Greatest Underdog Championship Teams

1980 US Olympic Hockey Team

A ragtag squad of college kids given zero chance against the Soviet machine that had won four straight golds pulled off 'Do you believe in miracles?' in Lake Placid. The 4-3 semifinal upset is arguably the single most famous underdog moment in sports history, and the gold-medal w

Year: 1980Sport / League: Ice Hockey (Olympics)Odds Against (approx.): ~1000-1Signature Opponent Beaten: Soviet UnionUnderdog Factor: 10/10

added by IJR

Leicester City, 2015-16 Premier League

A team that had been fighting relegation the season before, led by a manager who'd never won a major title and a striker discovered playing non-league football, went off at 5000-1 to win the league — longer odds than the Loch Ness Monster being real. Under Claudio Ranieri they si

Year: 2015-16Sport / League: Soccer (Premier League)Odds Against (approx.): ~5000-1Signature Opponent Beaten: Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea (the whole field)Underdog Factor: 10/10

added by IJR

1983 NC State Wolfpack

Jim Valvano's Wolfpack snuck into the NCAA tournament and needed a miracle nearly every round, including a buzzer-beating tip-in against Pepperdine in double overtime. In the final they faced Houston's 'Phi Slama Jama,' a team loaded with future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and

Year: 1983Sport / League: College Basketball (NCAA)Odds Against (approx.): ~200-1Signature Opponent Beaten: Houston 'Phi Slama Jama'Underdog Factor: 9/10

added by IJR

1985 Villanova Wildcats

The lowest seed ever to win it, an 8-seed Villanova team shot an absurd 78.6% from the field to shock defending champion Georgetown and Patrick Ewing in the final. Rollie Massimino's Wildcats played a near-perfect, deliberate game that remains the definition of a Cinderella pulli

Year: 1985Sport / League: College Basketball (NCAA)Odds Against (approx.): ~100-1Signature Opponent Beaten: Georgetown (defending champions)Underdog Factor: 9.5/10

added by IJR

1969 New York Jets

Joe Namath 'guaranteed' victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts of the established NFL, and the upstart AFL Jets backed it up in Super Bowl III, winning 16-7. It was the game that legitimized the AFL-NFL merger and proved the upstart league belonged. Namath's win remains

Year: 1969Sport / League: American Football (NFL/AFL)Odds Against (approx.): 18-19 point underdogsSignature Opponent Beaten: Baltimore ColtsUnderdog Factor: 9/10

added by IJR

1969 New York Mets

A franchise that had been a laughingstock since its 1962 inception, having never finished better than ninth place, suddenly caught fire and won the World Series in five games over the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles. Preseason odds had them at roughly 100-1 to win it all, giving ris

Year: 1969Sport / League: Baseball (MLB)Odds Against (approx.): ~100-1 preseasonSignature Opponent Beaten: Baltimore OriolesUnderdog Factor: 9.5/10

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2001-02 New England Patriots

Backup quarterback Tom Brady, thrust into the lineup after Drew Bledsoe's injury, led a Patriots team given little chance against the high-flying 'Greatest Show on Turf' St. Louis Rams. New England won on Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal, launching a dynasty nobody saw com

Year: 2001-02Sport / League: American Football (NFL)Odds Against (approx.): ~14-point underdogsSignature Opponent Beaten: St. Louis RamsUnderdog Factor: 8.5/10

added by IJR

2007-08 New York Giants

The Giants entered the playoffs as a wild card and faced a New England Patriots team that had gone a perfect 18-0, chasing history. Eli Manning's improbable escape-and-throw to David Tyree's 'helmet catch' set up the winning score, denying New England perfection in one of the gre

Year: 2007-08Sport / League: American Football (NFL)Odds Against (approx.): ~12-point underdogsSignature Opponent Beaten: New England Patriots (18-0)Underdog Factor: 9/10

added by IJR

2004 Boston Red Sox

Down 3-0 to the archrival Yankees in the ALCS — a deficit no team in baseball history had ever overcome — the 'Idiots' Red Sox ripped off four straight wins and rolled to a World Series sweep, finally breaking the 86-year 'Curse of the Bambino.' Dave Roberts's stolen base in Game

