Drought (sport)

In sports, a drought refers to instances in which an individual or team has gone through a lengthy period of time without accomplishing some goal. For a team, this usually refers to an extended period of time without making the playoffs or winning a championship. Droughts occur for a variety of reasons, from chronic mismanagement to bad luck. Some droughts are also popularly attributed to a curse.

North America

Droughts by sport

• In MLB, the Chicago Cubs suffered a 108-year World Series drought from 1908 until 2016, when they defeated the Cleveland Indians. In turn, the Indians inherited the longest active drought, last winning the World Series in 1948. The Texas Rangers are the oldest franchise that is yet to win a single World Series title having lost in 2010 and 2011.

Further information: List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts

• In the NHL, the New York Rangers suffered a 54-year Stanley Cup drought from 1940 until 1994, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks. The longest current title drought is held by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have not won the Stanley Cup, or even appeared in the Finals, since 1967.
  Further information: List of NHL franchise post-season droughts
• In the NFL, four teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars), and eight other teams have never won that game. The longest active title drought is that of the Arizona Cardinals franchise, which last won an NFL championship in the 1947 season. The Cardinals have played home games in four cities in three market areas since the team last won a title: Chicago, St. Louis, and the Phoenix suburbs of Tempe and Glendale.
  Further information: List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
• 11 NBA teams have never won a championship. The league's longest drought belongs to the Sacramento Kings, who have not won an NBA championship or even been to the NBA Finals since 1951, when they were known as the Rochester Royals. Sacramento is the fifth city to host the team since it last won a title (Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Omaha are the others).
  Further information: List of NBA franchise post-season droughts
• In the CFL, the longest current Grey Cup drought is held by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 20 years, following the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' win in 2019 that ended the team's 30-year championship drought. The Tiger-Cats last won the Grey Cup in 1999, defeating the Calgary Stampeders 32–21. Historically, the CFL's longest continuous drought is 45 years (the Saskatchewan Roughriders, from 1921, the first year they were eligible to play for the Grey Cup to 1966).
• In Major League Soccer (MLS), the longest current MLS Cup drought is 23 years, held by three teams, FC Dallas, the New England Revolution, and the New York Red Bulls, as each team has failed to win the league title despite having competed in every MLS season dating back to 1996. All have made MLS Cup Final appearances (Dallas lost to the Colorado Rapids in MLS Cup 2010, the Red Bulls lost to the Columbus Crew in MLS Cup 2008; and New England lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup 2002, MLS Cup 2005, and MLS Cup 2014 and to the Houston Dynamo in MLS Cup 2006 and MLS Cup 2007). FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United FC, the Montreal Impact, Nashville SC, New York City FC, Orlando City SC, the Philadelphia Union, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Inter Miami CF have also never won an MLS Cup title, but were added as expansion teams after 1996. Defunct teams CD Chivas USA, Miami Fusion FC and the Tampa Bay Mutiny never won the MLS Cup before they were shut down.
  Further information: List of MLS club post-season droughts
• With regard to other major domestic trophies, the longest active Supporters Shield drought is shared by two teams, the Colorado Rapids and the New England Revolution. Neither has won a Supporters Shield despite competing in every MLS season since 1996. Among MLS teams, the longest U.S. Open Cup drought is 20 years, shared by three teams, the Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls, and San Jose Earthquakes. Eight other current United States-based teams have not won the Open Cup (FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United FC, New York City FC, Orlando City SC, the Philadelphia Union, the Portland Timbers, and Real Salt Lake), but were added as expansion teams after 1996. The three Canada-based MLS teams, the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are ineligible as they compete in the Voyageurs Cup.

