These logos include college teams: Stanford, Cal,
and the Gaels (G) of St. Mary's College (SMC).
This week, the Mets are visiting the San Francisco Giants.
The San Francisco Bay Area's 10 Greatest Teams
Honorable Mention to the 1962-71 San Francisco Giants. This team set the standard for close-but-no-cigar Giant teams, what later fans would call "Torture." In 10 seasons, the Giants had seasons in which they won 103, 95, 93, 91, 3 90s, 2 88s and an 86.
But they only won the 1962 Pennant and the 1971 NL West title. They finished 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. They finished 2 games behind their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 1965, and a game and a half behind them in 1966. They finished 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves in 1969.
With 5 Hall-of-Famers -- Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry -- they should have won more than the 1 Pennant. But, except for '62 and '71, somebody, usually either the Dodgers or the Cardinals, was better.
Honorable Mention to the 1987-93 San Francisco Giants. Typical of a few frustrating eras for the Giants, in both New York and San Francisco. They won the National League Western Division in 1987, won the Pennant in 1989, and won 103 games but finished 1 game out of the Division title in 1993.
Honorable Mention to the 1997-2003 San Francisco Giants. Not the most talented San Francisco Giant team, but the most accomplished until 2010. It was 7 seasons finishing 1st or 2nd, with 4 Playoff berths, but only 1 trip to the NL Championship Series, resulting in a Pennant, and a World Series they were not far from clinching in Game 6, only to lose it in Game 7. The steroid sins of Barry Bonds were visited on his teammates, the organization, and Giant fans.
Honorable Mention to the 1980-81 Oakland Athletics. Free of the machinations of Charlie Finley, and with Berkeley native Billy Martin having them play "Billy Ball," a team that had been World Champions 6 years earlier, but lost 108 games the year before, had a 29-game jump from 1979 to 1980, finishing 2nd in the AL West to the Kansas City Royals. And the fans finally came out.
In the split-season format of 1981, they came closer than anybody to taking both halves, winning the 1st half and losing the 2nd half to the Royals by just 1 game. Then they swept the Royals in the AL Division Series. The ovation that Billy got at Yankee Stadium before Game 1 of the AL Championship Series must have been incredibly gratifying for him, and very uncomfortable for George Steinbrenner.
But the Yankees swept the A's in 3 straight, and Billy had burned his pitchers out. The team's winning percentage dropped from .570 in 1981 to .420 in 1982, and Billy was out.
Honorable Mention to the 2000-06 Oakland Athletics. This run of success lasted longer than Charlie Finley's, Billy Martin's or Tony LaRussa's, but it didn't get the same kind of results. In 7 seasons, the A's had 5 Playoff berths, 4 AL West titles, and a 2002 season in which they won 103 games, including an AL record 20 straight.
But they couldn't get it done in the postseason. They reached the ALDS 4 straight times from 2000 to 2003, and lost in the deciding Game 5 every time. After a couple of close calls in 2004 and 2005, they finally won a Playoff series in 2006, defeating the Minnesota Twins in 3 straight, for what remains their only postseason series win since 1990. And then they got swept in 4 straight by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.
Billy Beane has been in charge of the A's for 20 seasons, and has never won a Pennant. Tell me again how he's a "genius."
Honorable Mention to the 1946-49 San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were founded in the All-America Football Conference, making them the Bay Area's 1st major league sports team. If that didn't, then their admission to the NFL in 1950 did.
In the AAFC's 4 seasons, they went 9-5, 8-4-2, 12-2 and 9-3, winning the Western Division title in 1949, but losing the Championship Game to the Cleveland Browns. Except for a tiebreaking game to decide the 1957 NFL Western Division title, they wouldn't make the Playoffs again until 1970.
Honorable Mention to the 1970-72 San Francisco 49ers. The most successful Niner team until Bill Walsh came along, Dick Nolan's team won 3 straight NFC Western Division titles, beating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Playoff in 1970 and the Washington Redskins in that round in 1971. But they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 3 straight times, in the NFC Championship in 1970 and '71 and the Division Playoff in '72.
Then they got old in a hurry, and bottomed out in 1978 and '79, finishing 2-14 both times. But those bad seasons allowed them to rebuild through draft picks, and head coach and general manager Walsh did so.
Honorable Mention to the 1967-70 Oakland Raiders. The 1st great Raiders team won 4 straight AFL or AFC Western Division titles, and made the AFL or AFC Championship Game every year. But they only won 1 of those, advancing to Super Bowl II, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
After missing the Playoffs in 1971, Al Davis retooled, and it was a new team that rose, the familiar "Island of Misfit Toys" team coached by John Madden.
