For sports fans, October is a fun month, as it’s the only time that all four major North American professional sports leagues are in action (MLB, the NFL, the NHL, and the NBA).
With Major League Baseball, the playoffs get underway and soon the current year’s champs will be determined in the World Series. In the NFL, teams are approaching mid-season form and football fans can start to clearly see the contenders for the Super Bowl.
With the NHL and NBA, October marks the beginning of the season where fans can dream early about winning the Stanley Cup or Larry O’Brien Trophy.
With October coming up and thinking about all 4 leagues, some may think about the great sports franchises that have come to represent their respective sports. But how does one compare the top teams in North American professional sports history?
For starters, I’ll admit my own analysis is somewhat subjective. When you think about each league, certain teams pop out.
For objectivity purposes, I considered a variety of factors such as championships won, overall record, overall playoff appearances, franchise value (according to Forbes), and legendary players (please note that the MLB records are through the 2009 season).
A list like this would favor teams that have been around since the earlier days of their respective leagues, although a few younger clubs that have become great winners in their sports could easily be considered among the greatest.
That being said, I do realize that winning percentages of the top teams tend to be higher in the NFL and NBA versus the NHL and MLB. I was sure to take that into consideration.
Let me know in your comments what you think. Did I get these rankings right? Are there teams I left out that should have made the list? Is my logic off or is it coherent?