Cities with significant droughts

Several North American cities are considered to have championship droughts among their “Big Four” pro sports leagues:

• 93 years - Ottawa Since 1927 Stanley Cup during the original inception of the organisation (re-entry into the NHL in 1992-current, lost 2007 Stanley Cup Finals); The CFL's Rough Riders has won 7 Grey Cup since then, before folding in 1996; Its successor, the Redblacks, won the Grey Cup in 2016. The city's major junior hockey team 67's also won three OHL Championships and two Memorial Cups).
• 57 years – San Diego since 1963 AFL title (pre-Super Bowl, lost Super Bowl XXIX in 1995, Chargers relocated beginning in 2017), no World Series title (lost 1984 and 1998 World Series), no NBA title or finals appearances (Clippers relocated to Los Angeles in 1984)
• 55 years – Buffalo since 1965 AFL title (pre-Super Bowl, lost Super Bowl XXV in 1991 through Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994), no Stanley Cup title since joining the NHL in 1970 (lost 1975 and 1999 Stanley Cup Finals), no NBA title or finals appearances (Braves relocated to San Diego in 1978)
• 50 years – Vancouver no Stanley Cup title since joining the NHL in 1970 (lost 1982, 1994, and 2011 Stanley Cup Finals; The CFL's BC Lions have won six Grey Cups, last in 2011, the city's major junior hockey team Giants also won the 2006 WHL Championship and the 2007 Memorial Cup), no NBA title or finals appearances (Grizzlies relocated to Memphis in 2001)
• 49 years – Milwaukee since 1971 NBA title (lost 1974 NBA Finals and 1982 World Series; the city's Marquette University won the 1977 NCAA Basketball Championship)
• 43 years – Portland, Oregon since 1977 NBA title (lost 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals; MLS’ Timbers have won the 2015 MLS Cup)
• 41 years – Winnipeg no Stanley Cup title since joining the NHL in 1979 (won three Avco Cups in the WHA), neither the former nor the current Jets franchise have made the Stanley Cup Finals (The CFL's Blue Bombers have won eleven Grey Cups, last in 2019)
• 41 years – Salt Lake City has not won a major championship since the Jazz relocated from New Orleans in 1979, lost 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals (MLS' Real Salt Lake have won the 2009 MLS Cup, the city's University of Utah also won the 1944 NCAA Basketball Championship)
• 35 years – Sacramento waiting for first since the Kings relocated from Kansas City in 1985, no NBA Finals appearances (The WNBA's Monarchs won the 2005 WNBA Finals and lost the 2006 WNBA Finals, but folded after the 2009 season
• 32 years – Charlotte waiting for first since joining the NBA in 1988 (lost Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and Super Bowl 50 in 2016; the Hornets have never made the NBA Finals)
• 31 years – Calgary since 1989 Stanley Cup, lost 2004 Stanley Cup Finals (The CFL's Stampeders have won five Grey Cups since then, last in 2018, the city's major junior hockey team Hitmen also won two WHL Championships)
• 31 years – Orlando waiting for first since joining the NBA in 1989 (lost 1995 and 2009 NBA Finals)
• 30 years – Edmonton since 1990 Stanley Cup, lost 2006 Stanley Cup Finals (The CFL's Eskimos have won four Grey Cups since then, last in 2015, the city's major junior hockey team Oil Kings also won two WHL Championships and the 2014 Memorial Cup)
• 30 years – Cincinnati since 1990 World Series title, neither the Reds nor the Bengals have returned to the World Series or the Super Bowl respectively.
• 29 years – San Jose no Stanley Cup title since joining the NHL in 1991 (lost 2016 Stanley Cup Finals; MLS' Earthquakes won two MLS Cups, last in 2003)
• 29 years – Minneapolis–St. Paul since 1991 World Series title (1969 NFL title (non-Super Bowl), 1954 NBA title, however, the Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960; two Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 1981 and 1991, however, the North Stars relocated to Dallas in 1993). This is the longest current championship drought for any metro area with a team in each of the “Big Four” leagues. The Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, and Wild have yet to make a championship appearance since 1991 (The WNBA's Minnesota Lynx have won four WNBA titles, last in 2017)
• 27 years – Montreal since 1993 Stanley Cup, the Canadiens have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals since then (The CFL's Alouettes have won three Grey Cups since then, last in 2010), no World Series appearances (Expos relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2005)
• 25 years – Jacksonville waiting for first since joining the NFL in 1995 (the Jaguars have never made the Super Bowl)
• 25 years – Atlanta since 1995 World Series title (no Super Bowl, NBA, or Stanley Cup titles; Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011), lost 1996 and 1999 World Series, and Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999 and Super Bowl LI in 2017 (MLS' Atlanta United won the 2018 MLS Cup)
• 23 years – Nashville has not won a major championship since the Titans relocated from Houston in 1997, lost Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 and 2017 Stanley Cup Finals (the city's Vanderbilt University won two NCAA Baseball Championships, most recently in 2019)
• 20 years – Columbus has not won a major championship since the Blue Jackets joined the NHL in 2000 and have yet to make a Stanley Cup Finals appearance (MLS' Crew won the 2008 MLS Cup, the city's Ohio State University also won eight NCAA Football Championships, most recently in 2014, and the 1960 NCAA Basketball Championship)
• 19 years – Memphis has not won a major championship since the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver in 2001 and has yet to make an NBA Finals appearance
• 19 years – Phoenix since 2001 World Series title, lost Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, no NBA Finals appearances since 1993, no Stanley Cup Finals appearances since the Coyotes relocated from Winnipeg in 1996
• 16 years – Tampa Bay since 2004 Stanley Cup, lost 2008 World Series and 2015 Stanley Cup Finals
• 14 years – Raleigh since 2006 Stanley Cup (Duke and North Carolina, both located in the region, have each won two NCAA Basketball Championships during this span), the Hurricanes have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals since then
• 13 years – Indianapolis since Super Bowl XLI in 2007, lost Super Bowl XLIV in 2010; the Pacers have never won an NBA title since joining the NBA in 1976, and made a solitary NBA Finals appearance in 2000 (won the ABA title in 1973 (non-NBA Finals); the WNBA's Indiana Fever won the WNBA title in 2012)
• 13 years – Anaheim since 2007 Stanley Cup
• 12 years – Detroit since 2008 Stanley Cup, lost 2009 Stanley Cup Finals and 2012 World Series, no Super Bowl appearances (won 1957 NFL title (pre-Super Bowl); the Lions failed to win all 16 games and finished with an “0–16” record in the 2008 season), no NBA title since 2004
• 12 years – Oklahoma City no NBA title since the Thunder relocated from Seattle in 2008, lost 2012 NBA Finals
• 10 years – New Orleans since 2010 Super Bowl
• All year counts are current as of 2020.

