Best Sports Team Ever

[Just Jack]

The original question surrounded the greatest team based on their impact during the generation in which they played so we'll stick to that.

In that case, I'll also say the 1980 Olympic Hockey team. I can't think of any team that ever brought together the entire US the way they did.

[Kelly the Dog]

1927 Yankees. It's not even close. They were 110-44 and won the pennant by 19 games. They won the World Series in four straight. They had 6 Hall of Fame players in their prime, and a Hall of Fame Manager. Babe Ruth had 60 home runs and was the best player of all time. Lou Gehrig was one of the best ever and hit 47. They had four players with over 100 RBIs including Gehrig with 175 and Ruth with 164. Gehrig was the league MVP only because they didn't allow Ruth (or anyone) to win it two years in a row and he won in 1926. They had pitchers with 22, 19, 19, 18 and 13 wins on their starting rotation.

[shrader]

In that case, I'll also say the 1980 Olympic Hockey team. I can't think of any team that ever brought together the entire US the way they did.

 

Yeah, with that criteria the discussion might as well be over. I can't even imagine a scenario that would recreate what they did.

[Kelly the Dog]

Yeah, with that criteria the discussion might as well be over. I can't even imagine a scenario that would recreate what they did.

Babe Ruth himself changed, brought together, and influenced the entire country way more than the 1980 US Hockey team did.

[Juror#8]

In that case, I'll also say the 1980 Olympic Hockey team. I can't think of any team that ever brought together the entire US the way they did.

 

I had never even heard of them until this morning. Granted, I was 5 at the time, but still...

 

You don't think that the only team to win 70 games in a century of that sport is more impactful? This is a team that didn't lose a game at home until the last week of the regular season. They won almost 90% of their games. They went 15-3 in the playoffs and had the greatest sports player on the planet, ever, at the helm.

 

I'm not saying that the U.S. Hockey team wasn't culturally impactful, or nationally redeeming...but were they even the best hockey team to ever put on skates?

 

1927 Yankees. It's not even close. They were 110-44 and won the pennant by 19 games. They won the World Series in four straight. They had 6 Hall of Fame players in their prime, and a Hall of Fame Manager. Babe Ruth had 60 home runs and was the best player of all time. Lou Gehrig was one of the best ever and hit 47. They had four players with over 100 RBIs including Gehrig with 175 and Ruth with 164. Gehrig was the league MVP only because they didn't allow Ruth (or anyone) to win it two years in a row and he won in 1926. They had pitchers with 22, 19, 19, 18 and 13 wins on their starting rotation.

 

Good points, but didn't the 1998 Yankees win more games and won't they have four or five Hall of Famers when it's all said and done?

[shrader]

I had never even heard of them until this morning. Granted, I was 5 at the time, but still...

 

Have you spent your entire life in some obscure central African nation or something? This statement is absolutely mind blowing.

[Chef Jim]

1927 Yankees. It's not even close. They were 110-44 and won the pennant by 19 games. They won the World Series in four straight. They had 6 Hall of Fame players in their prime, and a Hall of Fame Manager. Babe Ruth had 60 home runs and was the best player of all time. Lou Gehrig was one of the best ever and hit 47. They had four players with over 100 RBIs including Gehrig with 175 and Ruth with 164. Gehrig was the league MVP only because they didn't allow Ruth (or anyone) to win it two years in a row and he won in 1926. They had pitchers with 22, 19, 19, 18 and 13 wins on their starting rotation.

 

I was going to go with that or any of the Wooden UCLA basketball teams of the late 60's early 70's. Come on, you can't beat 7 consecutive NCAA titles (1967–1973).

[erynthered]

I was going to go with that or any of the Wooden UCLA basketball teams of the late 60's early 70's. Come on, you can't beat 7 consecutive NCAA titles (1967–1973).

 

 

Sure you can. From 1957 to 1969, the Celtics dominated the league winning 11 championships in 13 years, and eight in a row (1959–1966), the longest consecutive streak of any North American pro sports team.

[KD in CA]

The original question surrounded the greatest team based on their impact during the generation in which they played so we'll stick to that.

 

Given that context, the correct answer is the 1980 USA hockey team. Beating the Soviets at Lake Placid was the greatest moment in American sports history; nothing else is even close. No other team or sporting event has ever transcended the public consciousness like that one. By comparison, what is the lasting impact of the Chicago Bulls? Answer: viturally nothing.