Honorable Mention to the 2000-03 Oakland Raiders. If, as it now appears, the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas for the 2019 season, then this is the last great Oakland Raider team. They won 3 straight AFC Western Division titles, lost the 2000 AFC Championship Game to the Baltimore Ravens, lost a 2001 Division Playoff in controversial fashion to the New England Patriots (think of all they could have saved us from if they'd just won that game), and then beat the Jets and the Tennessee Titans to reach Super Bowl XXXVII, which they then lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It must have taken something out of them, because they didn't make the Playoffs again for 14 years.
Honorable Mention to the 1963-68 San Francisco Warriors. After a rough 1st season after moving from Philadelphia (1962-63), the Warriors made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 1964, but lost to the Boston Celtics. Two bad seasons followed, including the trade of Wilt Chamberlain back to Philadelphia, to the replacement team, the 76ers.
Then in 1967, they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in 3 straight and beat the St. Louis Hawks in 6 games to reach the NBA Finals again. As fate would have it, Wilt and the Sixers stood in the way. There would be no World Championship in 1967, in any sport, for San Francisco, the city that was the epicenter of that year's Summer of Love. They got to the Western Division Finals again in 1968, but lost to the Lakers, and went into transition mode.
Honorable Mention to the Bay Area's NCAA Basketball Champions: 1942 Stanford University, 1955 and 1956 University of San Francisco, and 1959 University of California. Stanford also reached the Final Four in 1998, Cal in 1946 and 1960, USF in 1957.
Cal was also retroactively awarded the 1927 National Championship. Stanford's women have been to 13 Final Fours, most recently in 2017, and won the National Championship in 1990 and 1992. Cal's women reached their 1st, and so far only, Final Four in 2013.
Honorable Mention to the 1993-95 San Jose Sharks. After a terrible pair of opening seasons, the Sharks reached the NHL Western Conference Finals in their 3rd and 4th years. Their upset of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1994 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals was hailed as one of the signature achievements of the expansion teams of the early 1990s (San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Florida), before each of those franchises got really good.
Honorable Mention to the 2001-04 San Jose Sharks. They bracketed a 2002-03 season in which they missed the Playoffs completely with Pacific Division titles, their 1st and 2nd 1st-place finishes. But they didn't make the Stanley Cup Finals, getting as far as Game 6 of the 2004 Western Conference Finals. And then came the lockout, killing their momentum.
Honorable Mention to the 2007-11 San Jose Sharks. They won 4 straight Pacific Division titles, and the 2009 President's Trophy for the best regular-season record in the NHL. But they only got as far as the Conference Finals twice, in 2010 and 2011, and flopped badly both times.
They've followed this up with a Conference Quarterfinal loss in 2017 and a Conference Semifinal loss in 2018. If they can win a Stanley Cup in the next couple of years, they'll rise up this list.
Now, the Top 10:
10. 1968-69 Oakland Oaks. Named for the Pacific Coast League baseball team, they were a charter 1967-68 franchise in the American Basketball Association. They missed the Playoffs in that 1st season, but won the ABA title in the 2nd. But ownership realized they would never pull local hoops fans away from the Warriors, and they immediately moved to a city which didn't have an NBA team at the time, Washington, D.C.
9. 1971-77 Golden State Warriors. In their 1st 6 seasons after moving across the Bay to Oakland and changing their name to "Golden State," the W's (or the Dubs, if you prefer) reached the Playoffs 5 times, won 2 Pacific Division titles, won 6 Playoff series, reached the Western Conference Finals 3 times, and won the 1975 NBA Championship. This was considered a stunning upset, as many people picked the Washington Bullets to sweep them in 4 straight, but they pulled off the sweep.
After losing to the Lakers in the 1977 Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors would win just 4 Playoff series in the next 35 years. Given how much talent is produced by Bay Area high schools and colleges, the Area's pro team has to be considered one of the most underachieving teams in the history of major league sports.
It wouldn't have seemed so bad if, after 1975, they had won 3 World Championships,but staggered them: 1985, 1995, 2005. Instead, they went from 1976 to 2015, 39 years, without even making the Conference Finals.
8. 1991-98 San Francisco 49ers. These were the years that Steve Young was finally able to escape from Joe Montana's shadow, until he turned the job over to Jeff Garcia. They went 10-6 in 1991, but missed the Playoffs. That wouldn't happen again in the 7 seasons Young took their snaps.
They won 5 NFC West titles, and reached 4 NFC Championship Games, but only won 1 of them, reaching Super Bowl XXIX, in which Young threw 6 touchdown passes, breaking Montana's record. (It's one that Bay Area native Tom Brady hasn't matched.)
7. 1988-92 Oakland Athletics. In 5 seasons, this team won 4 AL Western Division titles, including 3 straight Pennants. But they only won 1 World Series, in 1989, and while they probably would have won it even if the earthquake hadn't happened, it was kind of hard to celebrate it.
We now know that Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, and possibly others, were steroid cheats. So this entire era of A'sball is under a cloud.
