Back in the day, before drafts, salary caps and obscene paychecks, a team or nation could dominate the competition in ways that would make GameStop bow down out of respect. Following are some teams or countries that you know, and a few you may not. Just how a ‘dynasty’ is defined is up for debate, but for me 3 titles in 4 years does not count, nor would 4 titles over 6 years. For the record, I do not support any of the following teams.
Achievement: 5 VFL Premierships in 6 years (1955-1960)
Melbourne was stung into action following the painful loss in the 1954 Grand Final to Footscray. That Grand Final was to become the first of 7 in a row for the Demons of which they won 5. Coached by the ‘Red Fox’ Norm Smith and captained by Ron Barassi and John Beckwith, the Demons ushered in a faster, more disciplined game style that has become the trademark of modern football success. Melbourne FC celebrated its 150th birthday last year. How many professional teams worldwide lay claim to a history that long?
Achievement: 9 Championships in a row (1965-1973)
Japan’s most successful, most famous and most hated team dominated the Japanese Professional Post-Season series during the country’s rise to prominence as a world economic power. Big hitter Shigeo Nagashima, first baseman Sadaharu Oh and Manager Tetsuharu Kawakami led the team with powerful offense and set records that are still looked upon in awe in the modern, slightly less corrupt version of the Japanese game.
Achievement: 9 Serie A Scudetto in 15 years (1971/72 – 1985/86)
Giovanni Trappatoni, the most successful club manager in Italian club history, managed the Old Lady from 1976 to 1986. During this era, players such as Gaetano Scirea and Antonio Cabrini won every major trophy in European Football, including a World Cup in 1982 with Italy. Guiseppe Furino captained the team for most of its dominant years and was a household name along with Dino Zoff, Michael Platini and Sergio Brio. The age of greatness culminated with the European Cup in 1985, a day that was both one of Juventus FC’s greatest and saddest.
Achievement: 11 NSW Rugby Football League Premierships in a row (1956-1966)
In 1956, 62000 fans crammed into the SCG to see the Grand Final between Balmain and St George. The Dragons triumphed 18-12, heralding the first of their eleven Premierships on the trot. Coached by Ken Kearney between 1957-1962 and Norm Provan 1962-1965, St. George was unstoppable and became the greatest Rugby League club the world has ever seen. Eddie Lumsden, Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper are among the legendary players who helped the team to its success. Undefeated in 1959 and amassing a win-loss record of 183 wins, 34 losses and 5 draws during its run of Premierships – an amazing achievement.
Achievement: 5 Stanley Cups in a row (1956-1960)
Toe Blake became coach of the Canadiens in 1955, reunited with his former ‘Punch Line’ teammate Maurice Richard and won the Stanley Cup five consecutive times. Incredibly, Montreal had appeared in the previous five Stanley Cup Finals too, losing four of them. Dickey Moore set numerous scoring records and was paired up with Richards and his younger brother Henri Richard to become the most potent forward line of its generation. Jacques Plante established himself as one of hockey’s greatest goaltenders during the era.
Achievement: 15 Davis Cup Championships (1950 – 1967)
Technically a team sport, Australia dominated Davis Cup tennis during this time, which spanned the tumultuous amateur to professional transition. Winning the tournament four times in a row on three occasions, most of the victories came over their great rivals – The United States. As opposed to the current game most of the titles were won on grass courts. The players who represented Australia read like a list of tennis royalty. Among them Frank Sedgman, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Neale Fraser (above), Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Tony Roche.
Achievement: 10 Division 1 Championships (1975-1990)
Liverpool would win a major title in nearly every year between 1975 and 1990. In addition to the 10 League Championships, the club also bought home 2 FA Cups, 1 UEFA Cup, 4 League Cups and 4 European Cups. Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish shared the managerial duties, with the latter pairing up with the great Ian Rush to become one of football’s most dynamic partnerships on the field. Other players immortalized during Liverpool’s run of greatness include Alan Hansen, Kevin Keegan, Graeme Souness and Bruce Grobelaar.
Achievement: 10 World Series’ Championships (1947 – 1962)
The world’s most famous baseball team has won more World Series titles than any other. The post-World War 2 period is considered it’s finest and the great players to pull on the pinstripes during this time are now American folklore. Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle were among the stars for the Yankees as they made the Fall Classic their own winning 10 of their 13 World Series appearances in this time. Manager Casey Stengel was skilled in front of the media became a legend in New York during his career entering the Hall Of Fame in 1966.
