Washington's 10 Greatest Teams

Today, the Mets start a series away to the Washington Nationals.

Washington's 10 Greatest Teams

Honorable Mention to the University of Maryland, for the 1951 and 1953 National Championships won by their football team, and the 2002 National Championship won by their basketball team.

Honorable Mention to the Georgetown University basketball team. They reached what we would now call the NCAA Final Four in 1943. From 1980 to 1992, they won the Big East Conference 5 times in the regular season, 6 times in Tournament, 4 times in both, reached the NCAA Final 3 times, and won the National Championship in 1982. They swept the Conference titles and reached another Final Four in 2007.

Honorable Mention to the Washington Mystics. The city's WNBA team reached the league's last 4 in 2002 and 2017.

Honorable Mention to the Washington Freedom, 2003 Women's United Soccer Association Champions, and 2007 United Soccer League W-League Champions. The current team in the National Women's Soccer League, the Washington Spirit, reached the Final in 2016.

10. 1998 Washington Capitals. The only D.C.-area hockey team to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, although they got swept in 4 straight by the Detroit Red Wings. If you don't count soccer, this is the last Finals berth by a D.C. team.

9. 1933 Washington Senators. Still the city's last baseball Pennant.

8. 1971-76 Washington Redskins. In 6 seasons, George Allen's "Over-the-Hill Gang" made 5 Playoffs, and in 1972 won the NFC Eastern Division and then the NFC Championship, before coming all too close to shocking the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII.

7. 1990-92 Washington Redskins. I'm counting this team as separate from the title team of the 1980s, because of the 1988 and '89 Playoff gap. This team won 3 straight NFC East titles, and won Super Bowl XXVI -- still the last team to "Fight for old D.C." to the end and win.

Since bowing out of the 1992-93 NFC Playoffs, the 'Skins have played a grand total of 7 Playoff games, winning only 2, the last of those in 2005. In the 21 seasons since leaving Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the District for what's now named FedEx Field in the suburbs of Landover, Maryland, they've made the Playoffs only 5 times.

6. 2004-08 D.C. United. Can a Major League Soccer team, however successful, really be placed ahead of a team in one of the "Big Four" sports? Yes, if they've won a title. They won the 2004 MLS Cup, the the Supporters' Shield as the team with the league's best record in the regular season in 2006 and 2007, and the U.S. Open Cup, the American equivalent of England's FA Cup, in 2008. They won it again in 2013, despite having one of the worst regular-season records in the league.

5. 1996-99 D.C. United. In the 1st 4 seasons of MLS, DCU made the MLS Cup Final all 4 times, winning in 1996, 1997 and 1998. In the 1st season, 1996, they also won the U.S. Open Cup, for the U.S. version of "The Double." They won the Supporters' Shield as the team with the league's best record in the regular season in 1997 and 1999. And they won the CONCACAF Champions League in 1998.

4. 1924-25 Washington Senators. Back-to-back Pennants, and the District's only World Series win, in 1924.

3. 1975-79 Washington Bullets. 5 seasons, 3 NBA Eastern Conference titles, and the 1978 NBA Championship, Washington's only pro basketball title. The team known since 1997 as the Wizards has won only 5 Playoff series in the 39 years since.

2. 1937-45 Washington Redskins. The team's 1st 9 seasons in the D.C. area, and they reached 5 NFL Championship Games (just missing 2 others), winning the title in 1937 and 1942.

1. 1982-87 Washington Redskins. In 6 seasons, the 'Skins made the Playoffs 5 times, won the NFC East 4 times, made 4 NFC Championship Games, lost Super Bowl XVIII, and won Super Bowls XVII and XXII.