TheNew York metropolitan area is one of only two in the United States withmore than one team in each of the "Big Four"major professional sports leagues, along with two inMajor League Soccer. New York metropolitan area sports teams have been crowned champions of their respective leagues on 69 occasions.American football,baseball andbasketball are the city's most-followed sports.
New York City is the headquarters ofMajor League Baseball,Major League Soccer, theNational Basketball Association, theNational Football League, theNational Hockey League, theNational Women's Soccer League, and theWomen's National Basketball Association.It hosts theUS Open, one of the fourGrand Slam tennis tournaments, and theNew York City Marathon, the world's largest.[1] TheMillrose Games is an annual track and field meet whose featured event is theWanamaker Mile. Boxing is also prominent, with events like the Amateur Boxing Golden Gloves being held at Madison Square Garden each year.
New York City hosted the 1996World Cup of Hockey, the1998 Goodwill Games and the1984 Summer Paralympics.
The following New York metropolitan area sports teams play in one of the highest level major professional sports leagues in the United States:
There have been 14World Series baseball championship series between New York City teams, in matchups calledSubway Series. New York is one of three metropolitan areas to have two baseball teams (Chicago and Los Angeles being the others). The city's two currentMajor League Baseball teams are theNew York Yankees and theNew York Mets. The city also was once home to the New York Giants (now theSan Francisco Giants) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (now theLos Angeles Dodgers). There is also oneMinor League Baseball team in the city, theBrooklyn Cyclones, with numerous independent minor league teams throughout the metro area.
Basketball is one of the most widely played recreation sports in the city, and professional basketball is also widely followed. The city'sNational Basketball Association teams are the long-establishedNew York Knicks and theBrooklyn Nets, who became the first sports team representing Brooklyn in over 50 years when they moved to the borough from New Jersey for the 2012–13 NBA season. The city'sWomen's National Basketball Association team is theNew York Liberty, who won the2024 WNBA Finals, the first college or pro basketball team from the New York City area to win a championship since 1973, when the Knicks won. The first national basketball championship for major colleges, theNational Invitation Tournament, was held in New York in 1938,[2] and its semifinal and final rounds remain in the city.[3]Rucker Park inHarlem is a celebrated court where many professional athletes play in the summer league. Because of the city's strong historical connections with both professional and college basketball, the New York Knicks' home arena,Madison Square Garden, is often called the "Mecca of basketball."[4][5][6]
Football is the city's second most followed sport, behind baseball. Football is actually the second most popular sport in the suburbs and the most popular when it includes upstate New York as well.[7] The city is represented in theNational Football League by theNew York Giants andNew York Jets. Both teams play atMetLife Stadium in nearbyEast Rutherford, New Jersey. In 2014, the stadium hostedSuper Bowl XLVIII. The teams have anintra-city rivalry.
Ice hockey in New York is also widely popular and closely followed.[citation needed] There are threeNational Hockey League teams in the metro area. TheNew York Rangers play in Manhattan, callingMadison Square Garden home. TheNew York Islanders play inUBS Arena inElmont. TheNew Jersey Devils also play in the New York metro area, playing inNewark, New Jersey. The Islanders'American Hockey League affiliate, theBridgeport Islanders, are based in southwest Connecticut. As of 2024,New York Sirens of theProfessional Women's Hockey League share the New Jersey Devils' home arena.[8]
Insoccer, New York is represented by three teams in the top divisions for men and women, including theNew York Red Bulls andNew York City FC ofMajor League Soccer, andGotham FC of theNational Women's Soccer League. The Red Bulls play their home games atSports Illustrated Stadium inHarrison, New Jersey, as does Gotham FC. New York City FC, a new team owned byManchester City F.C. and the New York Yankees, joined MLS in 2015. NYCFC, which plays most home games at Yankee Stadium with a secondary home venue at Citi Field, has plans to build asoccer-specific stadium in Queens and instantly develop an intra-city rivalry with the Red Bulls.[9]
Regardless of where they actually play their home games, most of these teams carry the name of and represent the entire city or state ofNew York, except for the NBA'sBrooklyn Nets, who play in and specifically represent the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and the NHL'sNew Jersey Devils, who have played their home games in New Jersey since their founding. TheNew York Red Bulls (MLS founding franchise originally named the "New York/New Jersey MetroStars") – who have also always played in New Jersey – were the only major professional soccer team representing the metropolitan area during their first 19 seasons, and the region's second MLS club,New York City FC, deliberately staked its identity to actually playing in the city, drawing its colors from thecity flag and even featuring the flag itself on its uniforms.[10][11] The area's women's soccer club, Gotham FC, also uses the two sets of initials as the MetroStars once did, although listing New Jersey first (thegovernor of New Jersey is the club's primary owner).[12]
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Since 2010, both theNew York Giants and theNew York Jets play inMetLife Stadium in nearbyEast Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles from New York City. In 2014, the stadium hostedSuper Bowl XLVIII. The Giants and Jets were previously located in New York City; both teams played in thePolo Grounds (Manhattan) andShea Stadium (Queens), and the Giants played inYankee Stadium (the Bronx). Neither team plays in the city itself presently, as both teams are located in theMeadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, playing inGiants Stadium for many years before moving to MetLife Stadium. The Giants, a keystoneNFL franchise, were founded in 1925, and exist today as one of the oldest presently active organizations in the NFL. Founded in 1960, the originally named New York Titans, later branded as the Jets in 1963, were a charter member of theAmerican Football League (AFL), joining the NFL as part of the AFL/NFL merger in 1970.