Achievement: 11 NBA Championships (1957-1969)
Coach Red Auerbach proclaimed that “defense wins Championships” and who would argue with him, his Celtics winning title after title during his tenure. He won 9 championships and coached the team from 1951-1966. The Celtics were led on-court by Hall Of Famers Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn. Russell averaged an amazing 15.1 points per game, 22.5 rebounds per game, and 4.3 assists per game over his career. The Lakers were often the Celtic’s victims in the Finals and 8 consecutive NBA championships (1959-1966) is the longest streak of championships in U.S. professional sports.
Achievement: 11 NCAA Championships (1964-1975)
College basketball has never seen a dynasty like it and never will again. The legendary John Wooden was the common factor in this run of titles and his coaching record of 671-161 (.807) is staggering. During his time, the sport became a massive industry and television commodity but Wooden remained a humble and polite family man. What makes this dynasty so remarkable is that UCLA players were never on long-term contracts and would only spend 3 or 4 years at the team. Wooden constantly refreshed the team with talented players, and what players they were. Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, Sidney Wicks, Henry Bibby – the list goes on. In modern times with college players leaving early for the NBA, it would be nearly impossible for any other school to emulate UCLAs feats.
Contributor: DentShop
stgeorge are cool
but also, why does the UCLA mens basketball team photo have tennis rackets in it?
*comment held in moderation and edited for use of ‘first’*
Very interesting even if you are not that fond of sports
toe?
Whooooooo liverpool fc
COOL…
Manchester United should be on here they have basically dominated the premiership.
Worldwide guns on the list, g – diplomatic licenses yo.
Pretty sure Celtics should be #1. Not only were they unreal in the Bill Russell era, but also the Larry Bird era, and what’s more now the Boston Three Party (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) era.
I think Ferrari should get a mention at least. I mean they won every constructors trophey since 1999, bar 2005, 2006. That’s 8 championships in 10 years.
Honurable mention maybe?
This list is awesome… Well informed… I hate every team mentioned… But that almost authenticates the list even further… Well done
I was pleased to see some Aussie teams got a mention, however I am astounded that the Australian Cricket team of the past decade did not get a look in. The Australian team has dominated both Test Cricket and One Day cricket at an international level over the past 10 years. For example, Australia holds the record for the most consecutive wins at Test Match level and has achieved this record twice. From October 1999-February 2001 they won 16 consecutive matches and they equalled this record by winning another 16 straight matches from December 2005-January 2008.
The Australian Test team of the last decade also holds the record for most consecutive series victories. From October 2005 to June 2008 they won 9 series in a row. It should also be noted that Australia until very recently had not lost a Test series at home in 16 years.
This great cricket team has also won the ICC Test Championship 7 times since it started – 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
In one day cricket, Australia has won the ICC ODI Championship 5 times since it started – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. They have also won the past 3 One Day International World Cups, in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
Surely more than a decade of dominance at an international level (rather than a national level like most teams on this list) merits a mention on this list, if not the number 1 spot. During this time Australia beat teams from England, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and West Indies. Admittedly they did also play minnows like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh but the number of good sides far outweighs the number of minnows. They also dominated at both levels of the game, Test and One Dayers. A much better effort than most teams on the list.
cricket is not a sport
It happens in amateur sport as well. Brighton Rugby Union club dominates Adelaide (South Australia) rugby. They were in every grand final from 1971 to 1986, and won all but two, winning in 1972-81 (10 years) and 1983-86 (4 years). They have since won 11 more times in 22 years, including six straight in 1992-97.
Cricket is not an amateur sport, they are all full time professionals.
Also comment 11. from MinonBer was just from my partner trying to ***** me off.
Woops I misread comment 12. I thought it was implying cricket was an amateur sport. Woops.
LMAO such ownage.
Whats the deal with #1 UCLA. The paragraph talks about basketball but the photo has them all holding tennis rackets and wearing sweaters.
Love those Celtics
Maybe someone wants to rethink the picture for number one? Am I the only one seeing a bunch of guys with tennis rackets representing the UCLA basketball team?
Nelia: I see it too. At first I was excited to see a tennis team at #1.
Surely Manchester United from 92-03. 8 Premier league titles in 11 years!
If you’re a Manc, you’re a *****!
You’ll Never Walk Alone, LIVERPOOL!!!
Wondering why you have a tennis players for the UCLA basketball team??
Some other winning streaks
Even though the Celtics are on here beating the Lakers, the 1971-72 Lakers actually have the longest winning streak in NBA history with 33.