 

The only other conceivable answer would be the '27 Yankees since they redefined the way the sport was played via the home run.

[Kelly the Dog]

Given that context, the correct answer is the 1980 USA hockey team. Beating the Soviets at Lake Placid was the greatest moment in American sports history; nothing else is even close. No other team or sporting event has ever transcended the public consciousness like that one. By comparison, what is the lasting impact of the Chicago Bulls? Answer: viturally nothing.

 

The only other conceivable answer would be the '27 Yankees since they redefined the way the sport was played via the home run.

There are entire books written about how Babe Ruth changed not only sport but American culture in many ways. There was really no such thing as "sports heroes" let alone sports gods before him. He took over entire towns when he passed by on a moving train. He changed sportswriting in a huge way. The idea of trying to make one big moment and "win it all" in one big single event began with Babe Ruth and the homerun, and the "swing for the fences" mentality swept the nation and transcended sports. People stopped thinking of building to a power, and instead thought of making one big splash. He changed all kinds of things. Parts of language. Like the common phrase "out in left field" for being out of touch comes from the fact that Babe Ruth played right field, and if you had seats in left field you were out of touch.

 

Ruth made baseball into not only a popular populist sport but "America's Pastime". They built Yankee Stadium, one of if not arguably the most hallowed venue in sports history, for one guy. He made baseball popular in Japan (and allegedly Japanese soldiers in Gaudacanal and other Pacific Islands would chant "To Hell With Babe Ruth" because it was the one thing that would piss off the American soldiers.)

 

I think if you asked historians what had more effect on American consciousness, Babe Ruth or the 1980 US Hockey team Ruth would win by a landslide, and it galvanized in 1927.

[LewPort71]

What KD in CT said...

Given the context of the 1980 Olympics, the hockey team is the top choice.

 

If you don't get chills hearing Al Michaels counting down the

last ten seconds of the game, you don't have a pulse.

 

"Do you believe in miracles ?..... YES !"

[Chef Jim]

There are entire books written about how Babe Ruth changed not only sport but American culture in many ways. There was really no such thing as "sports heroes" let alone sports gods before him. He took over entire towns when he passed by on a moving train. He changed sportswriting in a huge way. The idea of trying to make one big moment and "win it all" in one big single event began with Babe Ruth and the homerun, and the "swing for the fences" mentality swept the nation and transcended sports. People stopped thinking of building to a power, and instead thought of making one big splash. He changed all kinds of things. Parts of language. Like the common phrase "out in left field" for being out of touch comes from the fact that Babe Ruth played right field, and if you had seats in left field you were out of touch.

 

Ruth made baseball into not only a popular populist sport but "America's Pastime". They built Yankee Stadium, one of if not arguably the most hallowed venue in sports history, for one guy. He made baseball popular in Japan (and allegedly Japanese soldiers in Gaudacanal and other Pacific Islands would chant "To Hell With Babe Ruth" because it was the one thing that would piss off the American soldiers.)

 

I think if you asked historians what had more effect on American consciousness, Babe Ruth or the 1980 US Hockey team Ruth would win by a landslide, and it galvanized in 1927.

 

And there was something missing in 1927 that wasn't in 1980. Television. No Monday Night Baseball. Yes before there was Monday Night Football there was Monday Night Baseball.

[Just Jack]

There was really no such thing as "sports heroes" let alone sports gods before him.

???

 

Red Grange?

[KD in CA]

???

 

Red Grange?

 

Yeah, but football wasn't that popular in those days.

 

Kelly makes a reasonable argument about the Yankees and there's no question they far surpass every other team listed above (there are some real head scratching answers in the initial post). But the geo-political implications of the 1980 hockey are hard to ignore. The Yankees weren't playing Germany.

[Chef Jim]

Yeah, but football wasn't that popular in those days.

 

Kelly makes a reasonable argument about the Yankees and there's no question they far surpass every other team listed above (there are some real head scratching answers in the initial post). But the geo-political implications of the 1980 hockey are hard to ignore. The Yankees weren't playing Germany.