Those who believe in the Buffalo Curse ^[1] cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills from 1990 to 1993, as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres to ever win the Stanley Cup. Wide Right, No Goal, and The Music City Miracle also contribute to the belief in the Buffalo Curse. In 2006, when the Sabres lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, four of their top six defensemen were lost to injury along with Tim Connolly, the leading scorer of the playoffs at the time of his injury. Even though the Sabres made it back to the conference finals the next year, they lost again, this time to the division rival Ottawa Senators. It is notable that the Buffalo Bills won the AFL championship in 1964 and 1965. The alleged “curse”, however, has not extended to the city's fringe or minor league teams—the Buffalo Bandits of the NLL have won 4 league championships (1992, 1993, 1996, 2008) and six division Championships (1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008), and the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League, based in Buffalo but playing home games in Rochester, won the 2016 NWSL Championship. The Flash also won league titles in the two competitions that directly preceded the NWSL—Women's Professional Soccer in 2011 and WPSL Elite in 2012. The Flash also won the NWSL Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, in that league's inaugural 2013 season, but lost the championship final to Portland Thorns FC. The Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League won their first Isobel Cup in the 2016–17 season. ^[2]

The San Diego Padres have never won a World Series, believed^{[ by whom? ]} to stem from the San Diego Sports Curse . San Diego's former NFL team, the Chargers and its former NBA teams, the Rockets and Clippers, never won a Super Bowl or an NBA championship when located within the city. The Padres are tied with the Texas Rangers for the most World Series appearances (two) of the seven teams without a World Series championship. The Chargers won the 1963 AFL championship and only appeared in one Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXIX, which they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 49–26).

Some cities with at least three teams have shorter yet notable droughts. Minneapolis–Saint Paul has not reached a championship series or Super Bowl since the Twins won the 1991 World Series. This drought, like the one in Buffalo, has not extended to the market's fringe or minor league teams—two such teams, the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and the Minnesota Stars of the current North American Soccer League, won league championships in 2011, and the Lynx claimed league titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Since the founding of Major League Soccer in 1996, both Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. have won all three major U.S. soccer trophies (MLS Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup) during their “Big Four” droughts. Toronto won all three major Canadian soccer trophies (MLS Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup and Voyageurs Cup) in the 2017 MLS season, during its "Big Four" drought. San Jose has won the MLS Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup during its current "Big Four" drought while Portland and Salt Lake City have won the MLS Cup (but no MLS Supporters’ Shields or U.S. Open Cups) during their "Big Four" droughts. Atlanta won MLS Cup 2018 then the 2019 U.S. Open Cup during its "Big Four" drought.

