The greatest rivalries in the history of sports

Dating back to 1901, this rivalry truly started when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000, sparking “The Curse of the Bambino.” From Bucky Dent to Aaron Boone, the Yankees historically had a leg up on the Red Sox — until the 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox overcame a 3-0 series deficit to the Yankees on their way to winning their first World Series title since 1918, ending the "curse." Still, the two teams will always be hated rivals.

The definitive NBA rivalry, the league's two most storied franchises have faced off in 12 Finals, dating as far back as 1959 and most recently in 2010. The Celtics own the all-time series with a record of 201-160. Additionally, the individual rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird served to catapult the NBA to new heights in American culture in the 1980s.

The amount of pure talent that has participated in college basketball’s most intense rivalry is absolutely staggering: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, among others, have participated in this rivalry — and those are only players from UNC. The fixture of Dean Smith’s UNC team going up against Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke squad has made this rivalry an indelible part of American sports culture. Considering the schools are located only eight miles apart from one another, it’s likely to continue for a long time to come.

Two of the NHL's Original Six, the rivalry between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens dates all the way back to 1924. The teams have combined to play each other in 34 postseason series and have faced off in a record nine Game 7s. Montreal leads the all-time series by a wide margin.

The rivalry to end all rivalries in North American sports: Each year when the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers face off in the Iron Bowl, the people of the state of Alabama collectively lose their minds. It’s often been said by fans of both schools that losing every game of the season is acceptable as long as you win the Iron Bowl. Simply put, there is no other rivalry in North American sports in which the players, coaches and fans put more emotional currency than Alabama vs. Auburn. "Roll Tide" vs. "War Eagle" is the king of all rivalries.

Considered by some to be the greatest rivalry in all of North American sports, whenever the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines face off on the football field, sparks fly. The rivalry was at its peak from 1969 to 1978, a period coined “The Ten Year War,” in which coaching legends Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan had their respective teams facing off each year with either a Rose Bowl appearance or national championship at stake.

Known as “The Red River Showdown,” the states of Oklahoma and Texas collectively stop life for a few hours to watch this classic college football rivalry. With the two schools consistently ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll over the years when they face each other, many college football championships have been decided by the result of this rivalry. Currently, the Longhorns lead the all-time series record with 61 wins to the Sooners' 46.

What makes the football rivalry between the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen so unique is the fact that it almost never features any players with aspirations of playing in the NFL. Every player who takes the field for West Point or the Naval Academy has committed himself to service for his country, and thus the amount of pride at stake in this yearly rivalry is staggering. The series had been dominated in the two past decades by Navy, who won 14 straight times in the rivalry, but Army has won the last two contests.

Although no matchup in the NFC East is without some bad blood, without question the most heated rivalry in that division is between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. Dating all the way back to 1961, these two teams have always looked to spoil each other's season. The Cowboys lead the rivalry with a record of 70-44-2.

Combining to win 22 NFL championships, including five Super Bowls, Green Bay and Chicago have the longest rivalry in the NFL with a record 196 regular-season and postseason games played against each other. Dating all the way back to 1921, nearly a century later there is still no love lost between these two NFC North rivals. The Packers lead the extremely close all-time series 96-94-6.

A rivalry that has gained more steam in recent years, these NFC West rivals are engaged in arguably the most bitter present-day NFL rivalry. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s infamous postgame rant after winning the 2013 NFC Championship Game emphasized this, and in a true stunner, Sherman joined the 49ers this offseason after seven seasons with the Seahawks.

Despite the mutual respect between both teams, make no mistake: This is one of most hostile rivalries in professional sports. Dating back to both teams' time in New York, the two have consistently played postseason spoiler to one another over the years. The most memorable moment between the two teams occurred in the final game of a three-game playoff for the NL Pennant in 1951, when Giants outfielder Bobby Thompson hit the game-winning home run in what would later be known as “the Shot Heard Round the World.”

Dating all the way back to 1892, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals have been two of baseball’s most consistent rivals. Having played each other over 2,300 times, the most recent surge in conflict between these two divisional rivals occurred in 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were neck and neck in a race to see who could beat Roger Maris’ all-time single-season home run record. They both did, with McGwire doing it first for his Cardinals.

