By Woodrow Carroll
To the historian, the word dynasty usually refers to a succession of royal, or powerful families that held power for an extended period of time. In modern times, dynasty often refers to a sports franchise that reigned supreme for an extended period of time.
With Chicago as the focal point, we might take a look at the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, White Sox, and Cubs and see if we can rightfully bring the word dynasty into play.
What constitutes a dynasty? Keep in mind that what one person regards as a sports dynasty doesn’t cut it with another person.
The Chicago Bulls from the Michael Jordan era came close to a dynasty. The Bulls captured the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship three straight years, 1991-1993, and took a threepeat, 1996-1998.
World War II was good for the Chicago Bears. The Monsters of the Midway took top honors in the National Football League (NFL) in 1940, 1941, and in 1943.
The Bears, 11-0, were heavily favored in the 1942 NFL championship game with the Washington Redskins and grabbed a 6-0 lead only to be shut down the rest of the way. Washington pulled out a 14-6 victory. Dynasty denied!
The Chicago Cubs were World Series winners in 1907, 1908, and in 2016. The Chicago White Sox were champions in 1906, 1917, and 2005, yet both franchises were far from dynasties.
When the Blackhawks claimed the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015, the team’s success was called a “mini-dynasty.” A fond memory, however, Cup champions in 1934, 1938, and 1961, never successfully defended a championship.
With Bill Russell pulling the trigger, the Boston Celtics won eight consecutive NBA championships, 1959-1966. No other NBA champion going back to its 1947 start whether the Minneapolis Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, or Bulls, have more than three consecutive NBA diadems to their credit.
Major League Baseball with its long history has seen a few dynasties. The word dynasty is spelled Yankees as in New York Yankees. The Yankees have captured 27 World Series trophies to far outstrip the second-place St. Louis Cardinals with 11.
The Yankees won four straight championships, 1936-1939, under manager Joe McCarthy. With Casey Stengel managing, the Yankees mastered the National League, five straight, 1949-1953.
Back to football! No team has yet to win the Super Bowl three consecutive seasons. The Cleveland Browns won the All-American Football Conference championships, 1946-1949. Cleveland joined the NFL in 1950 and was, reasonably, successful early on, however, NFL championships in 1954 and 1955 stand as the franchise’s NFL high-water mark.
Perhaps, the NHL Montreal Canadiens are the dynasty darlings. Winners of five consecutive Stanley Cups, 1956-1960, the Canadiens took the Cup four straight years, 1976-1979.
The New York Islanders, 1980-1983, they did followed Montreal’s run the previous four years.
Future dynasties figure to be exceedingly rare. Free agency and talent distribution work against long-term franchise domination.
For now, however, getting any type of season under way is the biggest concern.