All of the Canadian cities listed above have won multiple Grey Cups during their "Big Four" droughts listed above.

Notable former droughts:

• Prior to the Cavaliers winning the 2016 NBA Finals, Cleveland had gone 52 years without a championship in any major professional sport. The drought began after the Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl). The Indians lost two World Series, the Browns did not make it to the Super Bowl, and the Cavaliers lost two NBA finals during the drought.
• New Orleans had gone 43 years without winning a championship in any major professional sport until the New Orleans Saints brought the city its first professional sports title via the 2010 Super Bowl. The drought began in 1967, the inaugural year of the New Orleans Saints (the oldest professional sports team still playing in New Orleans). During the drought, neither the Saints nor the Hornets (now the Pelicans) made the Super Bowl or the NBA finals respectively.
• Seattle had gone 35 years without winning a championship in any major professional sport from the 1979 NBA Finals to Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. During the drought, the Mariners never made the World Series, the Seahawks lost Super Bowl XL in 2006, and the then SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) lost the 1996 NBA Finals. Including only Seattle's current major league sports teams, the Mariners and the Seahawks, increases the former drought's length to 38 years (because the Seahawks were founded in 1976, the earlier of the two teams’ inceptions).
• Phoenix had gone 33 years without winning a championship in any major professional sport until the Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series. The drought began in 1968 with the inception of the Phoenix Suns (the oldest professional sports team still playing in Phoenix). During the drought, the Diamondbacks did not make the World Series (albeit only beginning play in 1997), the Cardinals did not make the Super Bowl, the Suns lost two NBA Finals, and the Coyotes did not make the Stanley Cup Final (albeit only beginning play in 1996). The Arizona Rattlers did win the Arena Football League twice during this dry spell, in 1994 and 1997. Since the World Series title, however, Phoenix has experienced a 16-year ongoing drought, leaving that World Series title its only major sports championship.
• Kansas City had gone 30 years without a championship in any major professional sport. The struggles started after the Royals won the 1985 World Series. During the drought, the Kansas City Royals themselves were the only team to have made it to the championship round where they lost to the Giants in 2014 while the Chiefs did not make it to the Super Bowl.
• Prior to the Capitals winning the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, Washington, D.C. had gone 26 years without a championship in any of the “Big Four” sports. The drought began after the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI in 1992. During the drought, the Capitals themselves were the only team from Washington, D.C. that had made it to the championship round, losing the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals before winning the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.
• Prior to the Raptors winning the 2019 NBA Finals, Toronto had also gone 26 years without a “Big Four” title or even an appearance in a championship round. The drought began after the Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series. During the drought, no Canadian-based team had won a championship in the four major professional sports.
• Prior to the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series, Philadelphia had gone 25 years without a championship. The drought began after the 76ers won the 1983 NBA Finals. The Flyers lost the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, the Phillies lost the 1993 World Series, the Flyers again lost the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, the 76ers lost the 2001 NBA Finals, and the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. During the 2007 MLB season, the Phillies were the first professional sports team to reach 10,000 losses. The drought was explained by locals as the Curse of Billy Penn, in reference to the statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall and a supposed gentlemen's agreement to build nothing higher than the statue. The "curse" was lifted when a small statue was placed atop the Comcast Center, then the tallest building in Philadelphia. The current tallest building in Philadelphia, the Comcast Technology Center also has a small statue of William Penn affixed to the highest structural element. ^{[3] [4]}
• Prior to winning the 2017 World Series, Houston had gone 22 years without a championship in any major professional sport. The drought began after the Houston Rockets won the 1995 NBA Finals. The Astros lost the 2005 World Series, the Rockets did not make it to the NBA Finals, and the Texans did not make it to the Super Bowl during the drought.

Outside North America

Association football

Argentina

• The national team has not won a major tournament since the 1993 Copa América, accounting for 27 years without an official championship to 2020. ^[5]
• Argentine Primera División regulars Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata has not won a professional league championship since the Professional Primera División inception in 1931.
• Other famous droughts on the Argentine Primera División were the 34-year-long drought for Racing Club de Avellaneda between 1966 and 2001 and the 18-year-long drought for Club Atlético River Plate between 1957 and 1975.

