Legendary Hall of Fame athletes who only played for one franchise

For years, generations even, Sanders was the one bright spot for the Lions as a franchise. Many would still make the argument for him as the best running back of all time. He likely would have become the all-time rushing yardage leader for the NFL, but he retired surprisingly in the lead-up to the 1999 season after years of futility in Detroit. This led to bad feelings between franchise and player for many years, but fortunately, Sanders is back in the good graces of the Lions, and vice versa.

Someday, presumably, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will be Hall of Famers who played their entire careers with the Penguins. For now, though, Lemieux is the definitive career Penguin. Though injury and illness cut into his career, “Super Mario” won three Hart trophies and five Art Ross trophies. Not only that, but Lemieux truly helped save the franchise. He became part of an ownership group that saved the Penguins from bankruptcy and kept the team from moving, or possibly even folding. Oh, and then he returned to playing for the franchise for good measure.

Maybe he wasn’t the friendliest guy, but Williams wielded a bat as well as anybody. As the last .400 hitter in MLB history to date, it’s maybe not surprising he won six batting titles. However, Williams’ power is overlooked, as he led the American League in home runs four times as well. “Teddy Ballgame” played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox. The only thing that ever pulled him away from the team was war, as he served in both World War II and the Korean War during his career.

It may have been the early days of the NBA, but Russell’s play still stood out even if the competition was perhaps less stiff than these days. Winning 11 rings with the Celtics was still impressive, even if fewer teams were in the running. Russell won five MVPs with Boston, and at the end of his career, he was a player-coach. Even so, the Celtics still won multiple titles. When Russell died in 2022, the NBA made his number six the first retired league-wide.

We promise you that we didn’t put Marino here right after Russell to rub it in. Things just ended up that way. Marino changed the NFL with his passing prowess. His 5,084 passing yards and 48 passing touchdowns in 1984 would be remarkable now, but back then those were unheard of numbers. When Marino retired after 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, he had a legitimate claim to being the best quarterback in NFL history. The only snag, of course, is that Marino never won a Super Bowl.

Gordie Howe may have been “Mr. Hockey,” but there’s a reason why in Detroit they call Stevie Y. “The Captain.” Yzerman played his entire 22-season career with the Red Wings. For 19 of those seasons he was the captain of the team. He played in the era of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, and thus didn’t win many individual awards. However, he did win a Selke, and also a Conn Smythe. The latter is for playoff MVP, and Yzerman won it one of the three times he lifted the Cup as captain of the Red Wings.

All 56 of those games in which DiMaggio picked up a hit, setting a streak that may never be broken, were as a Yankee. His three AL MVPs? His 13 All-Star Game appearances? His nine World Series titles? Yes, all in New York with the Yankees. While Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel asked where Joe DiMaggio went, one place he never went was to play for any other team.

Luka Doncic: Not a future member of this list. Oh, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame, but, well, that’s a story for another day. Nowitzki’s status as the greatest player in Mavericks history now remains secure. He helped revitalize that franchise, and he lifted it to its first title. Not only that, but he ushered in both a run on center-sized players with silky shots and Europeans. Darko Milicic owes a debt of gratitude to Dirk.

The top-five players in sacks in NFL history all played for at least two teams. Kevin Greene played for four! Strahan is the first player on the sack list to play for a single franchise, and is the only such player in the top 13. Strahan’s 141.5 sacks (including the one that made Mark Gastineau super mad) all came with the New York Giants.

Bossy was the offensive driving force of the Islanders dynasty. He was one of the best goal scorers in NHL history. A serious back issue nixed his career after 10 seasons and 752 games. Bossy still managed to score 573 goals, plus 85 more in 129 playoff games. Five times he tallied 60 goals in a season. Maybe Bossy would have played elsewhere if not for his injury, but instead he goes into the books as a one-franchise icon.

Ripken is remembered best for his iron man streak. He played 2,632 games in a row for the Orioles, the only team he played for in his 21-season career. However, focusing on the streak undersells just how good of a player Ripken was. He won AL MVP twice and won two Gold Gloves as well. There’s a reason why Baltimore wanted him in the lineup so often.

Many a basketball legend has played for the Lakers. Magic had as good a run with the franchise as anybody. Taken first overall out of Michigan State, Johnson helped change the point guard position. He won three MVPs in the regular season, but also three Finals MVPs. Johnson is found prominently in the NBA record books, even though his career was cut short by HIV.

Larry Fitzgerald is not in the Hall of Fame just yet, though that day is coming. As such, Harrison is the best receiver in the Hall to play for a single franchise, or at least that argument can be made. Though the Colts legend was far from flashy, unusual for the position, Harrison tallied 1,102 catches, 14,580 receiving yards, and 128 receiving touchdowns. For several years, his 143 receptions in 2002 was the NFL record.

The Bruins drafted Dryden in 1964, and then a few days later traded him to the Canadiens. Boston likely came to lament that decision. In a remarkable quirk, Dryden won the Conn Smythe as playoffs MVP and then won the Calder as rookie of the year the next season. The netminder played for six Cup winners in the 1970s, and he won five Vezinas in that time (though the Vezina was still about GAA and not a voting award). An unusual guy, Dryden once sat out a season in a contract dispute and got a law degree during that time. He retired after only eight seasons in the NHL but is still considered one of the best goalie to ever do it.