 

Well until the original question was changed to focus on geo-political implications how on earth could you think of a team that played in a two week tournament (maybe three I don't remember) that caught lightning in a bottle above a team that played 154 games and just dominated in every category?

[KD in CA]

Well until the original question was changed to focus on geo-political implications how on earth could you think of a team that played in a two week tournament (maybe three I don't remember) that caught lightning in a bottle above a team that played 154 games and just dominated in every category?

 

You couldn't, which is why I didn't pick the USA hockey team initially and instead picked a team that dominated its league in a particular season.

 

However, I assume the thread starter did understand the original parameters of the discussion, since he was part of it. The list he created came from that same discussion.

[Jim in Anchorage]

And there was something missing in 1927 that wasn't in 1980. Television. No Monday Night Baseball. Yes before there was Monday Night Football there was Monday Night Baseball.

But there was radio,and baseball comes across better on radio than football or hockey.

[shrader]

There are entire books written about how Babe Ruth changed not only sport but American culture in many ways. There was really no such thing as "sports heroes" let alone sports gods before him. He took over entire towns when he passed by on a moving train. He changed sportswriting in a huge way. The idea of trying to make one big moment and "win it all" in one big single event began with Babe Ruth and the homerun, and the "swing for the fences" mentality swept the nation and transcended sports. People stopped thinking of building to a power, and instead thought of making one big splash. He changed all kinds of things. Parts of language. Like the common phrase "out in left field" for being out of touch comes from the fact that Babe Ruth played right field, and if you had seats in left field you were out of touch.

 

Ruth made baseball into not only a popular populist sport but "America's Pastime". They built Yankee Stadium, one of if not arguably the most hallowed venue in sports history, for one guy. He made baseball popular in Japan (and allegedly Japanese soldiers in Gaudacanal and other Pacific Islands would chant "To Hell With Babe Ruth" because it was the one thing that would piss off the American soldiers.)

 

I think if you asked historians what had more effect on American consciousness, Babe Ruth or the 1980 US Hockey team Ruth would win by a landslide, and it galvanized in 1927.

 

That's all well and good but the topic is about teams, not individuals. If you want to spin that all into a case for that era's Yankees, that's fine.

 

I'm already noticing a big difference in the way people are thinking in this thread. Some focus on a single moment or season, while others look at a much larger window then that. Depending on what view you take, that really shapes the conversation quite a bit.

[Kelly the Dog]

Yeah, but football wasn't that popular in those days.

 

Kelly makes a reasonable argument about the Yankees and there's no question they far surpass every other team listed above (there are some real head scratching answers in the initial post). But the geo-political implications of the 1980 hockey are hard to ignore. The Yankees weren't playing Germany.

The geo-political impact of the 1980 Hockey team was more about euphoria. It may have been the greatest game in American sports history, I think I would agree with that. But changing culture was not even close. Babe Ruth and the Yankees changed America and had a much larger effect on a generation than that hockey team did. And I am not trying to belittle what they did or what impact it had as a single game. The 1927 Yankees were not only the best team in sports history they made a bigger impact on its generation than any other team.

 

In fact, the idea of large uniform numbers on the back of the jerseys came from that team although it was in 1929. Some guy thought up the idea of selling programs for that team, and they put uniform numbers on the players so they could sell programs. That single idea of uniforms with numbers on the back and programs changed sports to this day (before then there was a few cases of smallish numbers on sleeves that never lasted long). Jersey sales had their origins from that team. Of course, they assigned numbers from the batting order, so Gehrig was 3, Ruth 4, etc. My favorite trivia question used to be, I would ask people what Ty Cobb's number was. Everyone would take wild guesses but the answer was, he never had one. The Yankees (and Indians) were the first in 1929 and it was because of Babe Ruth, and "The House that Ruth Built" which opened in 1923 but was essentially that same team. Lou Gehrig was the first athlete to be on a Wheaties box, too.

[Jim in Anchorage]

That's all well and good but the topic is about teams, not individuals. If you want to spin that all into a case for that era's Yankees, that's fine.

 

I'm already noticing a big difference in the way people are thinking in this thread. Some focus on a single moment or season, while others look at a much larger window then that. Depending on what view you take, that really shapes the conversation quite a bit.

Depends on how you define "greatest." I don't recall that one player on the 1980 US team had any kind of career in the NHL.