Top 10 Best Years for Sports

The Top Ten
1979

A year for milestones and championships. NASCAR saw Richard Petty become a 7-time national champion. The NFL saw the Pittsburgh Steelers become a 3-time Super Bowl champion. The NHL saw the Montreal Canadiens repeat as World Champions for the 4th straight year. The NBA saw the Seattle Supersonics win Seattle's first professional sports championship. MLB saw the Pittsburgh Pirates become World Champions for the 5th time.

Carl Yastrzemski and Lou Brock achieved baseball milestones, and the WHA folded, with four of its teams moving to the NHL. One of those teams was the Edmonton Oilers, featuring a rookie named Wayne Gretzky.

Its Joeysworld

1908
2014 2014 (MMXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2014th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 14th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 5th year of the 2010s decade.

Yeah, we miss 2014 too, with the greatest champions of all time starting with the Seattle Seahawks and their legendary Legion of Boom defense capturing a world championship. The NHL saw the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers to once again become Stanley Cup Champions. Major League Baseball saw the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 to become its champions. Tim Duncan exited the NBA, but only after he led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA crown.

The big story is LeBron James coming back home to play again for Cleveland.

Its Joeysworld

1987 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was the 1987th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 987th year of the 2nd millennium, the 87th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1980s decade... read more

1987 is best remembered for the Giants winning the Super Bowl and becoming the toast of New York City. Indiana was crowned national basketball champions, while Mike Tyson ruled boxing heavyweights. The Edmonton Oilers came back as these boys on the bus became Stanley Cup Champions. Al Unser Sr. captured the greatest epic Indianapolis 500 race ever.

The greatest NBA team ever, the Los Angeles Lakers, captured another NBA Championship. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was once again NASCAR champion, and the Minnesota Twins brought Minnesota a world championship.

Its Joeysworld

2005 2005 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2005th year of the Common Era and Anno Domini designations. It was the 6th year of the 2000s decade.

A year for happy and sad moments.

First, the good times: the New England Patriots built a dynasty with their third World Championship in four years, while the San Antonio Spurs, without a retired David Robinson, prevented a potential Detroit Pistons dynasty in Game 7 to become NBA Champions. Tony Stewart grabbed the NASCAR Championship.

The sad moment occurred when the NHL lockout prevented a season from ever happening. Finally, the Chicago White Sox were World Champions for the first time since 1917.

Its Joeysworld

2007 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2007th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 7th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 8th year of the 2000s decade.

2007 saw the Indianapolis Colts finally get the monkey off their back and win the Super Bowl, marking Peyton Manning's first championship. Meanwhile, in basketball, the Florida Gators repeated as National Champions. The NBA saw the San Antonio Spurs become champions and deny LeBron James a championship. The Anaheim Ducks became Stanley Cup Champions.

In NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson repeated as a Cup champion. In baseball, Barry Bonds' tainted home run record was overshadowed by the return of Red Sox Nation, as the Boston Red Sox once again became World Champions.

Its Joeysworld

2004 2004 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2004th year of the Common Era and Anno Domini designations

2004 saw a malfunction at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but nothing malfunctioned with the New England Patriots winning the big one again. The Tampa Bay Lightning captured their first ever Stanley Cup championship. The Los Angeles Lakers tried to buy an NBA Championship with an all-star team, but the Detroit Pistons brought back that Bad Boys image of the past and became NBA champions.

Smarty Jones fell short of becoming a Triple Crown champion. But the biggest story of the year was the Boston Red Sox. After 86 years of chokes, collapses, and the ghosts of Babe Ruth's trade, the Red Sox made the biggest baseball comeback ever in the American League Championship Series over the Yankees and then captured their world championship over the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

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1971

1971 was also a year of baseball milestones. The San Francisco Giants made the postseason for the first time since their appearance in the 1962 World Series.

For the 500 home run club, two legends reached that mark. Harmon Killebrew hit that milestone as a member of the Minnesota Twins on August 10, 1971, and Frank Robinson hit that milestone as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on September 13, 1971.

Its Joeysworld

1985

A year of revenge: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in six games.

A year for rookies: a young Mike Tyson, William Perry of the Bears, and Michael Jordan.

A year of champions: the San Francisco 49ers, Edmonton Oilers, NASCAR's Darrell Waltrip, and the Kansas City Royals.

A year of milestones: Pete Rose's 4,192nd hit, Tom Seaver and Phil Niekro's 300th win, and Eddie Robinson becoming college football's winningest head coach.

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Villanova upsets Georgetown to win the NCAA College Basketball Title in one of the biggest upsets ever!

2002 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2002nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 2nd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 3rd year of the 2000s decade.

