Losing streak (sport)
Encyclopedia
In sports, a losing streak is an uninterrupted string of contests (whether games, matches, etc.) lost
by a team or individual. A losing streak can last as few as two games, or it may last much longer. A losing streak and winless streak are distinctively different, as a winless streak may include tie games and, in some sports (notably association football and ice hockey), overtime losses.
Here is a list of the longest team losing streaks of all time in several competitions:
List of the longest individual losing streaks of all time in each sport:
Loss
Loss may refer to:*A negative difference between retail price and cost of production**Loss leader a deliberate commercial loss made in the expectation of recouping it by profitable sales of other lines...
by a team or individual. A losing streak can last as few as two games, or it may last much longer. A losing streak and winless streak are distinctively different, as a winless streak may include tie games and, in some sports (notably association football and ice hockey), overtime losses.
Here is a list of the longest team losing streaks of all time in several competitions:
- NCAA FootballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
Division I FBS: Northwestern WildcatsNorthwestern Wildcats footballThe Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
, 34 games (1979-82) - NCAA Football Division I FCS: Prairie View A&M PanthersPrairie View A&M UniversityPrairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
, 80 games (1989-98) - NCAA Football Division II: Minnesota-Morris Cougars, 46 games (1998-2003)
- NCAA Football Division III: Macalester ScotsMacalester CollegeMacalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
, 50 games (1974-80) - NCAA BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
:- Division I, men: NJIT Highlanders, 51 games (2007-09)
- Division I, women: LIU BlackbirdsLong Island UniversityLong Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
, 58 games - Division II, men: Olivet CometsOlivet CollegeOlivet College is a coeducational, liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan, United States, south of Lansing and west of Detroit. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and accredited by the North Central...
and Southwest Minnesota State MustangsSouthwest Minnesota State UniversitySouthwest Minnesota State University is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, United States, a city of 13,000 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,500 students and...
, 46 games - Division II, women: Notre Dame de Namur ArgonautsNotre Dame de Namur UniversityNotre Dame de Namur University — formerly the College of Notre Dame — is a private, Catholic University located in Belmont, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Notre Dame de Namur University is an accredited university in San Mateo County, and the fifth-oldest university in California...
, 70 games - Division III, men: Caltech BeaversCalifornia Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, 207 games (record for all divisions, men or women) - Division III, women: Schreiner MountaineersSchreiner UniversitySchreiner University is a private liberal arts institution located in Kerrville, Texas. The University enrolls an estimated 1,100 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 27 four-year undergraduate programs, an MBA and a master of education. Its religious affiliation is to the Presbyterian...
, 83 games (all-division record for women)
- NBA BasketballNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
: Cleveland CavaliersCleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
: 26 games - WNBA BasketballWomen's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
: Tulsa Shock: 20 games - MLB BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
: Louisville ColonelsLouisville ColonelsThe Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels , the latter name derived from the historic Kentucky colonels...
: 26 games (Cleveland SpidersCleveland SpidersThe Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team played at National League Park from 1889 to 1890 and at League Park from 1891 to 1899.- 1887-1891 :...
: 24 games if only include AmericanAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
and National Leagues) - NHL HockeyNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
: Washington CapitalsWashington CapitalsThe Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
and San Jose SharksSan Jose SharksThe San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
: 17 games - NFL FootballNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
: Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
: 26 games - CFL FootballCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
: Hamilton Tigers/Tiger-CatsHamilton Tiger-CatsThe Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
: 16 games - NCAA Lacrosse Division I: Wagner CollegeWagner CollegeWagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
: 29 games - NCAA Lacrosse Division III: City College of New YorkCity College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
: 92 games - CIS FootballCIS footballTwenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec...
: University of Toronto Varsity Blues: 49 games - United States Hockey LeagueUnited States Hockey LeagueThe United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
: Omaha LancersOmaha LancersThe Omaha Lancers are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the West Division of the United States Hockey League .From 2002-2009, the Lancers' home ice was the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha. Until the 2001-2002 season, the Lancers played at...
: 53 games (entire 1986–87 season, 5 games of the 87–88 season) - VFL/AFL Australian FootballAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
: Melbourne University Football ClubMelbourne University Football ClubMelbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
: 51 games - SANFL Australian Rules FootballSouth Australian National Football LeagueThe South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
: Glenelg Football Club: 56 games - WAFL Australian Rules FootballWest Australian Football LeagueThe West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
: West Perth Football ClubWest Perth Football ClubThe West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia, competing in the West Australian Football League . It is the oldest existing Australian rules football club in Western Australia. It competes in the West Australian...
: 27 games - NSWRL and NRL rugby leagueNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
: Sydney University rugby league team: 42 games - Cricket
- Test CricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
: Bangladesh – 21 matches (2001–2004) - One Day International cricket: Bangladesh – 23 matches (1999–2002)
- Twenty20 InternationalTwenty20 InternationalA Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
: Bangladesh – 12 matches (2007-pres) - Combined international cricket: Bangladesh – 28 matches (10 tests, 18 ODIs, 2003–2004)
- Twenty20Twenty20Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
club or domestic: Quetta BearsQuetta BearsThe Quetta Bears are a Pakistan Super League team, based in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. The team was established in 2006 and its home ground is Ayub National Stadium. The team is one of several proposed franchises for the Pakistan Super League...
– 19 matches (2005-pres)
- Test Cricket
List of the longest individual losing streaks of all time in each sport:
- MLB Baseball: Anthony Young: 27 consecutive losing decisionsDecision (baseball)A decision is a statistical credit given to a baseball pitcher.There are two types of decisions: win and loss.In order to receive a win, the starting pitcher must complete at least five innings and leave with the lead. If the pitcher's lead is preserved by the bullpen, he is credited with a win...
- ATPAssociation of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
: Vince SpadeaVince SpadeaVincent Spadea [SPAY-dee-ya] is an ATP Tour professional tennis player from the United States. He is one of only four players in history to defeat Roger Federer 6–0 in set, at a major event....
: 21 consecutive matches