Championship Stories

African refugee Akoy Agau lifted Omaha Central High to four state championships from 2010 to 2013. But his signature moment came against a vaunted national power, Oak Hill Academy, when it journeyed to Nebraska in February 2013. Nebraska had never seen a high school basketball game like this one, nor a player like Akoy Agau.

In 1986 Jack Nicklaus was 46 and in the sunset of his fabulous career. Nicklaus was six years removed from his last major championship and had won just twice since 1980. So when the Masters got underway at Augusta National, he wasn't given much of a chance, least of all by Atlanta Constitution golf writer Tom McCollister. But when Nicklaus read what McCollister wrote his blood boiled and his competitive hackles rose. What happened in the final round is one of golf's most glorious and improbable legends.

In sports the action on the field is usually what matters. But for 15 seconds in 1989 the action beneath a field was what mattered. Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants was upstaged by a massive earthquake in northern California.

The 1963 Loyola Ramblers helped change the face -- and color -- of college basketball in winning the national championship with four African-American starters.

In 2004, as Latino immigrants changed the demographics and stirred nativist resentment in a small North Carolina town, a high school soccer team known as Los Jets helped bridge the cultural divide.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox were freed from 86 years of frustration with the help of a punk Irish baseball song called "Tessie". She was more than a song. She was a reincarnation.

The Philadelphia Flyers of 1973-74 were known as the Broad Street Bullies. Their nickname tells you what they’re most remembered for. The '74 Flyers never met an opponent they didn’t want to beat up; their logo should have been a clenched fist. They also had a coach, a center, a left wing and a goaltender who would make it to the Hall of Fame. But the '74 Flyers elevated goon hockey to a new level. The Bullies broke noses, filled seats, grabbed headlines, and paved the way for an unprecedented era of brawling in the NHL. They also won a Stanley Cup.

The sum of a championship team is greater than its parts. Never was that more true than with the Detroit pistons of 2004. What they had was a team ethic, a belief in themselves, and a coach who insisted basketball should be played, in his words, “the right way”. They became known as the ‘Goin to Work’ Pistons -- which suited blue-collar Detroit just fine.

Bill Mazeroski's ninth-inning walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series gave the Pittsburgh Pirates one of the most dramatic championships baseball has ever seen. Veteran sportswriter Jay Greenberg recounts the story of the 'never say die' '60 Bucs and their epic victory over the New York Yankees.

The Florida Marlins shocked baseball fans when they won the 2003 World Series. This is the story of their championship season.