The World's Worst Losing Streaks in Sports Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The World's Worst Losing Streaks in Sports Quiz
Image: refer to hsw

About This Quiz

As basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said, “you can’t win unless you learn how to lose.” Unfortunately, some teams and individual athletes are better at the latter. For example, 2018 was a big year for the Cleveland Browns, not because they had a winning record or made it to the playoffs or anything like that, but because they finally cracked a 635-day losing streak with an actual, honest-to-goodness win (not a tie). The long-suffering people of Cleveland were treated to free beer, courtesy of Bud Light, and hot-off-the-draft quarterback Baker Mayfield proved he’s probably worth his hefty paycheck, after all. Ironically, the Browns’ impressively bad run isn’t even the longest in NFL history, but more about that in the quiz...

For every sad, sad losing streak there’s blessedly a winning streak to lift our spirits. Although he certainly lost a few matches during the time frame, men’s tennis great Roger Federer currently holds the record for most consecutive weeks (237) at number one in the ATP world tour ranking list, with 310 weeks in the top spot throughout his career. Perhaps he took a tip or two from the Miami Hurricanes men’s tennis teams of 1957 to 1964, which enjoyed 137 consecutive wins, a record that has yet to be toppled!

The truth is, few athletes are able to avoid the dreaded winning drought, it’s just that some of them do it more spectacularly than others. And as much as everyone loves to set a record, they’d prefer it not be a record for losing. Take our quiz to see how much you know about some of the worst losing streaks in sports.

 

What team lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the '90s?
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Buffalo Bills made it to the big game four years in a row but never managed to pick up a win during that time.

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What team did NOT beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl between 1990 and 1994?
Washington Redskins
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While playing in the 1991-94 Super Bowls, the Bills lost to the Giants, the Redskins and the Cowboys — twice.

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What Division I college basketball team failed to win a single game in 2011?
Towson University
Syracuse University
University of Southern California
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Towson Tigers never won a game between Dec. 30, 2010, and Jan. 27, 2012.

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How many games did the Cleveland Cavaliers lose in a row after LeBron James left in 2010?
six
16
26
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 26 straight games after losing LeBron James to Miami after the 2009-10 season.

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What baseball team lost 23 games in a row in 1963?
Phillies
Mets
White Sox
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Philadelphia Phillies were one game shy of setting the record for worst losing streak in baseball history after losing 23 games straight in 1963.

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What team holds the record for most consecutive MLB losses?
Cleveland Spiders
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 1899, the Cleveland Spiders lost a heartbreaking 24 games in a row, setting an MLB record that held for over a century.

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What year did the Washington Capitals start their (terrible) inaugural season?
1974
1984
1994
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Capitals lost 17 games in a row during their inaugural 1974-75 season, finishing the year with a record of 8-67.

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What NHL team lost 17 games in a row to tie the Capitals' losing record?
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
San Jose Sharks
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Between 1992 and 1993, the newly formed San Jose Sharks lost 17 straight games to tie the NHL record for most consecutive losses.

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How many games did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win during the 1976 season?
zero
one
12
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Tampa Bay Bucs lost every single game during the 1976 season, setting an NFL record.

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What team did the Bucs finally beat in 1977 to end their losing streak?
New Orleans Saints
Washington Redskins
Baltimore Colts
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

After the Saints lost to the Buccaneers, Saints coach Hank Stram was immediately fired.

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Who did the 76ers finally beat to end a 28-game losing streak in 2015?
Miami Heat
New York Knicks
Los Angeles Lakers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 76ers set the record for most consecutive losses in the NBA before finally beating the Lakers to end their streak.

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What is the record for second-longest losing streak in the NBA?
12 games
19 games
26 games
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The record for second-longest losing streak in the NBA is 26 games. It's held by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the 76ers, who also hold first place for a different losing streak a few years later.

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What team beat Kansas City to end a 16-game losing streak in 2014?
Baltimore Ravens
Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

After 16 consecutive losses, the Oakland Raiders beat Kansas City to end their streak in 2014.

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What team did unlucky pitcher Anthony Young play for in the mid-'90s?
New York Yankees
New York Mets
Chicago Cubs
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mets pitcher Anthony Young lost 27 consecutive decisions between May 1992 and July 1993.

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What sport did J.D. McDuffie fail to score a win in for almost three decades?
baseball
soccer
Nascar
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nascar driver McDuffie raced from 1963-91, when he died in a crash without ever winning a single race.

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The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series. Before that, when was the last time they won a World Series?
1945
1923
1907
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The last time the Cubs won before 2016 was in 1907, a 108-year drought, which was the longest for all major North American sports.

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What animal was often blamed for the Cubs' World Series drought?
horse
cow
goat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tavern Owner Billy Sianis cursed the Cubs after he was banned from bringing his goat to the game.

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True or false: Sianis made it a point to retract the curse in 1970.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Despite Sianis retracting his curse in 1970, the Cubs still went another 40-plus years without a World Series championship.

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What is the record for most consecutive losses in Division I women's basketball?
38 games
78 games
98 games
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Brooklyn College women's basketball set a record when the team lost 58 straight games from 1987-89.

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What WNBA team holds the record for most consecutive losses?
Tulsa Shock
Los Angeles Sparks
San Antonio Stars
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Tulsa Shock lost 20 games in a row before finally beating the Los Angeles Sparks to end the streak in 2011.

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How many games did the Prairie View A&M Panthers lose to set the record for the longest losing streak in Football Championship Subdivision history?
20
50
80
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Prairie View A&M Panthers lost a whopping 80 straight games in the '90s, the most consecutive losses in FCS history.

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How many points did the Prairie View A&M Panthers score during the entire 1991 season?
48
108
208
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Panthers scored just 48 points total in 1991 and gave up an average of 56 points per game.

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What is the record for consecutive games lost in the Football Bowl Subdivision?
24 games
34 games
44 games
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Northwestern Wildcats lost 34 straight games to set the record for most consecutive losses in FBS college football.

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What sport did Reggie Strickland often lose?
golf
track
boxing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Boxer Reggie Strickland had a career record of 276 losses out of just 363 matches.

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What sport did the Caltech Beavers set a record 207 game losing streak in starting in 1985?
football
baseball
basketball
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Beavers lost 207 straight games, a record for Division III basketball.

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What college holds the record for consecutive losses in both tennis and lacrosse?
Stevenson University
Brooklyn College
Wagner College
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Teams from Wagner College in New York hold the record for both tennis and lacrosse losses, with teams losing 59 straight tennis matches and 29 straight lacrosse games.

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What team holds the NFL record for most consecutive playoff losses?
Seattle Seahawks
Green Bay Packers
Kansas City Chiefs
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Chiefs lost eight consecutive playoff games between 1994 and 2014, an NFL record.

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What NHL team posted 38 straight road losses from 1992-93?
Detroit Red Wings
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ottawa Senators
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ottawa Senators must have really hated to travel; the team lost 38 straight away games between 1992 and 1993.

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What sport dealt Vince Spadea 21 straight losses starting in 1999?
golf
boxing
tennis
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tennis player Vince Spadea lost 21 straight matches between October 1999 and June 2000 before finally scoring a win.

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What is the NBA record for most losing seasons in a row?
15
20
25
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Kansas City/Sacramento Kings struggled through 15 straight losing seasons between 1983 and 1999.

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