So with that in mind, here we go. First up is eight dominating teams over the course of multiple years.
1963-75 UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball
John Wooden had his team playing at a level that most people never thought to really be attainable. Over the course of twelve years, the Bruins of UCLA won ten national championships. The only years during that stretch that the Bruins couldn't claim a title were 1966 (Texas Western won beating Kentucky) and 1974 (North Carolina State won beating Marquette). Oh and there was that little 88 game winning streak that the team had from 1971 to 1974. During that twelve year stretch, UCLA managed to help produce future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Jamaal Wilkes. Yeah, they were kinda good.
1953-57 Oklahoma Sooners Football
The Sooners did in College Football for a time what UCLA did in Basketball, before it was cool. Bud Wilkinson had Oklahoma primed and ready to go during this four year stretch. IN that time span, the Sooners won 47 consecutive games. Think about that. Oklahoma won 47 straight football games, something that has never been done before or since in major college football. Oklahoma won the Orange Bowl twice during that streak, but it also had to sit out the postseason twice during an era when many conferences didn't allow teams to play in bowl games in consecutive seasons. They started setting a mark for teams in any sport to try and match.
2008-present Connecticut Women's basketball
What John Wooden was able to do at UCLA, Geno Auriemma is doing right now in the Women's game. For one thing, there's winning six national titles in the last eight years, including the last four in a row. The only time in the last eight years that UCONN hasn't had a say in the National Title game were 2011 (Texas A&M beat Notre Dame) and 2012 (Baylor beat Notre Dame). Oh yeah, lets not forget the fact that the Huskies won a record 90 consecutive games from November 2008 to December 2010 and went 40-0 in 2013-14.
1949-53 New York Yankees
Five years, five world titles. In fact, you could throw in the two years prior to that, 1947 and 1948. In 1947 the Yankees won 97 games and a World Series. Then in 1948, the Yanks won 94 games and missed the playoffs, finishing 3rd in the division. But from 1949-53, the Bronx Bombers were loaded. Casey Stengel had plenty of talent to work with on those teams, when you have guys like Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto in the fold. During that five year run, the Yankees won 97, 98, 98, 95 and 99 games during the regular season. Then, the Yanks went 20-8 during those five World Series, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949, '52, '53), Philadelphia Phillies (1950) and New York Giants (1951).
1979-83 New York Islanders
No team since them has dominated the NHL like the Islanders during their glory days. Four straight Stanley Cups and nineteen straight playoff series wins for the Islanders during this run. It ended in 1984 with a five game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the Finals. They had a team that will never be seen again in the sport of hockey, because since they lost in the 84 finals, no other team has managed to win more than two Cups in a row. Those Islanders teams set a level of excellence in the game of hockey that may never be matched again.
1975-79 Montreal Canadiens
Before the Islanders had their run, the Montreal Canadiens had their last great dynasty team. As good as they Islanders were after them, Montreal helped set the standard for what was to become in the NHL. Montreal won four straight Cups, right before the Islanders had their run of four straight titles. In winning their four consecutive Stanley Cups, Montreal went 48-10 in the playoffs. Les Habs also won five consecutive Stanley Cups from the 1955-56 season through 1959-60, during an era when the NHL had only six member clubs. Montreal is the greatest franchise, at least in terms of championship success, in the history of the game of hockey. This was the last great dynasty and dominating era for the Montreal Canadiens.
1958-66 Boston Celtics
This was a stretch of Pro Basketball that may never be touched again. The run started during the 1958-59 season. Boston begain that year to establish the mark for NBA excellence that almost certainly will never be broken. That year began a run for the Celtics for winning eight consecutive NBA Championships. If you don't really feel convinced yet that the Celtics dominated the sport of Basketball during this eight year stretch, then maybe these numbers will help[ you out. During that championship run, the Celtics went 461-165 in the regular season and compiled a 67-33 postseason record. I don't think anybody will be able to get anywhere close to that level again.
1974-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers
It's hard to keep a dynasty together in sports, the NFL may be one of the hardest to keep one in, with the salary cap and what have you. The last really great dominant run by an NFL team has to go to the Steelers. From 74 to 79 the Steelers won six straight division titles, four of those years they won the Super Bowl (1976 and 1977 were the only years they missed winning the big one). The Steelers were led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, and running back Franco on offense. Mean Joe Greene was the anchor of the Steel Curtain defense, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest defenses to ever be assembled.
Now here's the top eight examples of teams dominating a single season.
1972 Miami Dolphins
How this year isn't really talked about a whole lot is a bit of a shame. Its the only time in the history of the NFL that a team has ran the table during the regular season and the playoffs to capture a Super Bowl. Miami went 14-0 during the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs en rout to beating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. They may not have demolished opponents like some other teams who are going to pop up on this list, but they dominated the rest of the league to run the table. Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, and Larry Csonka were the main pieces on that team that was lead by coach Don Shula to be the only team to run the table in the NFL.
1985 Chicago Bears
Chicago totally steamrolled their opponents during that season. IT was one of the few NFL teams ever to gain and embraced celebrity status on their way to winning Super Bowl XX. Chicago went 15-1 (the only loss was to the Miami Dolphins during week 13) , and its ferocious defense allowed the fewest points and yards in the league. Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton racked up 2,034 yards and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage to anchor the NFL's No. 2 scoring offense. Here's another way to look at how the Bears dominated that year. Chicago won their three postseason games by a combined score of 91-10, including a 46-10 blowout of the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. That my friends is domination if I've ever heard of it.