Brandon High School Wrestling (Florida)- Lost their first meet last month since 1973. They had won 459 straight.
Squash – 555 matches — 1981-1986 Jahangir Khan
Wheelchair tennis – 354 or 355 matches* — 2003-present Esther Vergeer
Beach Volleyball – 112 match wins, 19 tournament wins — 2007-2008 – Misty May and Kerri Walsh, United States
College soccer (Women’s) 169 games — 1986 – 1990 North Carolina
High school badminton – 504 games — 1973-2005 Miller Place High School
And one for good measure , NCAA Basketball: California Institute of Technology: 207 games losing streak.
I think FC Bayern Munich should get a mention. 3 European Cups in a row(1974-76). A record 21 German Championships. A record 14 German Cups. A record 6 German League Cups. 3 German Supercups. 2 Intercontinental Cups. 4 UEFA Champions League Cups. 1 European Cup Winners Cup. 1 UEFA Cup.
I think that beat out Liverpool by a long shot.
im so glad to see all the australian entries, but i agree that cricket should be up there. Australia has dominated ICC and ODI cricket for 20 years and it’s reign is only just coming to an end.
Hey!! Am I the only one who miss Chicago Bulls? 72-10 that was something.
why is the basketball team holding tennis racquets?
more science in the next lists pls. i havent even read this one.
No Manchester United??
I agree with those that have said Ferrari, who in addition to the consecutive F1 titles totally dominated the Le Mans 24 hr race between 1958 and 1965 (only losing in 1959) or in the same race Porsche who won 10 times between 1976 and 1987 or Audi who have won every year since 2000 barring 2003. Or in the World Rally Championship where Citroen and Sebastian Loeb have won the last 5 drivers titles and Lancia who won 7 Manufacturers titles between 1983 and 1992.
I also agree with the Aussie Cricket team, whose achievement is more meritorious when you consider that getting 16 results in a row either way is very hard given the chances of rain interruptions (the only teams likely to achieve that feat other than Oz are Zimbabwe and Bangladesh who can lose that many on the trot.
A couple of nominations from our neck of the woods include the Auckland Provincial Rugby Team who have won 17 national titles since 1982 (17/25) and held the Ranfurly Shield from 1984 to 1993 (when the Mighty Waikato lifted it off them
) Or the Crusaders who have won 6/11 of the Super Rugby titles. Then there are the All Blacks who only ever lose at the Rugby World Cup:) well almost the total win record since 1905 runs at 70+%.
Ben (22) but over What period? Also with regard Man U 10 Premierships since 1993 (one more than Juventus in the same period of 15 years),4 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 7 Charity Shields, 2 Champions League cups and two Intercontinental cups including the Premiership, FA Champions League treble in 1999.
Cheers
Lee
jajdude, you are by far my favorite commenter on here.
Well I see Arthur Ashe on the UCLA team and they seem to be dressed in tennis clothes… But that boo-boo no withstanding, a great list – well done.
Agree with most, but no mention of the New England Patriots from 2001-2008? It was a travesty they missed the playoff this year seeing as they beat Arizona by 40 points….
Celtics could have been higher too..
LFC4LYF YNWA
I’m disappointed that there is no mention of Glasgow Rangers 9-in-a-row of Scottish league championships. good list though.
Kelly Slater: 9 WCT Championships. Unprecedented.
Why would you mention Rangers instead of Celtic FC????? They won the 9-In-A-Row first and won the European Cup while doing it. All Rangers have done is destroy Manchester and made enimies with fans across Europe.
Great list. I don’t know about the non-US teams but UCLA, Celtics and Yankees are dead on.
Also, although not a “team” sport, Joe Louis dominated boxing for 11 years as World Heavyweight Champ. A feat that will never be repeated.
JF, you got the photo wrong (again) for #1 UCLA. Or are you just upset no NZ teams made the list and did that on purpose.
i’m just gonna say, Tiger Freakin Woods. the man is a dynasty unto himself. been in the top 10 golfers in the world for 615 straight weeks. that’s almost 12 years. i call that consistency. even though he missed the 2nd half of last season due to a knee injury, he still amassed enough points to remain comfortably at no. 1 on the world rankings.
plus he’s on track to become the first athlete BILLIONAIRE for crying out loud!
Pretty sure the UCLA Picture is of the tennis team not the basketball team. Of course the rackets are a dead give away, but the guy on the far left in the front row is tennis great Arthur Ashe. And Ashe did attend UCLA.
I like Lord Calvert’s idea about Tiger Woods, but Jack Nicholas still holds the record for most majors.