Austria

• FC Red Bull Salzburg participated in 1994–95 UEFA Champions League under the name SV Casino Salzburg, yet after Red Bull takeover, the club were repeatedly knocked out during the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, starting from 2006–07 season including eleven failed attempts. However, the club only managed to qualify directly to the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, since the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League winners qualified for the qualifying rounds via their domestic league. ^[6]

Brazil

• EC Vitória has never won a national-level trophy since its fundation in 1899.
• Ponte Preta has never won a major trophy since its fundation in 1900.
• Internacional has not won the league since 1979, although coming second in four occasions since.

England

• The senior national team has not won a major trophy since the 1966 FIFA World Cup. ^[7]
• Preston North End has not won the league since 1890.
• Newcastle United has not won a major trophy since 1969. ^[8]
• West Bromwich Albion has not won the league since 1920.
• Manchester City went 35 years between winning major trophies, from the 1976 League Cup ^[9] to the 2011 FA Cup.
• Liverpool had not won the league since 1990, before finally winning their first Premier League Championship in 2019–2020. ^[10]
• Manchester United went 26 years without winning the league from 1967 until they ended their drought by winning the newly formed Premier League in 1993. ^[11]
• Tottenham Hotspur has not won the league since 1961.
• Fulham were founded in 1879 and have never won a major trophy. ^[12]
• Crystal Palace were founded in 1905 and have never won a major trophy. The closest they have come to winning a major trophy were in the 1990 and 2016 FA Cup finals. On both occasions they lost to Manchester United. ^[13]
• Everton have not won a major trophy for 24 years. The last time they lifted any trophy was in 1995 when they defeated Manchester United 1–0 in the FA Cup final. ^[14]

Finland

• The national team, which played their first international in 1911, managed to qualify to the first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2020, in their history. ^[15]

France

• Saint-Étienne are the most successful team in Ligue 1 history, winning 10 titles, but their last came in the 1980–81 season. ^[16]
• Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur (also known simply as Nice) won four Ligue 1 titles in the 1950s, but their last title was in the 1958–1959 season, 60 years ago. ^[17]

Germany

• While 1.FC Nurnberg is one of the most successful teams in German footballing history, their last league title came in the 1967–1968 Bundesliga season. ^[18]
• Hertha BSC won the German Championship, the equivalent of the Bundesliga in 1930 and 1931, but have not won the league since. As of 2020, it has been 89 years since Hertha has won the league. ^[19]
• Schalke 04 have not won the German Championship since 1958.
• Bayer 04 Leverkusen were founded in 1904, although coming second in five occasions, they have not won the German Championship.

Hungary

• The national team, played at the UEFA Euro 2016, after their last participation in the competition in 1972.

Italy

• Genoa has not won the league since 1924, and has not won a major trophy since 1937.
• Pro Vercelli has not won a major trophy (Italian league) since 1922.
• Bologna Football Club 1909 has won seven Serie A titles but their last came in the 1963–1964 season. ^[20]

Mexico

• Atlas F.C. has not won the Liga MX championship since the 1950-51 season. Additionally, they have not played a championship game since the Torneo de Verano 1999 final.
• Cruz Azul FC won their eighth and most recent championship in the Torneo de Invierno 1997. Since then they have qualified 6 times to the championship game (Invierno 1999, Clausura 2008, Apertura 2008, Apertura 2009, Clausura 2013, Apertura 2018), losing in every time.

Netherlands

• The national team managed to play three World Cup finals, in 1974, 1978 and 2010, but lost all of them.

