Four Super Bowl wins in as many tries—including 2 of the more exciting ones—seven division titles (including 6 in a row), and 88 wins in 8 seasons is damned impressive.  According to some, the 1976 team, which compiled 5 shutouts in its last 8 games, was the best defensive team ever (though it's hard to go against the 1985 Bears).  They just miss out on longevity.

Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders, 1967-1985.

Three Super Bowls in 4 tries and an AFL title, 12 division titles, 12 seasons with 10 or more wins, and 8 seasons with 12 or more wins (including two different, 13-1 years).  An innovative, impressive team on offense and defense, and great coaches in John Madden and Tom Flores

What's not to like?  Well, there's always the team's cruel and ruthless manipulation of the poor city of Oakland, and Kenny Stabler's attempt to frame a reporter on a cocaine rap (Hey, they didn't call him "Snake" for nothing).

But on the field, there were a lot of big-game losses.  Seven lost conference championships, to be exact, as well as that blowout at the hands of Lombardi.  These Raiders were a great football team, but rarely the best one of their era.


Next up...the Iowa caucus results!  I kid, I kid...we're never getting those!