The Patriots and Going a Decade Between Championships

Last week, I wrote about the fact that Tom Brady could become the second player in NFL history to win Super Bowls 13 years apart (Ted Hendricks is the other).

Won Super Bowls 10+ Years Apart

Yrs	Player	From	To	Tm	Super Bowl Wins
13	Ted Hendricks	1970	1983	BAL-RAI	1970, 1976, 1980, 1983
12	Ray Lewis	2000	2012	BAL	2000, 2012
11	Matt Bahr	1979	1990	PIT-NYG	1979, 1990
10	Bill Romanowski	1988	1998	SF-DEN	1988, 1997, 1998

Vince Wilfork could join this list as well, as he could have a 10-year span with his title in 2004.

While last week's piece focused on the possible 13-year run by Brady and Belichick and where it stacks up against those in other sports, this week's will look at the fact that Brady, Wilfork and Belichick could win a championship ten years after their last.

Brady and Wilfork can be the third and fourth players to win Super Bowls a decade apart without any in between:

Yrs	Player	From	To	Tm
12	Ray Lewis	2000	2012	BAL
11	Matt Bahr	1979	1990	PIT-NYG
10	Tom Brady	2004	2014*	NE
10	Vince Wilfork	2004	2014*	NE

*If Patriots win

The longest drought between Super Bowl wins for a coach is Tom Landry's six years. Belichick would beat that by plenty and would have the longest stretch since the pre-Super Bowl era of the 1960s.

NFL Coaches, Most Seasons Between Championships

Yrs	Coach	From	To	Tm
19	Jimmy Conzelman	1928	1947	PRV-CRD
17	George Halas	1946	1963	CHI
12	George Halas	1921	1933	CHI
10	Bill Belichick	2004	2014*	NE

*If Patriots win

Conzelman's first title even predates the NFL Championship Game, which began in 1933. 19 years after his Providence Steam Rollers did just that for the '28 crown, he led the Chicago Cardinals past the Eagles in the title game. Halas has two different streaks on this list from his 40-year career. As player-coach, he guided the Chicago Staleys to the 1921 pennant before winning the first Championship Game in '33. His Bears then went 17 years between titles from 1946-1963.


Let's look at the other major American pro sports. In baseball, there have been 24 players to play for the winning side in the World Series, then win another a decade or more later.

MLB

MLB Players, Most Seasons Between World Series Championships

Yrs	Player	From	To	Tm
16	Babe Adams	1909	1925	PIT
14	Dolf Luque	1919	1933	CIN-NYG
13	Steve Carlton	1967	1980	STL-PHI
13	Jim Palmer	1970	1983	BAL
13	Edgar Renteria	1997	2010	FLA-SF
12	Joe Sewell	1920	1932	CLE-NYY
12	Murry Dickson	1946	1958	STL-NYY
11	Goose Goslin	1924	1935	WAS-DET
11	Nippy Jones	1946	1957	STL-MLN
11	Del Rice	1946	1957	STL-MLN
11	Red Schoendienst	1946	1957	STL-MLN
11	Eddie Mathews	1957	1968	MLN-DET
11	Don McMahon	1957	1968	MLN-DET
11	Roberto Clemente	1960	1971	PIT
11	Bill Mazeroski	1960	1971	PIT
11	Jose Canseco	1989	2000	OAK-NYY
11	Mike Timlin	1993	2004	TOR-BOS
11	John Lackey	2002	2013	ANA-BOS
10	Tommy Bridges	1935	1945	DET
10	Hank Greenberg	1935	1945	DET
10	Enos Slaughter	1946	1956	STL-NYY
10	George Hendrick	1972	1982	OAK-STL
10	Dave Parker	1979	1989	PIT-OAK
10	Darryl Strawberry	1986	1996	NYM-NYY

Pirates swingman Babe Adams won all three of his starts against Ty Cobb's Tigers in the 1909 World Series, including a shutout in Game Seven. 16 years later, a 43-year-old Adams was clearly at the end of the line (5.42 ERA). But he did get an inning of mop-up work to finish a Game Four loss in the 1925 Series. That loss put Pittsburgh in a 3-1 hole, but the Bucs won three straight to become the first team to make that comeback in the Fall Classic.

MLB Managers, Most Seasons Between World Series Championships

Yrs	Manager	From	To	Tm
23	Bucky Harris	1924	1947	WAS-NYY
17	Tony La Russa	1989	2006	OAK-STL
16	John McGraw	1905	1921	NYG
16	Connie Mack	1913	1929	PHA
15	Bill McKechnie	1925	1940	PIT-CIN
11	Danny Murtaugh	1960	1971	PIT

Harris was the second baseman/player-manager for the '24 Senators in their thrilling seven-game World Series win over the Giants. After retiring as a player, he bounced between gigs in Detroit, Boston and back in D.C. before landing with the Yankees in 1947. He won a title in his first season in the Bronx, but after a third-place finish in '48, he was let go and replaced by Casey Stengel.


NBA

The only player in NBA history to have play ten seasons between titles is Earl Cureton (11). The center backed up Moses Malone on the 1983 76ers. After spending most of the next decade playing in minor leagues and in Europe, Cureton was back in the NBA with the Rockets late in the 1994 season. He played two regular season games and 10 games in the postseason, including two minutes in Game Seven of the NBA Finals against the Knicks.

As for coaches, there have been four that have gone seven or more seasons between championships, with one lapping the field.

NBA Coaches, Most Seasons Between Championships

Yrs	Coach	From	To	Tm
18	Pat Riley	1988	2006	LAL-MIA
9	Alex Hannum	1958	1967	STL-PHI
7	Phil Jackson	2002	2009	LAL
7	Gregg Popovich	2007	2014	SA

As Heat general manager in 2006, Riley fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and took over the job himself, winning a fifth championship. Miami's star, Dwyane Wade, was only six years old when Riley won his first title with the Lakers in 1988.


NHL

NHL Players, Most Seasons Between Stanley Cups

Yrs	Player	From	To	Tm
16	Chris Chelios	1986	2002	MON-DET
15	Mark Recchi	1991	2006	PIT-CAR
14	Bill Guerin	1995	2009	NJ-PIT
13	Craig Ludwig	1986	1999	MON-DAL
13	Brian Skrudland	1986	1999	MON-DAL
12	Marcel Pronovost	1955	1967	DET-TOR
12	Terry Sawchuk	1955	1967	DET-TOR
11	Greg Gilbert	1983	1994	NYI-NYR
10	Dit Clapper	1929	1939	BOS
10	Eddie Shore	1929	1939	BOS
10	Cooney Weiland	1929	1939	BOS
10	Bob Goldham	1942	1952	TOR-DET
10	Tod Sloan	1951	1961	TOR-CHI
10	Joe Nieuwendyk	1989	1999	CGY-DAL
10	Chris Osgood	1998	2008	DET

15 players have lifted the Stanley Cup after a decade-long drought. The 16 years between championships for Chelios ties him with Babe Adams for the longest stretch on any of these lists. He won another with the Red Wings six years later at 46 years old, which inspired this note from my piece last week:

"Chris Chelios won his first Stanley Cup in 1986 with the Canadiens when I was not yet born. Chris Chelios won his last Stanley Cup in 2008 with the Red Wings 18 days after I graduated from the University of Rhode Island."

Two coaches have done what Belichick aims to do Sunday. Dick Irvin piloted the Maple Leafs to the 1932 Cup and won the first of three with the Canadiens in 1944. Scotty Bowman won nine championships, including a four-peat with Montreal from 1976-79. 13 years later he won another, this time with the Penguins in 1992 before adding three more with Detroit from 1997-2002.