What is New York’s best sports year ever? – NBC New York

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The New York Liberty are champions. The New York Yankees are in the World Series. The New York Mets played well into October. The New York Rangers are contenders for the Stanley Cup. The New York Knicks just finished their most anticipated season in decades. The New York Jets have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and… well, forget about that for now.

Three of the four main sports are not bad!

The region’s 15-year championship drought – an eternity in the “What have you done for me lately” city that never sleeps – ended Sunday as the Liberty won their first title in franchise history.

That same night, the city was just two wins away from hosting a rare Subway Series until the Mets’ surprising run to the NLCS ended when they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Yankees now play in the World Series against the Dodgers and are looking to win their first championship since 2009, which is New York’s last title in major men’s professional sports leagues.

So despite the Jets and Giants’ disappointing seasons, it was a memorable calendar year in New York. A treadmill will once again float through the sky of downtown Manhattan during a championship parade through the Canyon of Heroes.

Here’s a look at some of New York’s best years in sports history.

The Liberty’s WNBA title win was the first basketball championship in NYC in decades – and now the party plans are underway: a parade through the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan is planned for Thursday, followed by a ceremony at City Hall. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington reports.

1927

Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton could be the 2024 postseason version of Murderers’ Row. But nearly 100 years before they led the Yankees to the World Series, the team’s original Murderers’ Row of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig regularly did the same thing.

The 1927 Yankees are considered one of the greatest baseball teams of all time. They posted a 110-44 regular season record and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

That same year, the Giants recorded eight shutouts and went 11-1-1 to win their first NFL championship.

The Rangers had a record of 8-6-4 in their second NHL season when the calendar flipped to 1928, a year in which they won their first Stanley Cup.

1951

It wasn’t just the gunshot that was heard in New York. It was the Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

That was the iconic nickname for Bobby Thomson’s walk-off home run that helped the New York Giants to a 5-4 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds. The Giants were trailing by two runs in the ninth inning when Thompson’s three-run home run led to one of the most legendary calls in baseball history: “The Giants win the pennant!” The Giants win the pennant!”

However, the Giants did not win the World Series. They then lost in six games to another New York team: the Yankees.

The Football Giants also had a strong season, finishing the season 9-2-1. That year also saw the Knicks embark on a season in which they advanced to Game 7 of the 1952 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers.

1956

Two titles in the same stadium in the same calendar year? Doesn’t happen very often, but it happened in 1956. The Yankees won the World Series, defeating the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games.

The Giants played home games at Yankee Stadium in their first season and defeated the Chicago Bears 47-7 in the NFL Championship.

1969

Joe Namath’s Super Bowl Guarantee. The Miracle Mets. The start of the Knicks’ first championship run. It all happened in the same year.

Namath and the Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III, securing the team’s only championship.

After losing more than 100 games in five of their first seven seasons, the Mets stunned the baseball world by winning 100 games in the regular season and defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series in five games.

The Knicks, who had not won a title in their first 23 seasons, tied a then-NBA record with 17 consecutive wins. On New Year’s Eve 1969, they were at the top of the league with a score of 33-7. That season ended later in 1970, when the team’s first championship banner was hoisted from the rafters of Madison Square Garden.

1986

It’s a sports year best known for the ’86 Mets.

The beloved team’s wild off-field exploits are as well-known as Mookie Wilson’s little throw that went first through Bill Buckner’s legs. The latter, of course, capped the Mets’ thrilling 10th-inning comeback in Game 6 of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. That forced Game 7, which the Mets won 8-5.

Earlier this year, the Giants won their first Super Bowl, capping a 14-2 season with a 39-20 victory over the Denver Broncos to secure the team’s first title in 30 years.

This January was also the closest New York came to a Super Bowl matchup between the Giants and Jets. The Jets defeated the Kansas City Chiefs after a 10-6 victory in a wild card game. They advanced to the divisional round against the Cleveland Browns, where they gave up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost by a field goal in overtime.

1994

A year in which New York almost won two championships in the same week.

Madison Square Garden simultaneously hosted the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals in June 1994, providing one of the most memorable stretches in the city’s sports history as both series ended in a decisive seventh game.

The Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks at the Garden and won their first Stanley Cup since 1940. The next night in the same building, the Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets and even reached the NBA Finals, 2-2. The Knicks then won Game 5 to come within one win of their first championship since 1973 before losing two straight games in Houston.

The same night the Knicks lost Game 7, on June 22, the Yankees improved to 42-27 with a win over the Minnesota Twins. They remained atop the American League until August 11, when they had a 70-43 record and the team played its final game due to a players’ strike that would end the season.

2000

Prepare your tokens! Yes kids, before iPhone apps and MetroCards, you had to use tokens to ride the subway.

And this October, a lot of tokens were needed in New York as the Yankees and Mets played in the World Series for the first and only time. The Yankees defeated the Mets in five games to win their third straight championship and fourth in five years.

The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals after an appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals. The Giants finished the season 12-4 and reached the Super Bowl in January 2001.

So it was a strong start to the new millennium for New York sports.

Chopper 4 was above Yankee Stadium on Monday afternoon as the team practiced on the field ahead of the World Series with the Dodgers. World Series signage could be seen above the dugouts.