The fans of the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Lions have the longest championship droughts
When the Chicago Cubs won the World Series last year, they ended the longest championship drought in North American Sports — 108 years. Now that the Cubs drought is over, which team has now gone the longest without a championship? The answer can be tricky.
If we look just at franchises, the honor goes to the NFL's Cardinals, who have not won a championship since 1947. However, that title was won in Chicago and the team has only been in Arizona since 1988 (with a stop in St. Louis in between). It doesn't seem fair to say Arizona Cardinals fans have suffered the longest.
Instead, let's look at which fan bases have suffered without a title the longest. In that case, the title goes to the fans of the Cleveland Indians, who lost to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series and who have now gone 68 years without a championship. They are followed by the Detroit Lions (59 years). The longest streaks for teams in their current cities in the NHL belong to the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs (50; the Blues have never won a title) and in the NBA it is the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns (49; the Suns have never won a title), with the average for all teams being 24.8 years.
You can see the full list below the chart.
(Mike Nudelman/Business Insider)
Years without a title (in current city)
Cleveland Indians | 68 |
Detroit Lions | 59 |
56 | |
56 | |
55 | |
San Diego Chargers | 53 |
51 | |
50 | |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 |
50 | |
Phoenix Suns | 49 |
Atlanta Hawks | 49 |
49 | |
49 | |
48 | |
48 | |
47 | |
47 | |
47 | |
47 | |
47 | |
46 | |
45 | |
44 | |
44 | |
44 | |
43 | |
43 | |
42 | |
40 | |
40 | |
39 | |
38 | |
37 | |
34 | |
34 | |
33 | |
33 | |
32 | |
32 | |
31 | |
30 | |
Charlotte Bobcats | 29 |
28 | |
28 | |
28 | |
28 | |
27 | |
27 | |
26 | |
26 | |
25 | |
25 | |
25 | |
24 | |
Florida Panthers | 24 |
24 | |
23 | |
Arizona Cardinals | 23 |
23 | |
23 | |
23 | |
22 | |
22 | |
22 | |
22 | |
21 | |
21 | |
Arizona Coyotes | 21 |
Atlanta Braves | 21 |
Chicago Bulls | 19 |
Nashville Predators | 19 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 19 |
Tennessee Titans | 18 |
Dallas Stars | 18 |
Minnesota Wild | 17 |
Columbus Blue Jackets | 17 |
Memphis Grizzlies | 16 |
Colorado Avalanche | 16 |
New Orleans Pelicans | 15 |
Houston Texans | 15 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 15 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 14 |
New Jersey Devils | 14 |
Los Angeles Angels | 14 |
Detroit Pistons | 13 |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 13 |
Miami Marlins | 13 |
Washington Nationals | 12 |
Carolina Hurricanes | 11 |
Chicago White Sox | 11 |
Indianapolis Colts | 10 |
Anaheim Ducks | 10 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | 9 |
Boston Celtics | 9 |
Detroit Red Wings | 9 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 8 |
Los Angeles Lakers | 7 |
New Orleans Saints | 7 |
New York Yankees | 7 |
Dallas Mavericks | 6 |
Green Bay Packers | 6 |
Boston Bruins | 6 |
Brooklyn Nets | 5 |
New York Giants | 5 |
St Louis Cardinals | 5 |
Miami Heat | 4 |
Baltimore Ravens | 4 |
San Antonio Spurs | 3 |
Seattle Seahawks | 3 |
Los Angeles Kings | 3 |
Boston Red Sox | 3 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 2 |
San Francisco Giants | 2 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 |
Denver Broncos | 1 |
Kansas City Royals | 1 |
Golden State Warriors | 0 |
New England Patriots | 0 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 |
0 |
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