Boooooooooooooooooooooo Liverpool. Hope Everton murder them today!!
The photo may show the tennis team, but UCLA’s basketball team is definitely the correct choice for greatest dynasty in the history of sports.
They won 11 national championships in 12 years and would have won another one had they not uncharacteristically blown a 7-point lead in overtime in the 1974 semi-final game. Many people think they might have won a few more had coach John Wooden not retired after the 1974-75 season.
They had winning streaks of 88, 47 and 41 games. They had four undefeated seasons. They were the winningest team of the 60s AND the 70s. Remarkably, they lost only 27 games during the entire decade of the 70s. The 1972 team decimated its opponents by an average of 32 points per game.
I remember seeing John Wooden interviewed immediately after UCLA won the 1971 championship. The announcer said something like, “Well, it’s been an incredible streak, Coach Wooden, but your entire team is graduating.” Wooden, always the soft-spoken gentleman, said, “Well, we had a pretty good freshman team this year.”
What an understatement. UCLA’s freshman team, lead by Bill Walton, had gone undefeated that season. Walton’s varsity team went undefeated the next two seasons and blew a 7-point lead in overtime to cost themselves another championship.
I’ll stop now. I probably lost all of you by the second paragraph.
what is with the b-o-r-i-n-g sports lists lately? nothing against those whom enjoy sports…
and in the spirit that LV covers & represents all ideas equally…i appreciate that. but how about the wierd/wonderful/mysterious lists?
rtr
Have to disagree with the Montreal NHL dynasty. It wasn’t all that impressive, considering that there were only six teams in the league at the time.
A better example would be the Oilers dynasty in the 80′s. With 21 teams in the league, Edmonton took the Cup 5 years out of seven between ’83 and ’90.
Before that, the New York Islanders took 4 straight, and before THAT, Montreal did the same. All were years with many more teams than six in the NHL
the picture for UCLA is wrong…
good choices though, well done.
So…The Yankees have to be #1 simply because they have one ONE QUARTER of the World Series Championships to be played in the history of baseball (according to Wikipedia). There is not another team that dominates a sport like that and there may never be one (except the Yankees becoming even more dominating). Also what is with the picture for #1, I’m pretty sure all those “basketball players” are holding tennis rackets.
Won* sorry
The Habs have also won a Stanley Cup in every decade…so far (if they don’t win the Cup in 2009 though, that streak’s over) and while it’s not quite as impressive as 150 years, this is their 100th season as a hockey team. They were playing hockey and winning Stanley Cup’s before the NHL even existed. They have dominated the NHL winning 24 Stanley Cups in 100 years, with the Toronto Maple Leafs in second place with only 13 since 1917. The Detroit Red Wings only have 11 since 1926.
What about the West Indies cricket team of 1976(?)-1995?
19 years of world domination with no series lost. No other team could stand against them.
Manchester United?
Too Australian?
WHAT ABOUT THE STEELERS!
I remember the UCLA basketball dynasty, though I was but a young thing, because I watched it on t.v. with my dad. In fact, that’s how I got addicted to basketball.
I understand, now, that the recuiting practices might not have been quite proper, and that the players may have received “bonuses” along the way, which is why heavily endowed schools like UCLA could capture and retain great players.
I know nothing about the recuiting practices of the overseas teams, but I’d bet there was something not quite plumb about them, either.
I agree with PJMurphy, impressive as Montreal is there wasn’t a whole lot of competion then. I would have much rather seen the Oilers in there.
Have you ever even watched sports? all your stats for the american sports are not even close to being accurate. Ive been a devoted everyday reader of this site for almost two years and i have never been disgusted like this. Awful plain awful.
54. tito29: Your pain may be real, but your timeline is off. LV just celebrated it’s “first birthday”!
Tito, segue, you’re both wrong. Or right, depending on how you look at it. Listverse’s birthday was in the beginning of July.
harlem globetrotters, anyone…..?
I think this is a great list; all of these accomplishments are noteworthy if not well known in North America. That’s a good thing; 3/4′s of the world is NOT in North America.
Baloney on putting in the Oilers over the Canadiens. If you’re Canadian, even a young ‘un has heard of and realizes the importance of Rocket Richard, Jacques Plante et al.
Dentshop: I’m assuming Juventus FC did not win the European Cup that year?
I’m loving the sports lists. GO CELTICS!!!!
56. downhighway61: You’re right, but I used the modifier “just”, which is, in most cases, equal to “recently”.
So what I said was LV recently celebrated etc.