6. 2001-05 San Jose Earthquakes. In both 2001 and 2003, they won the MLS Cup. In 2005, they finished with the best overall record in the regular season, thus winning the Supporters Shield. And then they got moved anyway, becoming the Houston Dynamo -- where they won the next 2 MLS Cups. The Bay Area got screwed.
Fortunately, a new edition of the Quakes -- the 3rd, counting their North American Soccer League forebears -- was established in 2008. This team has gotten to the MLS Cup Semifinals in 2010, and won the Supporters Shield in 2012.
Honorable Mention to the original Quakes, who won a Division title in the original North American Soccer League in 1976, but never reached a league Final, getting to the Semifinal in 1976 and 1983.
Honorable Mention to the Oakland Clippers, who won the championship of the National Professional Soccer League in 1967, its 1st season. Instead of running a 2nd season, it merged with the United Soccer Association, to form the North American Soccer League. After missing the Playoffs in 1968, the Clippers disbanded.
5. 1972-80 Oakland Raiders. This team had talent. Strength. Speed. Intensity. Courage. And the greatest mean streak in football history. They did not, however, have good grooming or good manners. But they had Al Davis, a team owner who believed in them, and who told them, "Just win, baby," because he wanted to build a "commitment to excellence." And they had John Madden, a head coach who believed in them, and who told them, "Don't worry about the horse being blind. Just load the wagon."
Here's what they loaded onto the wagon: 9 seasons, 5 AFC Western Division titles, 6 trips to the AFC Championship Game, and wins in Super Bowls XI and XV. And they did this while playing in the AFC at the same time as Don Shula's Miami Dolphins and Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers.
It should have gone on longer, but the 1981 season was more or less lost as Davis planned the move to Los Angeles. They would return to Oakland, but now, it looks like they're leaving again.
4. 2009-16 San Francisco Giants. Following the last postseason visit under Barry Bonds and a 91-win season that missed the Playoffs with 4 mediocre seasons, the Giants got good again in 2009, coming close to winning the Wild Card. And then, after not winning a World Series at all since moving to San Francisco, they started winning the World Series in even-numbered years: 2010, 2012 and 2014.
They didn't do badly in 2011 and 2015, but were in 2013. The pattern broke in 2016, although they came close to another postseason berth. They were lousy last year, but are threatening for the Playoffs again this year. If they win another Pennant, would 4 Pennants and 3 World Series wins in 9 years put them ahead of the 1970s A's, with 3 straight World Series and 5 straight Division titles?
3. 1971-75 Oakland Athletics. 5 straight AL West titles. 3 straight World Series wins. And remember: They won the 1972 World Series against Cincinnati's Big Red Machine without their best player, the injured Reggie Jackson, and without home-field advantage. So don't tell me the Reds were "the Team of the Decade."
Imagine what they could have done had Charlie Finley been willing to pay to keep them together. If he didn't have the money to do so, he should have sold the team far sooner than he did.
2. 2012-18 Golden State Warriors. They started winning Playoff series again in 2013. They won 51 games in 2014, but lost in the 1st Round. Then they really got underway, and were just 1 win away from 4 straight NBA Championships, something only the Celtics have ever done.
True, their 2015-16 team won a league record 73 games but then blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But in the last 4 seasons, they've faced each other in the Finals ever time, and the Dubs have won 15 games, the Cavs 7, so we can put that to bed.
The Warriors will not face the Cavaliers in the 2019 NBA Finals. But LeBron is now with the Lakers. Lakers-Warriors hasn't been a good rivalry since the Gerald Ford Administration. We may be faced with an epic in next year's West Finals. Even if the Warriors don't make it back, they have surpassed the 1970s A's as the most dominant team from Oakland.
UPDATE: The Lakers didn't even make the Playoffs. The Warriors reached their 5th straight Finals, but lost to the Toronto Raptors. It did not move them up to 1st on this list.
1. 1981-90 San Francisco 49ers. Deciding where to begin was easy: With the season that led to the team's 1st World Championship, winning Super Bowl XVI. The hardest part was deciding when to end it. Do I accept that the team that won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV was substantially different from the one that won Super Bowls XVI and XIX? Or was there enough of a connection there to keep them together?
I decided that there was, breaking up the long dynasty into the Joe Montana years and the Steve Young years. In 10 seasons, Montana got them to 8 NFC West titles, 9 Playoff berths, 14 victorious postseason games, 6 NFC Championship Games, and 4 Super Bowls, winning them all.
The 49ers were the NFL's Team of the Eighties. They may have been the greatest team of all time. In Montana, they had possibly the greatest quarterback; in Jerry Rice, absolutely the greatest receiver; in Roger Craig, the greatest pass-catching running back; in Ronnie Lott, possibly the greatest safety; and legends at several other positions. They had gobs of talent, loads of class, and they just plain looked great in those gold helmets and red jerseys. If only they didn't play their home games in Candlestick Park...
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