Portugal

• The national team, which played their first international in 1921, won their first major tournament in UEFA Euro 2016.
• Benfica has not won a European trophy since the 1961–62 European Cup; the club has lost eight European finals since then, the last one in 2014. ^[21]

Scotland

• The national team has failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
• Dundee has not won the Scottish Cup since 1910. ^[22]
• Hibernian ended a 114-year wait to win the Scottish Cup in 2016, having not won the competition since 1902. ^{[23] [24]} The club lost ten Scottish Cup Finals between these victories.
• St Johnstone ended a 130-year wait to win a major national trophy (Scottish league championship, Scottish Cup or Scottish League Cup) when they won the 2013–14 Scottish Cup. ^{[25] [26]}

Spain

• Real Betis won their only league championship in 1935. The other top-team of Seville, Sevilla FC, won their only La Liga championship in 1946. ^[27]
• Real Madrid won six of the 11 first European Cups ever disputed, and then entered in a 32-year period without winning a single European top championship. This was broken in 1998, when Los Blancos won their seventh European top championship. This was followed by another two Champions League titles in the following four seasons.
• Arenas de Getxo is a Basque team which currently plays in the Spanish Tercera División, the fourth level in Spanish football system. The team competed in the first seven La Liga seasons starting in 1929. Previously Arenas had won the Spanish Cup in 1919, so the drought is now 100 years.

Australian Rules football

In the VFL/AFL (1897–present), the longest premiership drought was that of South Melbourne/Sydney, who won their third premiership in 1933, but did not win another premiership until 2005, 72 years later.

The second-longest drought in the league was that of St Kilda (67 years), who won their first (and only) premiership in 1966; St Kilda did not compete in 1916 or 1917 due to World War I.

Melbourne currently hold the longest active drought, having not won a premiership since 1964.

Longest VFL/AFL premiership droughts (25 years or more)

Years	Team	Previous VFL/AFL Premiership	Next VFL/AFL Premiership	Grand Finals during drought
72	South Melbourne/Sydney	1933	2005	1934, 1935, 1936, 1945, 1996
671	St Kilda	Never	1966	1913, 1965
62	Footscray/Western Bulldogs	1954	2016	1961
55	Melbourne	1964	Drought active	1988, 2000
53	St Kilda	1966	Drought active	1971, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2010 replay
52	Fitzroy	1944	Never2
50	North Melbourne	Never	1975	1950, 1974
44	Geelong	1963	2007	1967, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995
37	Richmond	1980	2017	1982
36	Hawthorn	Never	1961
32	Collingwood	1958	1990	1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1977 replay, 1979, 1980, 1981 3
29	Footscray	Never	1954
274	Geelong	Never	1925	5
25	Carlton	1995	Drought active	1999
25	Fremantle	Never	Drought active	2013

¹ St Kilda did not compete in 1916 or 1917 due to World War I.
² Fitzroy merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996, having never appeared in another Grand Final after their 1944 premiership, to become the Brisbane Lions. The AFL deem the merged Lions as a continuation of the Brisbane Bears and not of Fitzroy.
³ This is commonly known as the "Colliwobbles".
⁴ Geelong did not compete in 1916 due to World War I.
⁵ Geelong finished runners-up in 1897, but no Grand Final was required under the round-robin finals system in place that year.

Baseball

Japan

• The national team has not won a World Baseball Classic title since 2009.
• The Hiroshima Toyo Carp has not won a series title since 1984 and Hanshin Tigers has not won the league since its first title in 1985 in what its known as the Curse of the Colonel Sanders

South Korea

• The Lotte Giants has not won a series title since 1992.

Basketball

Argentina

• The national team has not won the FIBA World Cup since the inaugural World Championship in 1950; having lost to the former Yugoslavia team (now Serbia) in 2002 and to Spain in 2019 (won two FIBA AmeriCups and a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics since then).

Rugby league

The Parramatta Eels hold the longest active drought in the NRL totalling thirty-three years, having not won a premiership since 1986. For reference, Parramatta's first premiership came in its 35th season in 1981. The next longest active drought is twenty-five years held by the Canberra Raiders who have not won a premiership since 1994. Between 1994 and 2019, Canberra had not qualified for a grand final until they broke their drought defeating South Sydney in the 2019 preliminary final. ^[28]

The North Sydney Bears held the longest premiership drought in the NSWRL/NRL with a total of seventy-seven years. This lasted between their second premiership in 1922 up until the end of 1999 when they began a short-lived merger with Manly-Warringah known as the Northern Eagles. North Sydney also had the longest drought waiting for the next grand final appearance which stood at fifty six years. Their last grand final appearance was against Newtown in 1943. ^[29] This merger was dissolved after three seasons resulting in North Sydney being expelled from the league. As of 2020 they are still applying for re-entry.

