February 14, 2023
Following the Eagles' heartbreaking 38-35 loss to the Chiefs Sunday night, Philadelphia's five major teams have now lost a combined 20 championship games/series in the city's history.
In a remarkable confluence of events, three of those came in the last four months.
The Birds' crushing Super Bowl LVII defeat came not long after the Union and then the Phillies suffered equally painful title losses after all three teams had magical runs.
How will these teams be remembered after their defeats? Where do they rank as far as title-losing teams go? Was this Eagles team the best to ever not win a title?
Here's a run through the list:
14-3, lost to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII
The Eagles were dominant all season long and were the betting favorite over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Several records were set, including the team sack record with 70 and a bevy of impressive Jalen Hurts accomplishments. They went toe-to-toe with KC in a memorable game, but this team will now go down as a "what if," along with the rest of this list.
59-23, 58-24, lost NBA Finals (4-2 ) to LA Lakers (each time)
These were basically the same team, led by Dr. J, Daryl Dawkins, a young Mo Cheeks, Bobby Jones and coached by Billy Cunningham. They would lose in six games to the Lakers twice in three years before finally breaking through in 1983. The '83 team might be the best ever to play in the city.
56-26, lost NBA Finals (4-1) to LA Lakers
Allen Iverson won MVP. Larry Brown won Coach of the Year. Aaron McKie was the Sixth Man of the Year. Dikembe Mutombo was Defensive Player of the Year.
It wasn't enough to beat Shaq and Kobe.
93-65, Lost to NY Yankees (4-2) in World Series
Arguably even better than the 2008 team that won the World Series, a repeat fell short despite having Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels all at the peak of their powers, with a little Cliff Lee thrown in.
13-3, lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX
The only Andy Reid Eagles team to make it to a Super Bowl, the 2004 squad was positively dominant and lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots by a field goal.
51-13-16, lost Stanley Cup (4-0) to Montreal
This team nearly pulled off a rare three-peat and was the last best push by the original Broad Street Bullies.
91-71, lost World Series (4-2) to Toronto
Perhaps the most famous title losers in the city, the beloved '93 squad looked like they had a storybook ending in the bag. And then Joe Carter came to bat.
46-26-8, lost Stanley Cup (4-3) to Edmonton
There were a lot of very good Flyers teams in the mid-1980s, but we're going to anoint this one as the best as they came one win away from beating Wayne Gretzky in his prime.
87-75, lost to Houston (4-2) in World Series
This one is fresh in our memory and I didn't want to have recency bias. They had perhaps the most enjoyable and improbable run at just missing a championship of any team on this list — with playoff memories we'll never forget — but they barely made it into an expanded postseason field, so we'll dock them for that.
19-5-10, lost to Los Angeles FC in MLS Cup
The Union lost in what was one of the most incredible soccer games I have ever seen. They'll no doubt be hungry as hell in 2023.
53-20-7, lost Stanley Cup (4-1) to Edmonton
Tim Kerr and Brian Propp each nearly had nearly 100 points respectively as the Flyers fell to an all-time great Edmonton team.
12-4, lost to Oakland in Super Bowl XV
The Ron Jaworski Eagles were fan favorites and marked the first Philly appearance in a Super Bowl. They didn't really show up for the big game though.
45-24-14, lost Stanley Cup (4-0) to Detroit
This is a team I am fond of, as I was a kid when this run happened. The Legion of Doom nearly brought the Cup back to Philly but were unable to solve the Red Wings.
91-63, lost in World Series (4-0) to the Yankees
This was a loaded team that boasted Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts, each of whom had monster regular seasons. But the 1950 Yankees were also loaded and Philly was swept.
48-12-20, lost Stanley Cup (4-2) to NY Islanders
50-32, lost NBA Finals (4-2) to Portland
Julius Erving's first season in the NBA (after playing in the ABA) propelled the Sixers to the Finals where they'd falter against Bill Walton's Blazers.
41-35-6, lost Stanley Cup (4-2) to Chicago
The only Stanley Cup Claude Giroux ever appeared in, this team was perhaps the biggest underdog in a championship series in the history of the city, as they not only advanced to the finals as the 7-seed, but also came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Bruins in the second round.
90-62, lost World Series (4-1) to Boston
Pete Alexander went 31-10 with a 1.22 ERA and Gavvy Cravath hit 115 RBI as the Phils were the last team to lose a World Series to the Red Sox for nearly 100 years.
8-4, lost to Chicago Cardinals in NFL Championship
Steve Van Buren had 1,000 yards and 13 TDs in 12 regular season games as the Birds made their first title appearance in team history in 1947.
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