1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team
First of all, there's the fact that this Nebraska team ran the table with a 13-0 season in 1971. What gets talked about most when people mention this year in college football was the "Game of The Century," the No. 1 Cornhuskers played No. 2 Oklahoma. Nebraska had the nation’s top-ranked defense, while Oklahoma had its most productive offense. The cover of Sports Illustrated (Nov. 22, 1971) published the week of the game included photographs of Nebraska linebacker Bob Terrio and Oklahoma running back Greg Pruitt, nose-to-nose, beneath the headline: "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska." Nebraska got the win and went on to dominate everybody in their path that year in claiming the National Championship.
1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team
After settling for bronze at Seoul in 1988, the U.S. took advantage of professional eligibility for the subsequent Olympics to assemble the greatest team in basketball history. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson headlined a roster that included 11 future Hall of Famers. The Dream Team went 8-0 in Barcelona, with a 43.8-point average victory margin, to capture the gold medal and restore the U.S. as the world's top basketball power. To really put this into perspective as to how good this Dream Team was, U.S. coach Chuck Daly called exactly zero timeouts during those '92 Olympic games.
1995-96 Chicago Bulls
Behind Michael Jordan on the floor and Phil Jackson on the bench, the Bulls ran roughshod through the league. They set the league record (at that time) with 72 regular-season wins. The discussion of the Bulls' dominance could extend to much of the 1990s, but the team truly reached its zenith in 1995-96. That year, Chicago was leading the league with 105.2 points per game and ranking No. 3 defensively by allowing only 92.9 points per game. Most importantly, Chicago won its fourth championship in six seasons.
1927 New York Yankees
The legendary Murderers' Row lineup started with four Hall of Famers: Earle Combs (.356 with 231 hits), Tony Lazzeri (102 RBI), Babe Ruth (.356 batting average, 60 Home Runs, 164 RBIs, 158 runs scored, walked 137 times, and slugged .772) and Lou Gehrig (.373, with 218 hits, 52 doubles, 18 triples, 47 home runs, and 175 RBIs). The '27 Yankees went 110-44 and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. They also combined to hit 158 home runs, which led the majors by 49 and the AL by 102.
1998 New York Yankees
Its a bit of a surprise to think that this Yankees team lost four of their first five games. Owner George Steinbrenner was growing impatient, and manager Joe Torre was being questioned about his job security. Then history happened, as the Yankees stormed to a 114-48 regular-season record and went 11-2 in the postseason on their way to a World Series championship. Those 125 combined victories stand as an MLB record. IT helps that the Yankees led the majors with 965 runs. Now this comes as a bit of a surprise considering that the Yankees were one of the oldest teams in the league that year, with an average age of 30.5.
1987-88 Edmonton Oilers Season
The Edmonton Oilers made quick work of the Boston Bruins capturing their fourth Stanley Cup in five years. During the regular season, Edmonton was good going 44-25-11, good enough for 2nd in the Division behind the Calgary Flames. But what really makes this Oilers team so dominant is what they did in the playoffs. Edmonton only lost two games due to the stellar play of Vezina-winner Grant Fuhr and the unbelievable 43 points from the great Wayne Gretzky. This would be Gretzky's last season as an Oiler, as he would be traded to the Kings in the off-season. In a rare occurrence, game four of the Stanley Cup Finals ended in a tie. The game was suspended at 16:37 of the second period due to a power failure in the Boston Arena. As NHL rules stated, the game was suspended at a 3-3 tie. The series shifted back to Edmonton where the Oilers won the deciding game 6-3. Gretzky was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after amassing 43 playoff points.
Honorable Mention (teams that dominated during the season but came up short in the playoffs)
1995-96 Detroit Red Wings
Talk about domination. Sergei Federov lead the way in scoring with 107 points (39 goals 68 assists) and Chris Osgood picked up 39 victories in goal during the regular season. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the Red Wings finished the regular season with a record of 62–13–7. It happens to be the best record ever in the history of the NHL. You'd think that with a record like that the Wings would have walked right through the playoffs to win the Cup. Wrong. They were knocked off in the 2nd round by the eventual champions the Colorado Avalanche. Close but no cigar.
2001 Seattle Mariners
Two reasons why this year was so memorable. First was the arrival of Ichiro Suzuki to play in America. Second, the Mariners equaled a 95-year-old MLB record for regular-season victories by going 116-46. But the Yankees ended Seattle's dream season by winning the AL Championship Series in five games, thus protecting the 1998 Yankees' record of 125 combined regular-season and postseason victories. So despite their best efforts, Seattle came up just short.
2007 New England Patriots
New England had the best regular season in NFL history, going 16-0. To show their dominance, they outscored their opponents by a gaudy 315 points. Then came the helmet catch and one of the biggest upsets in sports history when the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII.
2015-16 Golden State Warriors
Nobody thought that the Bulls 1996 season record of 72 wins would be toppled. Then the Warriors came along. Golden State came out and set an NBA record with a 73-9 regular-season record and led the league in scoring. But they also ranked 19th of 30 teams in scoring defense and lost the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers after leading the series 3-1.
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