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks won their first premiership in 2016 after 50 seasons of NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL competition – the longest wait for a first title that any club has endured. Prior to this, the Sharks had played in four Grand Finals (including a replay in 1978) for one draw and three losses.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs won 20 premierships in the NSWRL from the league's inception in 1908 until 1971, but had to wait to win their 21st title (their 1st in the NRL era) until 2014, a drought lasting 41 years (the Rabbitohs were inactive in 2000-01).

The Gold Coast itself as a city has suffered a premiership drought of sorts. The original Gold Coast side was founded in 1988 as The Gold Coast-Tweed Giants and then were rebranded three times. First as The Gold Coast Seagulls, then Gold Coast Gladiators and then The Gold Coast Chargers. In 2006, The Gold Coast Titans entered the competition. Since 1988, no Gold Coast team has made a grand final or won a premiership. The best season for any of the franchises was in 2010, when Gold Coast Titans made the preliminary final. ^[30]

Hull F.C. lost seven consecutive Challenge Cup Final appearances at Wembley Stadium between 1959 and 2008. ^[31] The team won two Challenge Cups during that time, but the final victories were at Elland Road (1982 replay) and the Millennium Stadium (2005, while Wembley was being rebuilt). ^[31] Hull finally ended the drought in 2016 by beating Warrington at Wembley before beating Wigan at Wembley in 2017 to win back to back Challenge Cups.

Warrington Wolves were founded in 1876 and have won three premierships in their history with the last being in 1955. Out of all the current teams in The Super League they have waited longer than any other team to win their next premiership. As of 2019, it has been 64 years since Warrington had won the premiership. ^{[32] [33]}

The Castleford Tigers currently hold the record for the longest time to win a premiership in either The Super League or The NRL. Founded in 1926, Castleford have only played in three grand finals (1938,1969 & 2017) and for the first time in their 92-year history they finished first in The 2017 Super League season to claim their first ever league leaders shield. Castleford's drought of 93 years to wait for a first title eclipses The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks record in The NRL of 49 years who had the longest drought of any professional rugby league team in Australia to wait for a first title. ^{[34] [35] [36]}

Rugby union

In France, ASM Clermont Auvergne had a championship history arguably as tortured as the most "cursed" teams in North America or Australia. From their formation in 1911 through 2009, they had never won a national title despite making the championship final 10 times, and had come within a converted try in six of those games.

The drought culminated in three consecutive title-game losses in 2007 through 2009, and Les Jaunards finally broke through in 2010 to win their first title after 91 years of competition (they did not play in 1915–1919 or 1940–1942 due to World War I and World War II).

Cricket

Queensland won the Sheffield Shield in 1994/95, its 63rd season of competition, having finished second on 11 occasions in that time. In 46 of those years, only five teams competed for the Shield, as Tasmania were admitted in 1977/78 (winning the Shield in 2007/08, after 30 years).

Somerset have not yet won the English County Championship since they were admitted to the competition in 1891. ^{[37] [38]} Gloucestershire have not won the Championship since it was constituted in 1890, but won three unofficial "Champion County" titles in the 1870s, the last in 1874.

Northamptonshire have not yet won the Championship since being admitted to the competition in 1905, after the club was granted first class status.

The England cricket team did not win a 50-over ICC World Cup until 2019, 44 years after the tournament was first contested in 1975, even though England founded the game of cricket.

See also

• List of Current NFL franchise post-season droughts
• List of Major League Baseball franchise post-season droughts
• List of National Basketball Association franchise post-season droughts
• List of National Hockey League franchise post-season droughts
• List of Major League Soccer club post-season droughts

References

1. The Buffalo Curse
2. "Buffalo Beauts Win 2017 NWHL Isobel Cup". March 21, 2017.
3. "Ironworkers plant Billy Penn atop new Comcast tower to help Eagles avoid curse - Philly". Philly.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
4. "Yes, There's a Billy Penn Statue on Philly's New Skyscraper". NBC 10 Philadelphia. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
5. Wilson, Jonathan (26 June 2016). "Argentina on verge of first trophy for 23 years – but beware revitalized Chile". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
6. "Red Bull Salzburg erstmals in Champions League!". Kronen Zeitung (in German). 12 May 2019.
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