Jason Koebler

New York and Boston have won more major sports championships than any other American cities. By their standards, New York was in a bit of a drought until the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, having not won a championship since the Yankees took home the World Series trophy in 2009. Boston added to its trophy case with the Bruins' Stanley Cup win in June.

Here's how the rest of America's cities stack up in Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and Major League Soccer history.

8 (tie). St. Louis - 13 Championships

The Cardinals' unexpected World Series run last year gave fans in St. Louis plenty to cheer about. Albert Pujols helped the team to its 11th World Series win before bolting for the sunny Anaheim, Calif., weather. Their most impressive run came in the early 1940s, when sluggers Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter led the team to three championships between 1942 and 1946. The Rams, led by quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, won the city's only Super Bowl championship in 1999. The St. Louis Hawks won an NBA championship in 1958 before the team moved to Atlanta in 1968. The Blues have lost in the Stanley Cup Finals three times, without ever winning the trophy.

8 (tie). Oakland / San Francisco - 13 Championships

The Oakland Athletics won most of their World Series while still in Philadelphia, but have won four since moving to Oakland, including the 1989 "Battle of the Bay" over the San Francisco Giants, who won their only World Series in San Francisco last season. Quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young led the San Francisco 49ers to five Super Bowls in the 1980s and 1990s. The Oakland Raiders won two Super Bowls before heading to Los Angeles in 1983 -- they haven't won since moving back to the Bay Area in 1995.The Golden State Warriors have won one NBA Finals title since moving to the Bay Area from Philadelphia.

8 (tie). Green Bay - 13 Championships

With just over 100,000 people, this football-crazed city 112 miles north of Milwaukee is the smallest on the list. The Packers are the NFL's most successful team, with 13 championships, although nine came before the Super Bowl was created in 1967. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls, with legendary quarterback Bart Starr leading the team to wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, respectively. The team is also the NFL's most recent champion, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in February.

7. Pittsburgh - 14 Championships

The Steel City has had success in all three sports it plays -- the Steelers' six Super Bowl trophies are the most of any team, and the Penguins have won three Stanley Cup trophies, most recently in 2009. The Pirates, who haven't finished above .500 since 1992, enjoyed success during the 1970s and in the early part of the 20th century -- they've won five World Series.

6. Philadelphia - 17 Championships

Philadelphia has won 17 championships, but Philly fans will insist they are long-suffering. The Eagles' three championships all came pre-Super Bowl, and the Flyers' two Stanley Cups came in 1974 and 1975. The last of the 76ers' three championships came in 1983. The city of brotherly love's saving grace? The Phillies won the latest of their two World Series in 2008. Philadelphia's most successful team doesn't even play in the city anymore -- between 1910 and 1930 the Connie Mack-managed Philadelphia Athletics were the only team to regularly challenge the New York Yankees for American League dominance, winning five World Series between those years. The team moved to Kansas City in 1955 before moving to Oakland in 1968. The Philadelphia Warriors basketball team also won two championships before moving to San Francisco.

4 (tie). Detroit - 22 Championships

One of MLB's oldest franchises, the Tigers have won the World Series four times, and the Pistons won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, before winning again in 2004. The Lions won four championships, all pre-Super Bowl. The 11 championships won by the Red Wings, one of the NHL's "Original Six," makes them America's most successful hockey team. Between 1950 and 1955, 23-time All-Star Gordie Howe guided the team to four championships.

4 (tie). Los Angeles- 22 Championships

With 16 championships, the Lakers are basketball's second-most successful team, after the Boston Celtics. But the franchise won five of those championships while playing in Minneapolis. Los Angeles has had a history of teams moving to and leaving the city -- the Dodgers won one of their six championships while playing in Brooklyn, the Raiders, who spent 13 years in the City of Angels between stints in Oakland, won one Super Bowl in L.A., and the then-Los Angeles Rams won an NFL championship in 1951. The L.A. Galaxy have won two MLS titles, and the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have also won a championship each, both in the past 10 years.

3. Chicago - 27 Championships

The Cubs are well-known for not having won a World Series since 1908, when they won the second of their championships, but Chicago as a whole has had plenty of success. Michael Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s, the Blackhawks won their fourth Stanley Cup last year, and the White Sox have won three World Series. The Bears won their only Super Bowl behind one of the best defenses of all time in 1985, but their glory years came much earlier -- the team won eight championships before the Super Bowl was established. Before eventually landing in Arizona, the Chicago Cardinals football team won a championship game in 1947. In 1925, the Cardinals were embroiled in a championship controversy when the Pottsville Maroons were suspended by the league; the Cardinals became the NFL champions by default. The Chicago Fire have also won an MLS championship.

2. Boston - 34 Championships

Legendary coach Red Auerbach led the Celtics to nine NBA championships in 13 seasons between 1957 and 1969, making up more than half of the team's 17 titles. Boston's teams haven't been shabby of late, either -- after an 86-year drought, the Red Sox were able to shake off the "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004, winning their sixth title. They added another in 2007. The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years between 2001 and 2005, the Celtics won the NBA finals in 2008, and the Bruins won their sixth Stanley Cup in June. The Boston Braves also won a World Series in 1914 before moving to Milwaukee, then Atlanta.

1. New York - 56 Championships

With 27 World Series titles, the Yankees are America's most successful franchise thanks to a revolving cast of legends including Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek Jeter. But New York's other baseball teams have won titles as well. The Mets have two World Series wins, and the Giants and Dodgers won a combined five World Series before moving west. The Knicks have won two NBA finals, and the metropolitan area's three NHL teams -- the Devils, Rangers, and Islanders, have won a combined 11 Stanley Cups.

The football Giants have now won eight NFL championships, including four Super Bowls. Behind quarterback Joe Namath's promise, the Jets won their only championship in 1968.

 

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