The greatest team in Boston sports history?

[mwonow]

Like many others, I figured 85-86 Celts were a shoo-in.

Re: 71 Bs - 40 years later, I had lunch with Dave Dryden, who figured out that I was a Bs fan within the first minute of the conversation, and asked immediately, "so how did you like 1971?" And truthfully, I'm still pissed.

 

[jaytftwofive]

The 2007 Red Sox - had 96 wins and then went 11-3 in the playoffs. They might have been the best Sox team of the 4 who won in this century.

The 1976 Patriots - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_New_England_Patriots_season

Went 11-3 but had a no show game in Detroit that came back to haunt them as they wound up playing Oakland on the road in the playoffs and that didn't end well.

View: https://youtu.be/UjQ3mVZQl1U?t=15


The 86 Celtics - lost ONE game at home during the regular season.

The 1971 Bruins might have been the best team they ever iced but lost to an aging Montreal team in the first round with a rookie goalie. Bobby Orr didn't have many bad games in his career but Game 2 against Montreal in 1971 may have been his worst.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGjpo8CxqXY


To me, the 2004 Red Sox will be #1 until I die. They were faced with 4 elimination games after losing Game 3 of the ALCS 19-8 and ran the table.

The following year the White Sox erased an even longer drought than the Red Sox and couldn't even get on the cover of SI the following week let alone TIME.

I would put the Bruins 2011 Cup team second.

In 4 playoff series, they had to win Game 7 three times including once on the road in Vancouver and they had to eliminate Montreal in round 1 after losing the first 2 games at home.

Agree the White Sox were disrespected. When the Cubs won?????? Oh my God, It was like these poor fans Thank God they finally won. I know the White Sox don't have as many fans as the Cubs but they do have a following and did not get the respect when they won. I've always said, 2003 to 2006 must have been one of the worst times as a Cubs fan. 03- Bartman (he didn't lose the game for them like Billy Buck for us) 04 the Red Sox win it all, first one since 1918. 05 the crosstown somewhat hated ChiSox win it all. First one since 1917 and in 06 the hated Cardinals win it all. Oh the Pats outplayed the Raiders that day in 76, and it still sucks 6 SB Victories later, LOL. I Still get pissed off when I hear the name Ben Drieth. OHHHHH the pain.

 

[jaytftwofive]

Like many others, I figured 85-86 Celts were a shoo-in.

Re: 71 Bs - 40 years later, I had lunch with Dave Dryden, who figured out that I was a Bs fan within the first minute of the conversation, and asked immediately, "so how did you like 1971?" And truthfully, I'm still pissed.

Dave played with the Black Hawks right? Maybe a few other teams. Ok I looked it up. Rangers one year(Rookie Season) and then Buffalo after the Hawks. Then the WHA. Didn't realize he was that much older then Ken.

 

[TDFenway]

Agree the White Sox were disrespected. When the Cubs won?????? Oh my God, It was like these poor fans Thank God they finally won. I know the White Sox don't have as many fans as the Cubs but they do have a following and did not get the respect when they won. I've always said, 2003 to 2006 must have been one of the worst times as a Cubs fan. 03- Bartman (he didn't lose the game for them like Billy Buck for us) 04 the Red Sox win it all, first one since 1918. 05 the crosstown somewhat hated ChiSox win it all. First one since 1917 and in 06 the hated Cardinals win it all. Oh the Pats outplayed the Raiders that day in 76, and it still sucks 6 SB Victories later, LOL. I Still get pissed off when I hear the name Ben Drieth. OHHHHH the pain.

The White Sox certainly have their hardcore fans but ownership has made some blunders in the past 50 years. The Cubs for years were on Channel 9 and WGN-AM, the Chisox were on UHF stations with spotty reception and weaker AM stations that could not be heard downstate or in Iowa. Then in 1982, they decided to go into pay-TV and wanted $30 a month. They got rid of popular broadcasters Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall and replaced them with Don Drysdale and Ken Harrelson. Getting rid of Caray was a blunder as White Sox ownership was convinced the Cubs and WGN would never hire him - oops

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg-bTsVr8C0


Comiskey Park II is generic and located in a scruffy part of the city.

The irony is they might well be one of the most profitable teams in MLB as they have NO DEBT. They have an excellent TV deal and a sweetheart lease from the state for the ballpark.

 

[runnels3]

The '86 Celtics, such a joy to watch. I lived in Atlanta back then and every time they came to town they won, once coming back from a 25 pt deficit in the 2nd half. The other team equally fun to watch in a different way was the aforementioned '73 team. Incredible non-stop running group. You had to be there to see how great Cowens was, running the likes of Chamberlain, Lanier, and Jabbar into the ground. A 68 win season.

 

[Jimbodandy]

1986 Celtics. Someone wrote upthread that they only lost "when they were bored." This encapsulated them perfectly. They had no peers. They'd take their foot off the gas pedal occasionally because it's a long season.

2004 WS means more to me than all of the others, but the 86 Celtics were a wagon.

 

[jaytftwofive]

And I look at the 72 Bruins and say they almost HAD to win it all, to make up for the Choke of 71 to Dryden and the Habs. Luckily they won the Cup. They were 2nd greatest Bruins team in my lifetime, right behind the 71 team. Almost if not as great.

 

[TDFenway]

And I look at the 72 Bruins and say they almost HAD to win it all, to make up for the Choke of 71 to Dryden and the Habs. Luckily they won the Cup. They were 2nd greatest Bruins team in my lifetime, right behind the 71 team. Almost if not as great.

