To the great Meadowlark Lemon, best wishes on his birthday. For the rest of us, the list of best winning streaks and how they compare to the various winning streaks claimed by the Harlem Globetrotters. With a winning streak of 8,829 wins in a row, they have set the standard for winning that is tough to imagine, let alone compare. So today’s list will be the most consecutive wins in 10 different sports:
1. NBA - The Lakers enjoyed a streak of 33 games between 1971 and 1972. I could not find the longest win streak in the WNBA, however, I did find a list of every dunk made in the league.
2. NFL - The Patriots of New England won 21 games in a row between 2003 and 2004. They gave their own record a run this year, but we all know how that ended.
3. MLB - Baseball can never be easy. There is a 26 game win streak by the 1916 Giants, but there was a tie after 14 games. In baseball ties do not count towards anything so its as if the game was never played. For those who believe the tie invalidates the record and for those that live in Chicago, they look to the 1880 Chicago White Stockings and the 1935 Chicago Cubs who both won 21 games in a row as the record.
4. World Cup Soccer - FIFA - In what appears to be the toughest sport to put together a win streak, Italy and Brazil share the record for the longest streak of winning the World Cup with 2. Brazil also has the longest streak of games won during the tournament with 11.
5. NHL - The Pittsburgh Penguins won 17 games in a row to claim the longest streak in the NHL.
6. NCAA Basketball - UCLA put together an 88 Game winning streak and on the woman’s side, UConn had a run of 70 games straight with wins.
7. NCAA Football – Oklahoma won 47 games in a row between 1953 and 1957
8. Golf - The US has won the Ryder cup 7 times in a row on two different occasions. Byron Nelson holds the record for the PGA consecutive wins with 11 and n the LPGA the record of 5 is shared by Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez.
9. NASCAR – Sam Ard won 4 straight races in 1983 to establish the longest win streak in NASCAR history.
10. Yachting - While this is not a sport that garners a lot of attention, the winning streak America enjoyed over the years in The America’s Cup regatta is amazing. While 25 wins in a row doesn’t sound that impressive compared to some of the runs the Globetrotters enjoyed, they were spread out over 152 years. As far as the competitive nature of the sport, it was interesting to read about the first race, where 15 yachts raced around the Isle of Wright. The Schooner America won by 20 minutes and as a result, the cup bears its name. Queen Victoria asked who came in second and the answer was “There is no second, your majesty”. Isn’t that why we love winning streaks?
Also on this day, the thimble was patented and cars were required to have license plates for the first time in 1901. Other birthdays include Al Pacino and Ella Fitzgerald.
Tags: america's cup, fifa, harlem globetrotters, meadowlark lemon, nba, nfl, nhl, win streaks, world cup
