Philadelphia's 10 Greatest Teams
The history of Philadelphia sports is laden with teams that should have done more -- including some that did big things but not enough big things.
Honorable Mention to basketball NCAA Tournament winners from Philly: 1954 LaSalle, and 1985 and 2016 Villanova. 'Nova is back in the Final tonight, against Michigan.
Honorable Mention also to the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, the SPHAs, the basketball team that evolved into the Warriors.
Honorable Mention also to the Philadelphia Hilldales, who won Negro League Pennants in 1923, 1924 and 1925.
Honorable Mention to the Philadelphia Athletics' Pennant winners of 1902 and 1905.
Honorable Mention to the Phillies' Pennant winners of 1915 and 1950.
Honorable Mention to the 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets. The city's 1st NFL Champions, they went out of business in 1931, due to the Great Depression.
Honorable Mention to the 1978-81 Eagles. 4 straight Playoff berths, but only 1 NFC Eastern Division title, and only 1 NFC Championship and Super Bowl berth, both in 1980.
Honorable Mention to the 1988-96 Eagles. 9 seasons, 6 Playoff berths, but only 1 NFC Eastern Division Championship, and never reached the NFC Championship Game. Because Buddy Ryan didn't understand offense, and Rich Kotite didn't understand anything. Losing Randall Cunningham to injury for an entire season, and Jerome Brown to a fatal car crash and Reggie White to free agency, didn't help.
Honorable Mention to the 2000-04 Eagles. 5 straight berths, 4 straight NFC Eastern Division Championships, and 4 straight NFC Championship Games -- but only won 1 of them, and lost the Super Bowl. If only Terrell Owens had 10 percent less ego, or Andy Reid had 10 percent better clock management.
Honorable Mention to the 2006-10 Eagles. Already a different team, 5 seasons, 4 Playoff berths, 2 NFC Eastern Division Championships, and an NFC Championship Game, but lost it.
Honorable Mention to the Philadelphia Warriors' NBA Champions of 1947 and 1956.
Honorable Mention to the 1973 Philadelphia Atoms, North American Soccer League Champions. The best that MLS' Philadelphia Union have yet done is reach the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
10. 2017-18 Eagles. After 3 straight seasons missing the Playoffs, they won Super Bowl LII. It remains to be see how well they follow it up.
9. 1959-61 Eagles. Bookended the 1960 NFL Championship with 2nd-place finishes, but other than in 1960, they couldn't break the stranglehold that their geographic rivals, the New York Giants, held on the NFL Eastern Division, and winning your Division was the only way you could make the NFL Playoffs until 1967.
8. 2007-11 Phillies. 5 seasons, 5 straight National League Eastern Division titles, 3 NL Championship Series berths, 2 Pennants, and the 2008 World Championship.
7. 1976-83 Phillies. 8 seasons, 6 Playoff berths, 5 National League Eastern Division titles, but only 2 Pennants, and the 1980 World Championship. This team should have done more.
6. 1944-49 Eagles. 3 straight 2nd-place finishes, followed by 3 straight NFL Eastern Division titles, and the 1948 and 1949 NFL Championships.
5. 1973-78 Flyers. 6 seasons, 4 NHL Patrick Division regular-season titles, 6 trips to the NHL Semifinals, 3 trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, and the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cups. The Flyers have also reached the Finals in 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010, but have never won another Cup.
4. 1965-68 76ers. 4 seasons, 3 NBA Eastern Division titles, reached the Eastern Division Finals 4 times, and won the 1967 NBA Championship, winning 68 regular-season games, then a record.
3. 1929-31 Athletics. 3 straight American League Pennants, and fell 1 game short of 3 straight World Series wins.
2. 1910-14 Athletics. 5 seasons, 4 American League Pennants, 3 World Championships. They might not have been the most talented Philadelphia baseball team, but they are the most accomplished.
1. 1977-85 76ers. 9 seasons, 3 NBA Atlantic Division titles, 7 trips to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, 4 Eastern Conference titles, and the 1983 NBA Championship.
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