Another great year. First up, The Patriots started a dynasty with a Super Bowl XXXVI victory over the Greatest Show on Turf, The Rams. The Angels finally became baseball's world champions along with their partner, the famed Angels Rally Monkey. Tony Stewart became the NASCAR champion. The LA Lakers completed a three-peat, and the Detroit Red Wings were Stanley Cup champions.

But the year will forever be a WORLD CUP year. Ronaldo, a soccer sensation, scored 8 goals in the tournament, including 2 in the final game as Brazil beat Germany 2-0 to become World Cup champions. Other World Cup highlights: Turkey's Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal to kick off a World Cup game (10.8 seconds). Defending champion France did not score a goal in the tournament, and the United States, led by youngster Landon Donovan, made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1930.

The Newcomers

? 1960

1960 will always be remembered for another great champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that supposedly had no talent. Yet, despite this, they won games, notably beating the New York Giants twice in two consecutive weeks.

Then came the NFL Championship Game at their home against the Green Bay Packers. Norm Van Brocklin to Tommy McDonald became the most famous dynamic duo of 1960. When Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor on the game's final play, the Eagles became the NFL champions.

Its Joeysworld

? 1998 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was the 1998th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 998th year of the 2nd millennium, the 98th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1990s decade.

In a year when Jeff Gordon became NASCAR champion, Dale Earnhardt Sr. made headlines by finally winning the Daytona 500. John Elway won the big one as his Denver Broncos claimed victory in the Super Bowl. The Kentucky Wildcats took home the NCAA basketball championship, while the Detroit Red Wings repeated as Stanley Cup champions.

Mark O'Meara captured both the Masters and the Open Golf Championship. The Chicago Bulls' final world championship season added to the excitement, but it was baseball that captured the sports year. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put on a historic and successful home run chase to 61, and the New York Yankees secured another championship with a season to remember. All of this made for an exciting year in sports and will forever be remembered in the world of athletics.

The Contenders
1930

Life was so different then, but there were champions like Bobby Jones, who achieved golf's Grand Slam, and the Philadelphia Athletics, who repeated as World Champions. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, and the Green Bay Packers repeated as NFL Champions.

The World Cup made headlines as the first one, with Uruguay as the champions. Among many highlights in soccer's inaugural event, Lucien Laurent scored the first World Cup goal. The United States finished in 3rd place overall in a 13-team field, and Guillermo Stabile scored 8 goals, the most by any player in the World Cup.

Oh, by the way, Hack Wilson's 190 RBIs was a big thing in baseball that year.

1967

The year that the first Super Bowl came and saw the Green Bay Packers emerge as champions. The Toronto Maple Leafs silenced the Montreal Canadiens and EXPO '67 to become Stanley Cup Champions. The Philadelphia 76ers briefly ended the Boston Celtics Dynasty and were later crowned NBA Champions. The St. Louis Cardinals ended the Boston Red Sox's Impossible Dream and won the World Series. Richard Petty was the NASCAR Champion in a dominant season, but the big news was Muhammad Ali being stripped of the Heavyweight Championship for refusing to take part in an unwanted war called the Vietnam War.

1976 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was the 1976th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 976th year of the 2nd millennium, the 76th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1970s decade... read more

The 200th year of the United States saw the Pittsburgh Steelers, a perfect symbol for America, become NFL Champions. The Boston Celtics, playing in a blue-collar city, won the NBA Championship. Richard Petty and David Pearson fought in an unforgettable Daytona 500, which was won by Pearson. The Cincinnati Reds, America's oldest running professional sports team, repeated as World Champions.

The Olympics saw America's best in Montreal with Edwin Moses, John Naber, Leon and Michael Spinks, Sugar Ray Leonard, and a former guy, Bruce Jenner, all winning gold in an unforgettable year in sports.

Its Joeysworld

2016 2016 (MMXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2016th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 16th year of the 3rd millennium, the 16th year of the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2010s decade.

Well, here are those broken streaks after I tell you that the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 and Peyton Manning drove off into the sunset as a winner. Now, the streak enders.

First, the Stanley Cup saw the Pittsburgh Penguins end their seven-year wait to become champions. The NBA Finals saw an amazing comeback as the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to bring Cleveland its first pro sports championship in 52 years. Then, it was the World Series, and the Cubs ended a 108-year drought to call themselves World Champions after also coming back from a 3-1 deficit.

Its Joeysworld

1941

Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, Mauri Rose's Indianapolis 500 win, Ted Williams' .406 batting average, Whirlaway's Triple Crown, the Boston Bruins as Stanley Cup champions, and the Chicago Bears successfully defending their NFL Championship.

The first Dodger-Yankees World Series, which was won by the Yankees, and boxing saw Joe Louis beat Billy Conn in an all-time classic. All this happened before that fateful December 7 day.

