As the final pop up settled into the glove of Red Sox shortstop Alex Cora on Tuesday night, the Yankees' playoff run officially came to an end. For the first time since 1993, the team that had won four World Series, six American League Pennants and ten division titles in the past 13 years would not be playing in October.
Many sports journalists called it the "end of the Yankee dynasty." For me, this dynasty died in 2001, when the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated New York to end their run of three straight World Championships. While just making the playoffs is nice, for a team like the Yankees, anything short of the World Series is often not good enough.
Also, although they made the playoffs for 13 straight years, which is the second longest streak in baseball history, this does not make it a dynasty. To me, a dynasty is a period when teams are in complete control of their sport, winning championships year after year. Here are what I consider the top five sports dynasties of all-time.
No. 5 - Chicago Bulls (1991-1998): This was a team that had it all during the 1990's. They had star appeal with Michael Jordan, they had the loyal sidekick in Scottie Pippen, they even had the "crazy uncle" in Dennis Rodman. Granted, there were a couple years when they didn't win the title, in 1994 and 1995, so that keeps them from being ranked higher. But to have two separate three-peats, including the second when Jordan came back from retirement, is definitely something special.
No. 4 - Montreal Canadians (1950-1960): Okay, okay, you may be asking why a hockey team is ranked in my top five. But except for the past couple of years, the NHL did matter in this country. And it definitely matters in hockey-crazed Canada, where people treat the sport almost as a religion. For the decade between 1950 and 1960, the Canadians made it to the Stanley Cup finals every year, capturing the Cup six times. There has not been another streak like that in hockey since.
No. 3 - New York Yankees (1949-1964) - While I don't consider the modern Yankees to be a dynasty, I definitely consider this bunch to be one of the best teams of all-time, which, as a Red Sox fan, is hard to admit. During this 16-year stretch, the Yanks won nine World Series and fourteen league pennants, only missing out in 1954 and 1959. With players such as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and many more Hall of Famers, they may be the last true dynasty baseball will ever see.
No. 2 - Boston Celtics (1959-1967): After winning the title again last year, it seems as if Celtic Pride is back in Boston. However, for a period in the 1960's, it seemed as if it would never leave. For fourteen magical years, the Celtics won eleven championships, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966, a mark that is tops in all American professional sports. As Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy once said, it seemed as if every year flowers bloomed, school let out and the Celtics won the title.
No. 1 - UCLA Basketball (1967-1973): When people think about sports dynasties, the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins are often the cream of the crop. This is a squad that won seven straight NCAA championships, a hard feat in itself only made harder by having to go through March Madness every year, a single elimination tournament in which even the best team can have an off night and lose. To top it all off, they did it by winning 88 straight games from 1971 to 1974. It is doubtful that any team, in any sport, on any level, will ever accomplish this type of success again.
So while the Yankees had a good run in recent years, don't call them a dynasty. They may have been between 1996 and 2001 but when compared to these other teams, their accomplishments are not as strong. When you throw around the word "dynasty" to teams that don't truly deserve it, you cheapen the recognition for teams that truly dominated their sports.
You can reach this columnist at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