That 71 Habs team was a collection of old veterans who had missed the playoffs the year before, an interim coach in Al MacNeil who knew he would be fired at the end of the season even if he won the Cup because he couldn't speak French and the then-unknown goalie who decided on playing college hockey in the US instead of Canadian junior hockey. Everybody in hockey knew Scotty Bowman would coach Montreal the following season.

To the Bruins credit they did regain home ice advantage by winning Game 4 in Montreal but.......

But that 71 Habs team still had to beat Chicago in the SCF and in Game 7 the Hawks choked

View: https://youtu.be/4LBzm7QWEkI


Habs win Cup - coach fired because he could not speak French

Here is another team to consider, the 1968-69 Celtics who were an aging team like the 71 Habs were but they found a way

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw

 

[jaytftwofive]

That 71 Habs team was a collection of old veterans who had missed the playoffs the year before, an interim coach in Al MacNeil who knew he would be fired at the end of the season even if he won the Cup because he couldn't speak French and the then-unknown goalie who decided on playing college hockey in the US instead of Canadian junior hockey. Everybody in hockey knew Scotty Bowman would coach Montreal the following season.

To the Bruins credit they did regain home ice advantage by winning Game 4 in Montreal but.......

But that 71 Habs team still had to beat Chicago in the SCF and in Game 7 the Hawks choked

View: https://youtu.be/4LBzm7QWEkI


Habs win Cup - coach fired because he could not speak French

Here is another team to consider, the 1968-69 Celtics who were an aging team like the 71 Habs were but they found a way

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw

The Habs weren't as old in 71as the 69 Celts. Remember they were building young and had veterans and new players coming up. They won in 73, 76,77, 78 and oh the pain , the pain 79, Shudder!!. That may have been the best hockey team in my lifetime, the Habs from 76-79. And Gretzky's Oilers are right there or right behind them. Was Claude Ruel fired or did he resign?

 

[jaytftwofive]

That 71 Habs team was a collection of old veterans who had missed the playoffs the year before, an interim coach in Al MacNeil who knew he would be fired at the end of the season even if he won the Cup because he couldn't speak French and the then-unknown goalie who decided on playing college hockey in the US instead of Canadian junior hockey. Everybody in hockey knew Scotty Bowman would coach Montreal the following season.

To the Bruins credit they did regain home ice advantage by winning Game 4 in Montreal but.......

But that 71 Habs team still had to beat Chicago in the SCF and in Game 7 the Hawks choked

View: https://youtu.be/4LBzm7QWEkI


Habs win Cup - coach fired because he could not speak French

Here is another team to consider, the 1968-69 Celtics who were an aging team like the 71 Habs were but they found a way

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw

"What are they gonna do with all those bleeping balloons", LOL

 

[jaytftwofive]

That 71 Habs team was a collection of old veterans who had missed the playoffs the year before, an interim coach in Al MacNeil who knew he would be fired at the end of the season even if he won the Cup because he couldn't speak French and the then-unknown goalie who decided on playing college hockey in the US instead of Canadian junior hockey. Everybody in hockey knew Scotty Bowman would coach Montreal the following season.

To the Bruins credit they did regain home ice advantage by winning Game 4 in Montreal but.......

But that 71 Habs team still had to beat Chicago in the SCF and in Game 7 the Hawks choked

View: https://youtu.be/4LBzm7QWEkI


Habs win Cup - coach fired because he could not speak French

Here is another team to consider, the 1968-69 Celtics who were an aging team like the 71 Habs were but they found a way

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw

I went to game 3 in Montreal. Sat behind a Ford sign in the corner side. It was the only Bruins game I went to because tickets were so hard to get at the old Garden. My Dad knew someone who had a connection. Then he got transferred to Philly and here I remain. I saw a few games at the Old place after I moved down here when I went up for Marathon weekend and other times.(Game 4 85 B's-Habs Series) And some Bruins-Flyers games here of course.

 

[jaytftwofive]

I went to game 3 in Montreal. Sat behind a Ford sign in the corner side. It was the only Bruins game I went to because tickets were so hard to get at the old Garden. My Dad knew someone who had a connection. Then he got transferred to Philly and here I remain. I saw a few games at the Old place after I moved down here when I went up for Marathon weekend and other times.(Game 4 85 B's-Habs Series) And some Bruins-Flyers games here of course.

I remember Dan Kelly of CBS had Phil Esposito on as a guest color commentator in Game 7, and after Lemaire's crazy long goal he said........"Well Tony blew that one" . I had forgotten how bad a defense the Hawks played on Richard's tying goal. I rooted for the Hawks real bad and they really outplayed the Habs for the most part, but it's the goals that count. Those first 2 goals the Habs got were kind of lucky.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

The "best" team was the 1986 Celtics---I believe they would have beaten any NBA team that has ever played in a 7 game series.

The 'most important' team was the 2004 Sox. What they did--and they way they did it--against the historical backdrop is almost impossible to surpass. That is up against American sports history, not just Boston.

The simplest way to describe the difference? The 1986 Celtics would never have fallen behind 0-3

 

[jaytftwofive]

The "best" team was the 1986 Celtics---I believe they would have beaten any NBA team that has ever played in a 7 game series.

The 'most important' team was the 2004 Sox. What they did--and they way they did it--against the historical backdrop is almost impossible to surpass. That is up against American sports history, not just Boston.

The simplest way to describe the difference? The 1986 Celtics would never have fallen behind 0-3

Sir Charles agrees with you. Barkley says that was the best team for one year he ever played against.