SPORTS DYNASTIES WORTH MENTIONING, AND WHY NO ONE WILL EVER TOP THEM
MARCH MADNESS: Since the NCAA tournament began in 1939, only seven teams have ever repeated as champions. Before Florida did it in 2006—07, Duke was the last to defend its title, in 1991—92. Only one has done better than that—much better. UCLA was the NCAA champion in 1964—65. They lost in ‘66, and then got serious, winning seven times in a row. They lost in 1974, but won again in ’75—10 championships in 12 years. No team has ever, or will ever, come close to that record. Coach John Wooden set an example in seeing talent, not race, and crushed teams stuck in the past. Other teams at the time also had black players, but limited how many would play, or treated them as outsiders. Wooden set high standards and treated all his players as equals.
WHO IS THE GREATEST basketball coach of all time? Arnold “Red” Auerbach of the Boston Celtics, no doubt about it. He led the Celtics to the NBA Finals every single year between 1957 and 1966, when he stepped down as manager; and each time they won, except in 1958. Nine championships in 10 years!
In 1956, Auerbach made a key trade that gave him three top draft picks. He selected Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, two black players who had led San Francisco to consecutive NCAA championships. Auerbach was a pioneer in using any combination of players that would win, and not paying any attention to their race. His disciplined, unselfish champions expected to win, and they did. Due to his legacy, the Celtics have dominated their sport like no other professional team, winning over 26% of all NBA championships. Truth to tell, though, they have not won much in recent years, so that percentage is declining fast.
GO, RED BIRDS! The Saint Louis Cardinals have won 10 World Series. The Boston Red Sox have done well, too, with their six championships—that puts them only 20 behind the New York Yankees. Think of the fabled “Murderer’s Row” of the ’20s, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Bob
Meusel. Read about the home-run derbies of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. For fun, get a book on the dramatics (members of the team often squabbled with each other) of Reggie Jackson and Ron Guidry. Hunt around on the Web for stories of the efficiency of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Any place you look, you will see the same story: The Yankees win. All told, Yankee teams have won a full quarter of all the World Series ever held.
HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS come in bunches: Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers took the Stanley Cup in 1990, 1988, and ‘87, as well as 1985 and ’84, and they broke the streak of four in a row won by the New York Islanders between 1980 and ‘83. But the real champion of champions is the Montreal Canadians, who won four in a row before the Islanders’ reign, and five in a row between 1956 and ’59. In fact, if any team can challenge the Celtics and Yankees as dominant in their sport, it is the Habs (short for habitant, French for a farmer from Quebec, the Canadian province in which Montreal is located)—who have won 24 Stanley Cups, just over a quarter of all the hockey championships.
WHY DON’T WE HAVE sports dynasties today? Three simple reasons—free agency, expansion, and the draft. In the old days, players were tied to the team that paid them. The team could trade a player, but a player could not sign with a new team. So, teams stayed together for a long time. Today, expiring contracts cause teams to reshuffle not only every year, but even during a season. A team going nowhere with an expensive player who will leave next year will try to trade him before the year runs out. When the Celtics and Canadians dominated their sports, they had very few rivals. The National Hockey League, for example, had just six teams during much of its early history, until it doubled to twelve in 1967—68. And then there is the draft: Teams with the worst records now get first crack at the best high school and college players. That does not guarantee a team will turn around, but it does mean new stars are spread around.
MAJOR LEAGUE BROTHERS
VINCE, JOE, AND DOM DIMAGGIO all played in the major leagues—with Dom’s lifetime .298 average being quite good, and Joe’s .325 making him a frequent choice as the best ever.
Felipe, Mitty, and Jesus Alou were the first brothers to bat one after another in order. They did it on September 10. 1963. Playing for the San Francisco Giants against the New York Mets—they went down one, two, three. Five days later, they formed the first all-brothers starting outfield in baseball history. Moises, Felipe’s son, is still playing, and collectively, the four Alous have played more innings than any other baseball family
The winningest duo of brother pitchers is Phil and Joe Nickro. Phil’s knuckleball won him 318 games in 24 years, and in 22 years, Joe won another 221. Their family total of 539 gives them 10 more than Gaylord and Jim Perry. Joe’s son Lance is a first baseman, not a pitcher. but he is playing today.