Known as the "Battle of Pennsylvania," the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers joined the NHL in 1967 as expansion teams and quickly became fierce rivals. Any time these two teams face off, it’s expected that punches will be thrown. The two have often met in the postseason, including in 2018, only furthering the bad blood between the intrastate rivals.

California certainly isn’t known for hockey, but any fan within the state is keenly aware of the animosity that exists between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Although the Sharks have a slight leg up all time in the rivalry, it’s the Kings who got the better of the Sharks for a few years, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the first round of the 2014 playoffs to beat San Jose in seven games. However, the Sharks finally overcame the Kings in postseason, defeating L.A. in the first round en route to reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

Showcasing two of college football’s elite programs, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and USC Trojans have been furious rivals since the first time the schools played each other in 1926. Boasting a combined 22 national titles and 14 Heisman Trophy winners between the two schools, the yearly winner of this rivalry earns its university bragging rights to the claim of one of the greatest college football powerhouse in the world.

Known as “The Battle of the South Americans,” there is never any love lost whenever Brazil and Argentina play each other, whether it’s a friendly or a World Cup game. With a combined seven World Cup titles, these two countries consistently compete for bragging rights in world football’s most historic rivalry. With Argentina having made it to the finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the tide is currently in Argentina's favor.

Simply known as “El Clásico,” Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona are the two most successful teams in Spanish soccer history. With Madrid and Barcelona symbolically representing Spanish nationalism and Catalan nationalism respectively, all of Spain halts for 90 minutes when these two clubs face off.

Widely regarded as the most storied rivalry in English Premier League football, Liverpool F.C. and Manchester United F.C. have been squaring off since 1894. Repeatedly stained by violent clashes between fans and hooliganism over the years, the Liverpool vs. Man U matchup is now played every year at lunchtime to assuage fans' excess drinking. Man U currently holds the all-times series lead.

Although the rivalry has cooled off some in recent years, at the height of the Big East’s heyday, this was as intense a rivalry as any in college basketball. Featuring two coaches — Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Georgetown’s John Thompson — who genuinely did not like each other, Syracuse vs. Georgetown was the most enthralling rivalry the Big East Conference ever produced. Syracuse has had a slight leg up on Georgetown over the years.

Although the battle for Los Angeles has been historically dominated by the Trojans, the Bruins have had their moments. With the two schools separated by only a few miles on Interstate 10, student pranks have been commonplace over the years leading up to the big game between L.A.'s two college football giants. USC leads the all-time series 47-31-7.

Despite the fact that Harvard and Yale typically don’t evoke excellence in athletics in the minds of most, the two schools unquestionably boast one of the most historic rivalries in college football history. Starting all the way back in 1875, the Harvard Crimson and Yale Bulldogs football rivalry was at its peak in the early 1900s but continues to be a fierce competition between the two schools up to the present day. Known simply as "The Game," Yale leads the all-time series with a record of 67–59–8.

"The Civil War" has been happening in Oregon since 1894, but as of late the rivalry has been fairly one-sided, with the Ducks becoming one of college football's juggernauts over the last decade until a recent lull. Oregon leads the overall series 64-47-10 and has won nine of the last 10 matchups.

The preeminent rivalry in CONCACAF, the United States and Mexico are the two most powerful soccer nations in North America. Since the USA qualified for the 1990 World Cup, the two countries have consistently rivaled each other in World Cup qualifying, the Gold Cup and friendlies. Mexico leads the all-time series 35-19-14.

Frequently marred by riots and dating back all the way to 1888, the rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. is perhaps the most dangerous sports rivalry in the world. With the two clubs consistently separating fans whenever they play, the battle for Glasgow has taken on both social and political ramifications over the years for Scotland. Rangers hold the all-time series lead in the "Old Firm" rivalry with a record of 159-155-99.

Known commonly as the “Derby Capitolino,” the Rome derby between football clubs Lazio and AS Roma is the wildest rivalry in Italian football. Dating back to 1929, the rivalry has consistently featured massive crowds, violence in the stands and racist banners flown in the stadiums. Simply put, it’s a bitter, ugly and hostile match year in and year out.

Relatively unknown within the United States, “El Superclásico” features Argentinian football club giants Boca Juniors and River Plate. The Derby for Buenos Aires, like many other world football rivalries, has been marred by tragedy — most notably in 1968, when 71 fans were crushed to death after a match due to overcrowding at El Monumental stadium.