1970 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was the 1970th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 970th year of the 2nd millennium, the 70th year of the 20th century, and the 1st year of the 1970s decade... read more

The Age of Aquarius produced many earth-shattering champions: the NBA's New York Knicks, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, boxing's Joe Frazier, NASCAR's Bobby Isaac, the NHL's Boston Bruins, and MLB's Baltimore Orioles. But the World Cup was the biggest event of them all as Pelé and Brazil were crowned champions for the third time.

Among other World Cup headlines: it was the first World Cup to be televised live in color worldwide. The tournament average of 2.97 goals per game is still a record. It was also the first World Cup to use the Telstar ball from Adidas.

1996

This was the year the New York Yankees returned to glory (just like 1977) as World Champions, while the Colorado Avalanche, a team formerly known as the Quebec Nordiques, became champions with Patrick Roy on the team. The Dallas Cowboys, in the twilight of their dynasty, were World Champions. Tiger Woods began a historic pro golf career, and Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield saw a shocker when Holyfield knocked out Tyson to become champion again.

But the big story was the Chicago Bulls going 72-10 and then going on to become NBA Champions.

Its Joeysworld

1988 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. It was the 1988th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 988th year of the 2nd millennium, the 88th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1980s decade... read more

The Olympic year saw many great champions. The Super Bowl saw Doug Williams throw 4 touchdown passes as if he were doing the javelin throw. The NBA Finals saw the Lakers repeat as champions as if they ran in the 100 meters. The Stanley Cup saw the Edmonton Oilers repeat as champions, and 14 years later, Wayne Gretzky helped Canada win a gold medal in hockey.

The World Series saw the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kirk Gibson complete a marathon season, becoming world champions. Finally, the Summer Olympics saw the biggest asterisk in history when Ben Johnson's 9.79 seconds got him disqualified in the biggest sports scandal of 1988.

Its Joeysworld

2003 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.

A year of curses, revenges, and farewells. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became world champions by getting even with the Oakland Raiders, the team that fired their head coach Jon Gruden the previous year. Gruden successfully got even with his former team. The New Jersey Devils were Stanley Cup champions.

David Robinson went out a winner as his San Antonio Spurs were NBA champions, and Matt Kenseth captured the NASCAR championship in the final year known as the NASCAR Winston Cup. The Florida Marlins were MLB champions, but the baseball world was and still is talking about how the Chicago Cubs were 5 outs away from a pennant that never happened in one truly amazing year.

Its Joeysworld

1986

A year filled with mixed emotions of tragedies but also a year to celebrate with the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle. The Montreal Canadiens' Stanley Cup season featured rookie goaltender Patrick Roy. Dale Earnhardt Sr. became NASCAR champion, while the Boston Celtics grabbed another NBA championship. The New York Mets, the bad boys of baseball, became world champions.

But it was Diego Maradona and Argentina that grabbed the big headlines in soccer's World Cup. In that World Cup, Canada, Denmark, and Iraq debuted in soccer's ultimate showcase. Gary Lineker of England scored 6 goals, the most by any player in the World Cup, and Diego scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal.

2010 2010 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2010th year based on Anno Domini/Common Era designations. It is the 10th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2010s decade.

Pro football saw the New Orleans Saints, 43 years after their inception and 5 years after Hurricane Katrina damaged their home, capture their first world championship. Hockey saw the Chicago Blackhawks capture their first Stanley Cup since 1961. Like the Saints, they suffered through heartbreak before capturing championship glory.

Jimmie Johnson captured the NASCAR Cup Series title for the 5th straight year. The San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the first time since 1954, while the Los Angeles Lakers repeated as NBA champions. But the story of the year was LeBron James, who said he wanted to take his talents to the Miami Heat.

Its Joeysworld

1954

A year of firsts, wows, and redemptions. In the NBA, the Minneapolis Lakers repeated as champions as George Mikan later announced he would retire. Later, the NBA changed the game forever by adding a 24-second shot clock. The NHL saw a dynasty brewing as the Detroit Red Wings repeated as world champions.

Baseball saw the New York Giants, Willie Mays, and The Catch lead to a world championship. The NFL saw the Cleveland Browns return as world champions as they avenged the two previous title losses to the Detroit Lions. But the biggest moment of the year was the debut of a sports magazine called Sports Illustrated. This magazine saw a whole new world of great sports photography and amazing stories that would make Sports Illustrated the place for everything and anything sports.

Its Joeysworld

1934
2011 2011 (MMXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2011th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations.

2011 started with a bang as the Green Bay Packers captured Pro Football's World Championship. Then, the National Hockey League saw the Boston Bruins return to glory as Stanley Cup Champions.

The saga of LeBron James continued, this time with the Miami Heat. But after the Heat took a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals, they fell apart as the Dallas Mavericks came back to win their first-ever NBA title.

Finally, in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals' miraculous Game 6 comeback win over the Texas Rangers paved the way for their Game 7 triumph and their world championship. This gave Tony La Russa one final great moment as a master of the game.

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