Top 10 Amazing Athletes Who Never Won A Championship
Fair or not, athletes tend to be judged on how many championships they've won, and these guys couldn't get the job done. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 athletes who never won a championship. For this list, we're only looking at those players that have officially retired, as those who are still playing obviously still have a chance to win.
Special thanks to our users maciolek1s and Brett Sherron for submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 10 Athletes Who Never Won A Championship
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Fair or not, athletes tend to be judged on how many championships they’ve won, and these guys couldn’t get the job done. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 athletes who never won a championship. For this list, we’re only looking at those players that have officially retired, as those who are still playing obviously still have a chance to win. We are also excluding soccer players, because they have a number of different championships, and are not including those players who were caught cheating.
#10: Allen Iverson
Nicknamed “The Answer,” Iverson was an essential member of the Philadelphia 76s for 10 years, but never could solve the problem of winning a championship. His best chance came in 2001, when he averaged 31.1 points per game, won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and led the 76ers to the Final against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite putting up 35 or more points in 4 of the series’ five games, A.I. and his ‘Sixers were defeated by the Lakers. To add insult to injury, Iverson’s only Olympic appearance was in 2004, as part of the only United States men’s basketball team to not win the Gold medal since 1988.
#9: Elgin Baylor
Baylor was one of those players who drew the short straw and played for the Lakers in the wrong era. Although Los Angeles dominated the early 2000s in terms of titles, the team couldn’t win the big one in the 1960s – although they sure made it to the Finals enough. Baylor spent almost his entire playing career with the Lakers, where he was named an All-Star 11 times and won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 1959. He appeared in eight, yes, eight NBA Finals, but was never on the winning side, as the Lakers were defeated each time, with 7 of the losses coming against the Boston Celtics.
#8: Ken Griffey Jr.
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Had Griffey’s career not been plagued by injuries, he may have gone down as the greatest baseball player of all-time. Over the course of his 22-year career, Griffey hit 630 home runs, won 10 Gold Glove Awards and was named an All-Star 13 times. Despite his success, he never made it further than the American League Championship Series, although it’s hard to blame Griffey – his showing in the 1995 ALDS, when he hit 5 home runs and helped Seattle rally against the Yankees after being down 2-0 in the series, is one of the greatest post-season performances of all time.
#7: Charles Barkley
Also known as “The Round Mound of Rebound,” Barkley dominated the paint with his physical play and is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. He finished with a career average of 22.1 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game, and was named an All-Star 11 times. Unfortunately, in his only NBA Finals appearance, Barkley’s Suns were defeated by Michael Jordan’s Bulls in six games. He was, however, an important member of the United States’ “Dream Team” which won Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996, but as a professional there was no crown for Sir Charles.
#6: Ty Cobb
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Cobb’s last MLB appearance was in 1928, meaning there aren’t too many people alive who had the pleasure of watching him play. To sum up, Cobb set approximately 90 different MLB records during his career, including stealing home 54 times, and finished with a career batting average of .367. He won the American League batting title 12 different times and the Triple Crown in 1909. Cobb led the Detroit Tigers to three straight World Series’ appearances from 1907-09 but was on the losing side of all three, including dropping two straight to the – brace yourselves – Chicago Cubs.
#5: Karl Malone
Despite the fact that they quickly became one of the most impressive pairings in the NBA, Malone and his teammate John Stockton were never able to lead the Utah Jazz to a championship. We elected to go with Malone for this list, because the power forward was named NBA MVP twice, finished his career with the second most points in NBA history and had his own line of sneakers. He also finished with a record 95 playoff losses. Michael Jordan’s Bulls defeated Malone’s Jazz in the finals twice in the late ‘90s, and the Mailman’s last ditch attempt at a one-year stint with the Lakers in 2003-04 also came up short at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.
#4: Marcel Dionne
As difficult as it is to win a Stanley Cup, almost all the greatest hockey players have their name engraved on the trophy at least once. Dionne is one of the few who does not. Despite playing for 18 years and scoring 731 goals, he never played in a Stanley Cup Final. Regardless, Dionne remains one of the greatest players in history, scoring over 100 points eight different seasons, which ranks third all-time behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. He also helped Canada win the 1976 Canada Cup, playing on a powerful line with Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito, but a championship was something Dionne never experienced in the NHL.
#3: Barry Sanders
The NFL has seen some great running backs over the years, and while O.J. Simpson is definitely one of the more famous examples to have never won a Super Bowl, Sanders’ stats are even more impressive. He was named to the Pro Bowl every year he played, was named NFL MVP in 1997, when he rushed for over 2,000 yards, and finished his career with over 15,000 rushing yards, ranking third all-time. Unfortunately, Sanders was a member of the Detroit Lions squad, who won a total of one playoff game during his 10-year career. Many people believe that Sanders retired far too early, but considering how dreadful the Lions were in the early 2000s, he may’ve made the right decision.
#2: Ted Williams
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Like many athletes on our list, Teddy Ballgame had the bad luck of playing on the wrong team at the wrong time. Entering the MLB in 1939, the Kid played all 19 years of his career with the Boston Red Sox, while the team suffered through the infamous 86-year-long “Curse of the Bambino.” Williams’ accomplishments during that time are too many to list: he won the Triple Crown twice, was named an All-Star 19 times, and won two league MVP awards. He also served three years in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during World War II, but a World Series victory was not in the cards. In fact, his only World Series appearance came in 1946, when an injury to his elbow left him ineffective. Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - Ernie Banks - Jim Kelly - Dale Hawerchuk - Patrick Ewing - Steve Nash
#1: Dan Marino
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Marino played 17 years as quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, and came to be known for his strong arm and speedy release. He broke multiple passing records in only his second season, and led the Dolphins to a Super Bowl appearance that season against the San Francisco 49ers. Although his team lost, Marino looked poised to win several Super Bowls before he retired – but he never made it back to the big show. A beloved pop culture figure as well as a star athlete, #13 stills holds a dozen NFL records and finished his career ahead of the 2000 season with over 60,000 passing yards. But he will forever be known as the best quarterback in NFL history to never win a Super Bowl. Do you agree with our list? Who is your favorite athlete to never win a championship? For more great Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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