Famous athletes who never won a championship

“The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived” is the most apt way to describe Ted Williams. A baseball legend in the truest sense of the word, Williams hit 521 home runs, appeared in 19 All-Star games, won six batting titles and even won the Triple Crown twice. Also the last player to hit over .400 in a season, Williams missed out on four years in his prime to serve in WWII and is perhaps the greatest athlete never to win a championship.

When Dan Marino led the Miami Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX in just his second year in the NFL, he likely wasn’t expecting that to be the closest he would ever come to winning it all. Well, it was. Despite being one of the greatest signal-callers the NFL has ever seen, the Hall of Famer never made it to another Super Bowl and became the unofficial poster boy for athletes who never won the big one.

Always undersized for his position, Charles Barkley carved out a remarkable career in the NBA averaging 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds with 11 All-Star appearances and one MVP award. Despite all the accolades, the only time Barkley made it to the NBA Finals was in 1993 with the Phoenix Suns, where he lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in six games.

It’s hard to believe, but the second leading scorer in NBA history never won a ring. Malone made it to the Finals three times: twice in the late '90s with Jazz, who fell in dramatic fashion each time to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, and in his final season as a pro with the Lakers in 2004, where they were shockingly upset by Larry Brown’s Detroit Pistons in five games.

Malone’s longtime running mate also never experienced the thrill of winning a title. The NBA’s all-time leader in total assists with 15,806 (3,000 more than the next closest player) never lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy despite making two trips to the Finals.

When Patrick Ewing was drafted No. 1 overall by the Knicks in 1985, he was supposed to be the savior who would bring an NBA title back to New York, but that never happened. An 11-time All-Star, Ewing and the Knicks came closest in 1995 and 1999, losing in the Finals to the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, respectively.

Affectionately known as “Mr. Cub,” Banks was the first shortstop to hit 500 home runs. The Hall of Famer never won a World Series in his career with the Chicago Cubs, but then again, that can be said of anyone who played for the Cubs after 1908. 

One of the greatest three-point shooters and trash talkers ever to grace a basketball court, Miller and his Indiana Pacers were never quite able to get over the hump and win a title in his 18-year career. Miller came closest in 2000, when the Pacers lost to Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers in six games.

Although he isn’t exactly the most likable human being to ever play in the major leagues, he is unquestionably one of the greatest. Cobb is second all time on the MLB career hit list with 4,191 and also has the highest all-time batting average with .367. Still, “The Georgia Peach” never won a World Series in his 20-plus seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics.

Regardless of whether or not he took PEDs, Barry Bonds is still one of the greatest ballplayers ever to walk the planet. Home runs aside, what's often overlooked is the fact that Bonds also stole over 500 bases and won a total of eight gold gloves in his career. A World Series loss in seven games to the Angels in 2002 was the closest Bonds came to becoming a champ.

One of the NBA’s first true superstars, Elgin Baylor averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his 14-year career for the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite making it to eight NBA Finals, Baylor’s Lakers remarkably lost each and every one of those series.

Despite accumulating over 3,000 hits, 15 All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves and eight batting titles, San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn never won a World Series. “Mr. Padre” came closest in 1998, when the Padres were swept in four games by the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Despite being one of the most exciting, awe-inspiring (and controversial) wide receivers ever to play in the NFL, Moss was never able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Ranking fourth all time with 157 total touchdowns, including a single-season record 23 in 2007, Moss appeared in two Super Bowls, but his team lost in both trips.

In 21 MLB seasons, Ken Griffey Jr. hit 630 home runs, was selected to 13 All-Star games, won 10 Gold Gloves, won three Home Run Derby titles, was named AL MVP in 1997 and earned NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2005. Despite this long list of accolades, “Junior” never played in a single World Series game.

Without question the most electrifying running back ever to play in the NFL, Sanders was a Pro Bowler in every single one of his 10 seasons in the NFL, but he only won one playoff game with the Detroit Lions before abruptly retiring in 1999.

Before Marino and Elway came along, Fran Tarkenton was widely considered to be the NFL's greatest passing quarterback of all time. Throwing for 342 touchdowns in his 17-year NFL career for both the Vikings and Giants, Tarkenton played in two Super Bowls but lost both of them.

Even though he was a 10-time All-Pro selection, 12-time Pro Bowler, a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade team and a posthumous Hall of Fame selection, Junior Seau never won a Super Bowl. Seau made it to the big game twice, once in 1994 with the San Diego Chargers and once in 2007 with New England Patriots, but his team came up short both times.

With a total 1,040 points over his 18-year career, Marcel Dionne is perhaps the greatest offensive player in NHL history never to win the Stanley Cup. Dionne spent the majority of career on poor teams, never making it past the second round of the playoffs.

In a career that lasted over 20 years,, “Hammerin” Harmon Killebrew hit a total of 573 home runs and was selected to 13 All-Star games. The Hall of Famer came closest to winning a World Series in 1965 with the Minnesota Twins, who eventually lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

Beloved by the city of Boston, winger Cam Neely was never able to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in a Bruins uniform, losing twice in the Final to the Edmonton Oilers. Neely did, however, score 395 goals in his 13-year career and was inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Carlton Fisk's career spanned 24 years over four decades, and his game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is one of the all-time iconic baseball moments. But that season ended up being the closest the Hall of Fame catcher would ever come to winning a title.

The NFL’s all-time leader in sacks with exactly 200, Bruce Smith is considered by many to be the greatest pass rusher to ever to step on a football field. Smith and the Buffalo Bills made it to four consecutive Super Bowls in the early '90s but came up short each time.

Statistically speaking, Tony Gonzalez is the greatest tight end in NFL history. He was the first tight end to catch more than 1,000 passes and has the most career touchdown receptions as a tight end with 111. Despite being selected to 14 Pro Bowls and 10 All-Pro teams, Gonzalez never played in a Super Bowl.

One of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history, Bruce Matthews played 18 seasons for the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers franchise, amassing 14 Pro Bowl selections and 10 All-Pro selections on the way to a Hall of Fame induction in 2007. Matthews made it to Super Bowl XXXIV with Titans in 1999, where they fell a yard short in the waning seconds against the St. Louis Rams.

Perhaps the greatest goaltender never to win a Stanley Cup, Curtis Joseph played 20 seasons in the NHL garnering a total of 454 wins with six different teams. Although he regularly led his teams into the playoffs, “Cujo” never played in a Stanley Cup Final.