Tenacious on the mound, the “Year of the Pitcher” was highlighted by Gibson’s season. He won the NL Cy Young and MVP with a 1.12 ERA. Yes, 1.12. Those kinds of numbers will get a sporting league to change the rules. However, Gibson was still a high-level pitcher, and he won another Cy Young with the Cardinals in 1970, and he had two more top-10 finishes after that.

We will, of course, also shout out David Robinson and Manu Ginobili. All three are Hall of Famers, and all three were career-long Spurs. If only Tony Parker hadn’t opted to play for Charlotte, but alas. Duncan was the best player of the Spurs dynasty, though. The kind of prospect teams tank for, the Spurs lucked into Duncan and proceeded to watch him make first-team All-NBA 10 times while leading the franchise to five titles.

Though the Cleveland Browns weren’t named after Jim, they might as well have been. The running back was one of the first stars of professional football (which for decades lagged behind college in popularity). In eight of his nine seasons, Brown led the NFL in rushing yards, and he was a three-time MVP. When Brown retired, he was comfortably the best back in NFL history.

Sure, he’s another Red Wing, but Lidstrom deserves to be mentioned. He is the best defenseman to play for a single NHL team. There’s a good argument to make that he’s the best defenseman in NHL history, full stop. The Swede played 20 seasons with Detroit, and he took over as captain when Yzerman retired. Almost always in the right position, Lidstrom won seven Norris trophies for best defenseman.

When your nickname is “Mr. [insert team name],” odds are you were both a Hall of Famer and a one-team player. Banks was, and even in death is, “Mr. Cub.” Now, it should be noted that Banks played with Kansas City in the Negro leagues, but in MLB he was a career-long Cub. He twice led the National League in home runs and RBI, and he twice won MVP. Of course, famously, he also never played in the postseason. Banks played in the era when pennant winners went to the World Series and that was it, which limited his opportunities.

Karl Malone made the move to the Lakers to try and grab a ring (it didn’t work), but Stockton stayed with the Jazz until the very end. Stockton played 19 seasons in Utah. If Magic Johnson had been able to play longer, he might have challenged Stockton for career assists. Instead, Stockton is comfortably first in both assists and steals.

Elway, a contemporary of Marino often seen as being roughly as good, almost had Marino’s fate. He had won an MVP and played several great seasons for the Broncos, but he didn’t have a Super Bowl. Then, near the end of his career, it finally happened. In fact, Elway and the Broncos won the Super Bowl in each of his last two seasons, sending the quarterback out on a high note.

If a franchise changes cities, it’s still the same franchise, at least certainly for these purposes. Sakic joined the NHL in 1988 with the Quebec Nordiques. He stayed with the team as it made the move to Colorado, and Sakic retired with the Avalanche in 2009. Finishing his career with 1,641 points, Sakic won a Hart and a Conn Smythe. He captained the Avalanche to two Cups, and was quite good in the Quebec days as well.

Koufax played before medical science was where it is now, so when his elbow gave up on him he retired at the age of 30. Though he was only able to play 11 seasons for the Dodgers, Koufax led MLB in strikeouts four times. He also won three Cy Youngs and an MVP. Moving with the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Koufax was the ace for four World Series-winning teams.

The Lakers were bound to get a couple players on this list. Bryant won titles alongside Shaq and Pau Gasol, two guys who bounced around, but Bryant was a career-long Laker. Kobe could be a bit of a gunner, but he knew how to get buckets, once scoring 81 points in a game. He won MVP only once, but he was first-team All-NBA 11 times.

Three players in NFL history have won Defensive Player of the Year three times. Aaron Donald just retired and so is not in the Hall of Fame yet. J.J. Watt is also not yet in the Hall of Fame, but he also played a couple seasons with the Cardinals. That leaves Taylor. A career-long Giant, Taylor was a force on the defensive side of the ball, a true game wrecker. In fact, he is the rare defensive player to be named NFL MVP.

It makes sense to include the Sedin twins together, since they chose to be joined together throughout their career. The Swedes finagled a way to be drafted together, second and third overall, by the Canucks. They played their entire careers together with the Canucks. Then, they retired at the same time and were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the same time. The Sedins were no mere novelty, though. Henrik won an Art Ross and a Hart and finished with 1,070 career points. Daniel won an Art Ross and finished with 1,041 career points.

In the running for the best third baseman in MLB history, Schmidt led the National League in home runs eight times and won 10 Gold Gloves. He was a three-time MVP, and once was World Series MVP. That came in 1980, when he powered the Phillies to the title. Also, one time Schmidt hit four home runs in a game, which is pretty remarkable.

Magic was mentioned. Bill Russell was mentioned. Now, Larry Bird brings it all together here in the end. He and Magic had an all-time rivalry in the NBA. They were central to the rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers growing to epic proportions, and also to the growth of the NBA as a league. Bird won three MVPs, positioning himself as an all-time legend for an iconic franchise.

Affectionately referred to as "Mr. Padre", Gwynn is easily the best player in franchise history. A 15-time All-Star and eight-time batting champion, Gwynn is probably the only other player in MLB history who can give Ted Williams a run for his money as the greatest hitter of all-time. 

It only felt right to include these two Yankee legends in one panel. Jeter made 14 All-Star Games while Rivera made 13. Both were part of five World Series-winning teams, with each having a World Series MVP on their resume. In 2019, Rivera became the first player in baseball history to be elected to the Hall of Fame with 100% of the vote, while Jeter was elected one year later with 99.7% of the vote, which ranks second on the list.