Year: 2004Sport / League: Baseball (MLB)Odds Against (approx.): down 0-3, historic reversalSignature Opponent Beaten: New York YankeesUnderdog Factor: 9.5/10

added by IJR

1969 Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs were the second AFL team to face the NFL in the Super Bowl, and after the Jets' upset the year before, oddsmakers still installed the Minnesota Vikings as heavy favorites. Kansas City's dominant defense throttled the Vikings 23-7, cementing that the Jets' win wasn't a

Year: 1969Sport / League: American Football (NFL/AFL)Odds Against (approx.): ~12-point underdogsSignature Opponent Beaten: Minnesota VikingsUnderdog Factor: 7.5/10

added by IJR

2003 Florida Marlins

A wild-card team just six years removed from a fire sale, the Marlins were led by 20-year-old rookie Josh Beckett and fired up a midseason managerial change under Jack McKeon. They knocked off the mighty Yankees in six games, with Beckett tossing a complete-game shutout to clinch

Year: 2003Sport / League: Baseball (MLB)Odds Against (approx.): wild-card longshotSignature Opponent Beaten: New York YankeesUnderdog Factor: 7.5/10

added by IJR

Denmark, Euro 1992

Denmark hadn't even qualified for the tournament and only got a spot after Yugoslavia was expelled due to war sanctions — some players were literally called back from vacation with just over a week's notice. Somehow they beat host and reigning champion Germany 2-0 in the final, a

Year: 1992Sport / League: Soccer (Euro Championship)Odds Against (approx.): not originally qualifiedSignature Opponent Beaten: GermanyUnderdog Factor: 9.5/10

added by IJR

Greece, Euro 2004

A Greek national team with no history of tournament success, coached by German veteran Otto Rehhagel and playing ultra-disciplined defensive football, went in at roughly 150-1 to win. They beat host Portugal in the opening match and again in the final, the only team ever to beat

Year: 2004Sport / League: Soccer (Euro Championship)Odds Against (approx.): ~150-1Signature Opponent Beaten: Portugal (host nation)Underdog Factor: 9.5/10

added by IJR

1990 Cincinnati Reds

Facing the defending champion Oakland Athletics — the 'Bash Brothers' juggernaut with Canseco, McGwire, and a stacked pitching staff — the Reds were considered clear underdogs. Cincinnati stunned everyone with a clean four-game sweep, led by their fearsome bullpen trio the 'Nasty

Year: 1990Sport / League: Baseball (MLB)Odds Against (approx.): underdogs vs. defending champsSignature Opponent Beaten: Oakland AthleticsUnderdog Factor: 7/10

added by IJR

2016 Chicago Cubs

Carrying a 108-year championship drought and the shadow of the 'Curse of the Billy Goat,' the Cubs fell behind the Cleveland Indians 3-1 in the World Series before storming back to win in seven, capped by a rain-delay pep talk and extra innings in Game 7. It wasn't an underdog wi

Year: 2016Sport / League: Baseball (MLB)Odds Against (approx.): 108-year title droughtSignature Opponent Beaten: Cleveland IndiansUnderdog Factor: 8/10

added by IJR

2004 Detroit Pistons

A blue-collar, no-superstar Pistons roster built around defense and ball movement faced a Lakers super-team featuring Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton — four future Hall of Famers. Detroit dismantled them in five games, with Chauncey Billups winning Fin

Year: 2004Sport / League: Basketball (NBA)Odds Against (approx.): heavy underdogs on paperSignature Opponent Beaten: LA Lakers (Shaq, Kobe, Malone, Payton)Underdog Factor: 8/10

added by IJR

2011 Dallas Mavericks

A year after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh formed a 'Big Three' in Miami and promised multiple championships, an aging Dallas Mavericks team led by Dirk Nowitzki spoiled the party in six games. Dirk's one-legged fadeaways and a stifling Dallas defense flipped the seri

Year: 2011Sport / League: Basketball (NBA)Odds Against (approx.): underdogs vs. assembled superteamSignature Opponent Beaten: Miami HeatUnderdog Factor: 7.5/10

added by IJR

1988 Wimbledon FC

Nicknamed the 'Crazy Gang,' Wimbledon FC had been a non-league club just eleven years earlier and were massive underdogs against Liverpool's 'Culture Club,' one of the most dominant sides in English football history. A Lawrie Sanchez header and goalkeeper Dave Beasant's penalty s

Year: 1988Sport / League: Soccer (FA Cup)Odds Against (approx.): massive underdogs, ex-non-league clubSignature Opponent Beaten: LiverpoolUnderdog Factor: 8.5/10

added by IJR