Which States Top the League for Sporting Success?
- Updated: March 30, 2018
While fans tend to look at their team through rose tinted glasses, winning a championship is still the marker they’re judged by. Now some interesting research has revealed which states have had the most success when it comes to winning the big four leagues.
PlayUSA took a look at the 4 major leagues for baseball, football, hockey and basketball to compile a list of who’s doing the best and who’s not doing so good.
So who tops the leaderboard?
- Straight in at number one is New York, the state with the most silverware out of all 52. That’s interesting because that’s exactly the number of wins they’ve had, with 35 of them understandably coming from the MBL. With teams like the Brooklyn Dodgers, Mets and Giants, it’s really no surprise.
- At number two on the list, home of the Boston Red Sox, it’s Massachusetts. The state has 37 championship wins to its name including 17 for NBA silverware. It’s also where Babe Ruth launched his baseball career into the stratosphere and became an American legend.
- California sits on the same number of championship wins as Massachusetts at 37. This time their wins are in basketball and baseball, though they also boast no less that 9 Super Bowl wins under their belt. Also home to Kobe Bryant for the Lakers, it’s no surprise California is hitting the high notes when it comes to sport.
- Rugged Pennsylvania is next on the list and is home to the Eagles, recent winners of the Super Bowl, though very much against the odds. Also home to the Steelers, over the years, the state has managed 30 total championship wins, including 12 for baseball.
- At number five on the list is Michigan with 18 wins in total, 11 of them coming from the National Hockey League where the Red Wings once played their part in the longest game in history.
And if you’re wondering which fares the best, East or West Coast, then the answer is simple. With 138 championships across just 5 states, the East Coast does it by some considerable margin.
PlayUSA used the stats they gathered from the 4 big sporting leagues in America from the moment that each started out. After that they divided the teams into their home states and ranked them according to their success. That produced the final performance ranking for all the states that had won at least one major championship.
You can see the full infographic and stats here on the PlayUSA website.