List of North American cities by number of major sports championships
This is a list of cities in the United States and Canada that field or have fielded teams in the four North American professional sports leagues, showing the number of league championships each city has won. The "four major leagues" comprise Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. The championships won are recorded for the cities only, not the individual franchises. When a team relocates to a new city, the number of championships won in that specific city remain with the city.
Championships are only from the preeminent league in each of the four major sports. NFL championships include all AFL & NFL championship games prior to Super Bowl I. NFL championships include the Super Bowl from 1966–present, AFL championships from 1960-1965 and NFL championship games from 1920-1965. MLB championships begin in 1903 when the first World Series was played. NBA championships began in 1946. The ABA began in 1967 having 8 championships until it merged with the NBA in 1975. NBA championships include all pre-merger ABA championships. Finally, the Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, and is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. Inscribed the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy was first awarded to Canada's amateur ice hockey clubs who won the trophy as the result of challenge games and league play. Professional clubs came to dominate the competition in the early years of the twentieth century, and in 1913 the two major professional ice hockey organizations, the National Hockey Association (NHA) (forerunner of the NHL) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other in an annual series for the Stanley Cup. After a series of league mergers and folds, it became the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926, though it was nominally still subject to external challenge. After 1947, the Cup became the de jure NHL championship prize.
Table
This table does not include championships from any rival leagues outside of the four major leagues, as the four leagues are considered the only major leagues of their respective sport.
Current through Super Bowl LIV
Rank | City | State/Province | Country | MLB World Series | NBA/ABA Champions | NFL/AFL Champions | NHL Stanley Cups | 4 Major Sports Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York City | New York | USA | 35 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 56 |
2 | Boston | Massachusetts | USA | 10 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 39 |
3 | Chicago | Illinois | USA | 6 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 29 |
6 | Los Angeles | California | USA | 6 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 21 |
4 | Montreal | Quebec | Canada | 0 | - | - | 26 | 26 |
5 | Detroit | Michigan | USA | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 22 |
7 | San Francisco Bay Area | California | USA | 7 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 18 |
7 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | USA | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 18 |
8 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | USA | 5 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
8 | Toronto | Ontario | Canada | 2 | 1 | - | 13 | 16 |
10 | St. Louis | Missouri | USA | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
11 | Green Bay | Wisconsin | USA | - | - | 13 | - | 13 |
12 | Baltimore | Maryland | USA | 3 | 1 | 5 | - | 9 |
14 | Minneapolis/St. Paul | Minnesota | USA | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
15 | Washington, D.C. | District of Columbia | USA | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
16 | Dallas | Texas | USA | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
16 | Miami | Florida | USA | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
18 | Cincinnati | Ohio | USA | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 |
18 | Edmonton | Alberta | Canada | - | - | - | 5 | 5 |
18 | San Antonio | Texas | USA | - | 5 | - | - | 5 |
18 | Denver | Colorado | USA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
18 | Houston | Texas | USA | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | 5 |
23 | Ottawa | Ontario | Canada | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
24 | Newark | New Jersey | USA | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
24 | Seattle | Washington | USA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
24 | Kansas City | Missouri | USA | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
25 | Cleveland | Ohio | USA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
28 | Buffalo | New York | USA | - | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
28 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | USA | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
28 | Tampa | Florida | USA | 0 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
28 | Anaheim | California | USA | 1 | - | 0 | 1 | 2 |
32 | Atlanta | Georgia | USA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
32 | Indianapolis | Indiana | USA | - | 3 | 1 | - | 4 |
32 | New Orleans | Louisiana | USA | - | 0 | 1 | - | 1 |
32 | Phoenix | Arizona | USA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
32 | Portland | Oregon | USA | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
32 | Raleigh | North Carolina | USA | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
32 | Rochester | New York | USA | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
32 | Syracuse | New York | USA | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
32 | Vancouver | British Columbia | Canada | - | 0 | - | 1 | 1 |
32 | Victoria | British Columbia | Canada | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
32 | Calgary | Alberta | Canada | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
32 | San Diego | California | USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
32 | Providence | Rhode Island | USA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
42 | Columbus | Ohio | USA | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
42 | Salt Lake City | Utah | USA | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
42 | Orlando | Florida | USA | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
42 | Charlotte | North Carolina | USA | - | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
42 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | USA | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
42 | Sacramento | California | USA | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
42 | Memphis | Tennessee | USA | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
42 | Nashville | Tennessee | USA | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
42 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | Canada | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
42 | Jacksonville | Florida | USA | - | - | 0 | - | 0 |
42 | Las Vegas | Nevada | USA | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Cities counting only teams they retained
Although a franchise winning a title in a city is a memorable event, counting titles for teams that have abandoned their original hometowns could be seen as unfair in two ways. Firstly, it is unlikely that anyone in present-day Baltimore would root for the Colts against the Ravens in a playoff game; likewise those in Boston wouldn't root for the Braves in a World Series with the Red Sox, Minnesota likewise with the Lakers versus the Timberwolves and New York City with the Giants and Dodgers versus the Mets. So to credit cities like New York, Boston or Baltimore with having fans that enjoy, remember and cherish championships from teams they no longer root for and may in fact despise can be counterproductive for modern fans (while those in, say, Seattle may disagree). Secondly, the former methodology somewhat rewards a metro area for losing their team but still allowing the tally of a team no one roots for and thought enough of the city to leave it. It is also important to note that New York has been the only city with two teams in each of the four major sport leagues until recently with the relocation of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams to the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. This does give them a competitive advantage at tallying titles, where as Boston has been able to pull within ten titles with only one team in each of the major sport leagues. Counting only championships from teams that did not leave the city in which they were founded results in the following table:
Rank | City | World Series | NBA Champions | NFL Champions | Stanley Cups | 4 Major Sports World Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York City | 29 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 48 |
2 | Boston | 9 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 38 |
3 | Chicago | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 27 |
4 | Montreal | - | - | - | 24 | 24 |
5 | Detroit | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 22 |
6 | Los Angeles | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
7 | San Francisco Bay Area | 7 | 4 | 7 | - | 18 |
8 | Pittsburgh | 5 | - | 6 | 5 | 16 |
8 | Toronto | 2 | 1 | - | 13 | 16 |
10 | St. Louis | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
11 | Green Bay | - | - | 13 | - | 13 |
12 | Philadelphia | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
13 | Washington, D.C. | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
14 | Miami | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
14 | Dallas | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
17 | Cincinnati | 5 | - | 0 | - | 5 |
17 | Edmonton | - | - | - | 5 | 5 |
17 | Baltimore | 3 | - | 2 | - | 5 |
17 | San Antonio | - | 5 | - | - | 5 |
17 | Denver | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
22 | Newark | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
22 | Kansas City | 2 | - | 2 | - | 4 |
22 | Houston | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 3 |
22 | Minneapolis/St. Paul | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
26 | Anaheim | 1 | - | 0 | 1 | 2 |
26 | Tampa | 0 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
26 | Buffalo | - | - | 2 | 0 | 2 |
26 | Seattle | 0 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
30 | Calgary | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
30 | Indianapolis | - | 0 | 1 | - | 1 |
30 | New Orleans | - | 0 | 1 | - | 1 |
30 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
30 | Portland | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
30 | Raleigh | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
30 | Milwaukee | 0 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
30 | Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 |
- | San Diego | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Memphis | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Ottawa | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
- | Charlotte | - | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
- | Nashville | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- | Orlando | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Vancouver | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
- | Salt Lake | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Oklahoma City | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Columbus | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
- | Sacramento | - | 0 | - | - | 0 |
- | Winnipeg | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
- | Las Vegas | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |