Quiz Corner: Title Town, USA

When the Bruins hoisted the Stanley Cup in June, Boston became “Title Town, USA,” having won championships in all four top-level professional sports leagues (the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB) within the span of less than a decade. The Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005, the Red Sox won in 2007, and the Celtics won in 2008.

Five other American cities have achieved this distinction, but they all took longer than Boston—some of them, much longer. Can you identify these other us Title Towns below by matching them with the shortest span over which they won championships in all four leagues?

For clues, I have included the leagues and years that began and ended the span. (For example, Boston (A) is #1.)

A. Boston
B. Chicago
C. Detroit
D. Los Angeles/Anaheim
E. New York/Northern New Jersey
F. Philadelphia

  1. 6 years, 129 days (NFL 2005–NHL 2011)
  2. 11 years, 133 days (NFL 1969–NHL 1980)
  3. 19 years, 300 days (NFL 1960–MLB 1980)
  4. 23 years, 135 days (NFL 1984–NHL 2007)
  5. 34 years, 60 days (NHL 1955–NBA 1989)
  6. 73 years, 210 days (MLB 1917–NBA 1991)

(Note that I am using Census-defined metro areas, not strict city limits. If a city has multiple teams in a league, only one of those teams needs to win within the span to qualify. Teams that have moved or folded still count for the city where they won. Years are listed by the year in which the championship was actually won, so Super Bowl years represent championships for the previous year’s regular season.)

From the August 2011 issue of Happiness Pony. Quizmaster Adam Villani won Ben Stein’s Money, but lost to all-time champion Ken Jennings at Jeopardy! [PDF]

Quiz Answers

A. (Boston) 1
B. (Chicago) 6
C. (Detroit) 5
D. (L.A.) 4
E. (New York) 2
F. (Philadelphia) 3

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