The Chiefs were looking to make history against the Eagles in Super Bowl 59, as they would have become the first team to ever win three-straight Super Bowls.
Kansas City’s quest for a three-peat was on full display this year, especially considering how hard it is to win that much in modern sports. As leagues have added more teams and created more parity, winning three-straight championships seems more daunting than ever before.
After hope of a three-peat came crashing down with a 40-22 loss in Super Bowl 59, here is everything there is to know about the history of three-peats in sports.
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What is a three-peat?
A three-peat is when a team wins three consecutive championships in their respective sport. If winning back-to-back titles is called a “repeat,” then back-to-back-to-back is named a “three-peat.”
When did three-peat become a thing?
While winning three-straight championships has been around since titles were created, the name “three-peat” wasn’t added to the lexicon until the Lakers won tried to win back-to-back-to-back titles in the late 1980s.
Pat Riley three-peat trademark
In 1987 and 1988, the Lakers won back-to-back NBA titles behind Magic Johnson and head coach Pat Riley. While point guard Byron Scott reportedly came up with the term “three-peat,” but Riley is the one who trademarked it in case they won.
In the end, Los Angeles lost to the Pistons in the NBA finals, preventing a third-straight title, but Riley would cash in on the trademark when other teams pulled off the feat in the future.
History of three-peats in sports
| Sport | Team | Years |
| NBA | Los Angeles Lakers | 2000-2002 |
| NBA | Chicago Bulls | 1996-1998 |
| NBA | Chicago Bulls | 1991-1993 |
| NBA | Boston Celtics | 1959-1966 |
| NBA | Minneapolis Lakers | 1952-1954 |
| MLB | New York Yankees | 1998-2000 |
| MLB | Oakland Athletics | 1972-1974 |
| MLB | New York Yankees | 1949-1953 |
| MLB | New York Yankees | 1936-1939 |
| NHL | New York Islanders | 1980-1983 |
| NHL | Montreal Canadiens | 1976-1979 |
| NHL | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1962-1964 |
| NHL | Montreal Canadiens | 1956-1960 |
| NHL | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1947-1949 |
| WNBA | Houston Comets | 1997-2000 |
| NCAAM | UCLA | 1967-1973 |
| NCAAW | UConn | 2013-2016 |
| NCAAW | UConn | 2002-2004 |
| NCAAW | Tennessee | 1996-1998 |
Los Angeles Lakers: 2000-2002
The three-peat came in the early 2000s, when Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson led the Lakers to three-straight titles. Los Angeles secured the three-peat in dominant fashion, sweeping the Nets in 2002
Chicago Bulls: 1991-1993, 1996-1998
The Bulls have arguably the two most famous three-peats of all-time, as they six championships over an eight-year stretch in the 1990s. The two three-peats are separated by Michael Jordan’s first retirement from basketball, making the stretch all that more impressive.
Boston Celtics: 1959-1966
The Celtics hold the record for most-consecutive championships in professional sports, as Bill Russell led Boston to eight-straight titles in the 1960s. Only one college team has even come close to breaking this record.
Minneapolis Lakers: 1952-1954
Before moving to Los Angeles, the Minneapolis Lakers dominated the NBA, becoming the first team in league history to win three-straight titles.
New York Yankees: 1936-1939, 1949-1953, 1998-2000
Four times has an MLB team three-peated, and the Yankees own three of those honors. In the 1930s, New York was stacked his future hall-of-famers like Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio when they became the firs MLB team to win three-straight. Then, in the early 1950s, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra led the way for New York to win four-straight titles.
The Yankees were also the last team to three-peat, or even repeat, when they won three-straight titles in the late 1990s, part of a stretch where they won four of five.
Oakland Athletics:1972-1974
It’s hard to three-peat in baseball, proven by the fact that only one non-Yankees team has ever done it. That honor belongs to the early 1970s Athletics, a team that featured future hall-of-famers Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter.
New York Islanders: 1980-1983
It has been over 40 years since an NHL three-peated, as the Islander won four-straight titles in the early 1980s. Those teams included five future-hall-of-fame players and a future hall-of-fame coach in Al Arbour.
Montreal Canadiens: 1956-1960, 1976-1979
The team with the most Stanley Cups in NHL history, the Canadiens three-peated twice in their history. First, Henri Richard and Jean Beliveau totaled five-straight championships in the late 1950s, and that was followed up by Guy Lafleur’s team winning four-straight titles in the 1970s.
Toronto Maple Leafs: 1947-1949, 1962-1964
While the Maple Leafs are in a major championship drought, they were once an NHL powerhouse. Toronto was the first hockey team to three-peat, doing so in the 1940s, then produced another three-peat in the 1960s.
Houston Comets: 1997-2000
The lone WNBA three-peat happened early in the league’s history, when the Comets won each of the first four WNBA finals championships behind star Sheryl Swoopes. However, the Comets dissolved as a team less than a decade later.
UCLA: 1966-1973
One of the most impressive dynasties in sports history and the only men’s college basketball team to three-peat, John Wooden’s UCLA team won seven-straight titles. Those teams changed rosters, but featured future NBA hall-famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.
UConn: 2002-2004, 2013-2016
The two most recent three-peats both belong to UConn women’s basketball, with Geno Auriemma at the helm. In the early 2000s, it was Diana Taurasi leading the way, but in the mid-2010s, Breanna Stewart helped lead UConn to a four-peat.
Tennessee: 1996-1998
Before UConn there was Tennessee, as coach Pat Summit helped produce three-straight titles in Knoxville in the mid 1990s for the first women’s college basketball three-peat.
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Why hasn’t there been a three-peat in the NFL?
There hasn’t been a three-peat in the Super Bowl era, which shows how difficult it is to win a championship in the NFL. However, there were three-peats in the NFL prior to the creation of Super Bowl.
The Packers three-peated once in the old NFL championship in 1929-1931. They did it again from 1965-1967, but those were technically considered two separate championship eras as the Super Bowl was created in 1966. Therefore Green Bay only won repeat Super Bowl titles, with the 1965 championship still counting towards the old NFL
Since 1966, no team has won three-straight Super Bowl titles in the NFL. There have been nine instances of a team winning back-to-back championships, but only this year’s Chiefs returned to even play in the Super Bowl for a third-straight season.
The closest a team has come to three-peating is probably the Patriots, who made three-straight Super Bowls from 2017-2019, winning the first and third but losing the middle game to the Eagles.
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