Markets to hold multiple sports titles at once

Every city wants to be Titletown, but attaining such cross-sport glory at once isn’t so simple. It requires multiple teams in a market, and for those timelines to sync up just right.

In 2020, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay had already each claimed a title, with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Finals and the Tampa Bay Lightning capturing the Stanley Cup. One of those cities would get to add a second championship -- and the Dodgers came through.

The last time an NBA team held a title at the same time as a baseball team in the same market before this was in 2015, when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA title in June and the Giants’ reign as 2014 World Series champions lasted until the Royals won the Fall Classic in October.

Here’s a look at every time that an NBA, NHL or NFL team in the same market as an MLB team held a title at the same time as the baseball club.

2020 Dodgers and Lakers (NBA): The Lakers won the NBA Finals in an unprecedented Disney World bubble on Oct. 11. And two and a half weeks later, the Dodgers joined the ranks of champions, winning their first World Series since 1988.

2018 Red Sox and 2018 Patriots (NFL): The Red Sox beat the Dodgers in five games in October, marking their fourth World Series title since 2004. Then, in February 2019, the Patriots won the Super Bowl, beating the Rams.

2014 Giants and 2014-15 Warriors (NBA): The Giants beat the Royals in seven games for their third World Series title in five years, winning their first championship having not also won a division title. As that dynasty came to an end, another began in the Bay Area, with the Warriors winning the title in their first of five straight NBA Finals appearances.

2007 Red Sox and 2007-08 Celtics (NBA): Three years after winning their first World Series title in 86 years, the Red Sox returned to the Fall Classic and won it again. The following June, the Celtics captured their first NBA title since the 1985-86 season.

2004 Red Sox and 2003 and '04 Patriots (NFL): The Red Sox orchestrated the only 3-0 comeback in baseball postseason history against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, then won their first World Series since 1918. The Patriots were already reigning title-holders when the Red Sox won, having won the Super Bowl that previous February. New England went on to win the following February, too, being the last team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

2002 Angels and 2001-02 Lakers (NBA): The Angels are the most recent team to win the World Series from the Los Angeles market, and they happened to do it a few months after the Lakers won their third consecutive championship. No team has had an NBA title three-peat since.

1999 and 2000 Yankees and 1999-2000 Devils (NHL): The Yankees were already two-time reigning World Series champions when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in June 2000. The Yanks then went on to tack on a third consecutive World Series title that October, extending the length of the overlapping titles -- though given the Fall Classic matchup against the Mets, that would’ve remained true for the market regardless.

1989 A’s and 1988 and '89 49ers (NFL): This is another that would’ve counted for the market regardless based on the World Series matchup, as the 1989 Fall Classic was between the A’s and Giants in the Bay Area. When the A’s won, the 49ers were already reigning champs from that past February, and they won the following Super Bowl, too.

1988 Dodgers and 1987-88 Lakers (NBA): While the Angels and Lakers overlapped as title-holders in the early 2000s, this is probably the pair of titles that resonates most with Dodgers fans. The 1988 World Series championship is the Dodgers’ most recent title victory. And it came a few months after the Lakers won the NBA Finals, capturing their final title with Magic Johnson.

1986 Mets and 1986 Giants (NFL): The Mets won their second World Series title in franchise history in dramatic fashion with comeback victories in Games 6 and 7. Then, in January at the Rose Bowl, the Giants beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl.

1981 Dodgers and 1981-82 Lakers (NBA): The 1981 World Series marked the Dodgers’ first title since '65, after four losing efforts in the Fall Classic in between. The Lakers won the NBA Finals the following June, becoming the second team to win it following a midseason coaching change (they replaced Paul Westhead with Pat Riley).

1979 Pirates and 1978 and '79 Steelers (NFL): The Pirates beat the Orioles in seven games in the World Series. The previous January, the Steelers had won the Super Bowl -- and they’d go on to do so again the following January, making it four championships in six seasons.

1974 A’s and 1974-75 Warriors (NBA): The A’s won their third straight World Series title, and the momentum in the Bay Area didn’t stop with baseball. The Warriors won the NBA Finals the following May, marking the team’s first title since moving to Oakland from Philadelphia.

1970 Orioles and 1970 Colts (NFL): In the second of three straight World Series appearances, the Orioles beat the Reds in five games. The next January, the Colts, led by Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, won Super Bowl V -- and the franchise wouldn’t go on to win another title until 2006, after it had moved to Indianapolis.

1969 Mets and 1968 Jets (NFL); 1969 Mets and 1969-70 Knicks (NBA): In January 1969, the Joe Namath-led Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III. That October, the Miracle Mets pulled off a similar upset of a Baltimore team, beating the favored Orioles in five games in the World Series. The Mets were still reigning champions when the Knicks won the NBA Finals in May 1970, notching a Game 7 victory over the Lakers in a contest famous for Willis Reed’s dramatic return.

1956 Yankees and 1956 Giants (NFL): The Yankees’ 1956 title was one of their six World Series victories in the 1950s. That December, in the NFL championship game in the era prior to the Super Bowl, the Giants beat the Bears by 40 points.

1938 and '39 Yankees and 1938 Giants (NFL); 1939 Yankees and 1939-40 Rangers (NHL): The Yankees’ World Series wins in both 1938 and '39 overlapped with the Giants’ reign as champions following the 1938 NFL championship game that December, which was played at the Polo Grounds. The 1939 Yankees' win also meant the team was the reigning champion in April 1940, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. The Rangers did not win another championship until the 1993-94 season.

1935 Tigers, 1935 Lions (NFL) and 1935-36 Red Wings (NHL): Detroit was once a tri-sport Titletown in the mid-1930s. The 1935 Tigers won the first World Series in franchise history, and that set off a wave of success among the market’s teams, with the Lions winning the NFL championship in December and the Red Wings clinching the Stanley Cup in April 1936.

1932 Yankees/1933 Giants and 1932-33 Rangers (NHL): When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in April 1933, the Yankees were reigning World Series champions. When the Yanks' reign ended in October, they were succeeded by the Giants as World Series champs, meaning the market kept both titles at once for a bit longer.

1927 and '28 Yankees, 1927 Giants (NFL) and 1927-28 Rangers (NHL): When the Yankees won the second and third World Series titles in franchise history in 1927 and '28, the other teams in the area must’ve thought it looked fun. The Giants won the NFL championship by going 11-1-1 in a season that ended in December 1927, two months after the Yankees won the Fall Classic. Then, in April 1928, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. To cap it all off, the Yanks won a second straight World Series title in October 1928.

1920 Indians and 1920 Akron Pros (NFL): The Indians won the best-of-nine World Series, 5-2, against the Brooklyn Robins, one of two championships in franchise history. Then, in a season that ended in December 1920, the Akron Pros -- an APFA team that counts for NFL history -- won the title by going 8-0-3. Their final game of the year was against the Decatur Staleys, a team that went on to become the Chicago Bears. The game was played at Wrigley Field, then known as Cubs Park.