The Longest Winning Streaks in Sports History

This season the Dallas Mavericks at one point went on an impressive winning streak of 17 games. The streak was the longest seen in a while and was a big deal but it was actually still only half way to the record. Winning streaks are one of the most exciting parts of any sport so why don't we take a look at the longest winning streaks in history.

The Florida Gators have been the most dominant team in college basketball the last two years and one of the best college basketball teams in a while. Over the past two years the Florida Gators have had 3 winning streaks of 17 games, but even if you combined all three of those winning streaks it will still come very short of the record. In the 70's the UCLA Bruins, led by Coach John Wooden, were dominating the world of college basketball like no other team has. The Bruins won nine national championships in ten seasons and at one point during that run they won 88 consecutive games. The streak started on January 30th, 1971 and the streak didn't end until January19th, 1974 when they lost 70 - 71 to Notre Dame.

The longest college football winning streak also lasted over the span of a couple of years (granted they play a lot less games). In the 50's the Oklahoma Sooners were the team to beat in college football. During the 50's Oklahoma was named the National Championship in some form five times. Their longest winning streak stretched over 47 games from October 10th, 1953 until November 16, 1957. Oddly enough, like UCLA, the Sooners' winning streak was also broken by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. No wonder everybody hates those guys.

In high school it's much easier to dominate because the talent is so spread out over the country. That's why the longest winning streak for high school basketball and high school football are even longer than the college winning streaks. In 1919 Passaic High School's basketball team started a winning streak that lasted for 159 games. The streak began on December 17th, 1919 and didn't end until February 6th, 1925 against Hackensack Hill High School. The longest high school football winning streak was much more recent than that. Back in 1992 De La Salle High School started a winning streak that lasted 151 games; the streak lasted 11 years before Bellevue High School beat them in 2004.

Two teams are tied for the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball. The first came way in 1880 when none of the teams where the same as they are now. The winning streak belongs to the Chicago White Stockings. The streak began on June 5th, 1880 against the Providence Grays and ended on July 10th, 1880 against the Cleveland Blues. The White Stockings' winning streak was matched by the Chicago Cubs in 1935. The Cubs began their winning streak on September 4th, 1935 against the Philadelphia Phillies and the streak ended on September 28th, 1935 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs would go on to win 100 games and have the best record in baseball but as usual would not win the World Series.

As I mentioned before the Dallas Mavericks 17 game winning streak earlier this season barely got half way to the longest winning streak in NBA history. Back in 1971 and 1972 the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, went on a 33 game winning streak. The streak began on November 5th, 1971 and the streak ended on January 9th, 1972 against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson's Milwaukee Bucks.

The NFL's longest winning streak is probably the one streak people remember the most since it was so recent. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons Tom Brady led his New England Patriots as they won 21 games including the 2003 championship. The streak began on October 5th, 2003 and was ended on October 31st, 2004 when Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers defeated them on their way to a 15 - 1 season. The Patriots still won the Super Bowl though.

Finally there is the longest winning streak in NHL history and don't worry this NHL record does not include Wayne Gretzky. The longest winning streak in NHL history belongs to Super Mario. Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr led the Pittsburgh Penguins on a 17 game winning streak. The streak began on March 9th, 1993 and the streak ended on April 10th, 1993. On the April 10th game the Penguins still didn't lose, they tied the New Jersey Devils. Technically their winning streak ended there since they did not win but they won another 3 games after that meaning they played 21 games before losing their first game.