New York City also had many historical professional teams. The first professional team in New York was called both theNew York Giants and Brooklyn Giants (unrelated to the current New York Giants), and played in the predecessor to the NFL, theAmerican Professional Football Association, in 1921. In 1926, theNew York Yankees,Newark Bears (AFL) andBrooklyn Horsemen played in theAmerican Football League, and on the same year, theBrooklyn Lions played in theNational Football League before the Horsemen and Lions merged in November and folded at season's end. The Lions' NFL franchise rights were given to the Yankees, who competed in the NFL from 1927 to 1928. When the Yankees folded, its rights were given to the existing barnstorming teamStaten Island Stapletons, who played in the NFL until 1932 when it stopped league play and later folded as well.
In 1930, the NFLBrooklyn Dodgers began play at Ebbets Field. The team lasted until 1944, calling themselves the Brooklyn Tigers that last season but going winless. In 1945, the team was merged with theBoston Yanks and played one more home game in Brooklyn that season as the Yanks.
Another team going by the nameNew York Yankees played in the second AFL in 1936 and 1937. The league also had aBrooklyn Tigers club in 1936, but the team never played in Brooklyn and folded after only seven games. Athird incarnation of the Yankees played in the third AFL in 1940 under the Yankees name, and then in 1941 as theNew York Americans. Another version of the New York Yankees was a short-lived member of theAmerican Association
In 1946, the newAll-America Football Conference had yet another set ofBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Yankees teams. These clubs lasted until 1948, after which they merged with each other. The renamed Brooklyn-New York Yankees folded after one season when theAAFC merged with the NFL.
TheNew York Bulldogs were founded in 1949, sharing thePolo Grounds with the New York Giants, and then being renamed as the New York Yanks and playing in the NFL in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1952, the team was relocated to Texas and renamed as theDallas Texans.
In 1974, New York briefly hosted a team known as theNew York Stars for the short-livedWorld Football League, but in mid-season the team was relocated to Charlotte and became theCharlotte Hornets.
The short-livedUnited States Football League had a team in the New York area. TheNew Jersey Generals played atGiants Stadium inThe Meadowlands from 1983 to 1985. At one point, the team was owned by futurePresidentDonald Trump. The team folded with the rest of the league.
In 1988, theNew York Knights played for one season as part of theArena Football League, and then ceased operations. In 1997, the AFL added two expansion franchises, theNew York CityHawks, who played at Madison Square Garden, and theNew Jersey Red Dogs, who played inEast Rutherford, New Jersey. The CityHawks moved toHartford, Connecticut and were renamed the New England Sea Wolves in 1999, and then relocated to Toronto in 2001, and renamed the Toronto Phantoms. The Red Dogs were renamed the New Jersey Gladiators in 2001, then relocated and became the Las Vegas Gladiators in 2003, before relocating again and being renamed the Cleveland Gladiators. When the Sea Wolves, who were owned by theMadison Square Garden Company and had their games televised in New York City onMSG Network, relocated to Toronto, the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers relocated to Long Island and were renamed theNew York Dragons. The Dragons played in New York until 2008, when the league suspended operations; no team from New York (either the city or the state) played in the league from its 2010 revival until theAlbany Empire, based in the state's capital, joined the AFL in 2018.
The Jets are sometimes regarded as "Long Island's Team" supported by the fact that until 2008, the team trained inHempstead atHofstra University, and used to play atShea Stadium (former home of theNew York Mets baseball team) which is close to Nassau County. Statistically, the largest percentage of the Jets fanbase derives from Long Island, hence, the Jets generally receive more media coverage in that part of New York.[13] Fans of both the Giants and Jets traditionally root for both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets as well as both theNew York Knicks and theBrooklyn Nets of theNBA and also both theNew York Rangers and theNew York Islanders of theNHL.
Two attempts byVince McMahon at creating a competing football league, both named the XFL, have been attempted in the New York metropolitan area. The firstXFL league was created as a joint venture betweenWorld Wrestling Entertainment andNBC[14] in 2001, had theNew York/New Jersey Hitmen playing at Giants Stadium for the only season they played before theleague folded. The New York/New Jersey Hitmen finished in third for the XFL Eastern Division for the season they played.[15] In 2020, theNew York Guardians of the newly revivedXFL began playing at MetLife Stadium.[16] After the XFL filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy on April 13, 2020,[17] citing the premature suspension of their season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Guardians moved toOrlando, Florida and the league no longer has a New York team.
Along with New York's two NFL teams, the New York metropolitan area is home to theNew York Sharks women's football team. The New York Sharks are NYC's premier professional women's tackle football team. Established in 1999 the Sharks are the longest-running and most decorated team in women's tackle football having won 3 conference titles (2002, 2003, 2004 IWFL East), 6 division titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 IWFL) and two championship titles (2002 IWFL, 2018 WFA). The Sharks play at many fields and have no official home stadium. The season for women's football is from April to June with playoffs and the championship game occurring from June to July. As of 2011 the Sharks are now with the WFA (Women's Football Alliance[2]) along with the Bay Area Bandits, Boston Militia, Chicago Force, Dallas Diamonds, DC Divas, Kansas City Tribe, Pittsburgh Passion, and the San Diego Surge in an effort to bring together the best franchises of women's football.
TheNFL's headquarters are located in New York City, at345 Park Avenue in Manhattan.[18]
In New York, baseball is still regarded as the most popular sport, despite being overtaken by football in terms of perceived popularity (but not attendance) throughout the country, as based on TV ratings and consistent fan following for the entire season.[citation needed] New York is home to twoMajor League Baseball franchises. TheNew York Yankees of theAmerican League have played in New York since 1903. Known for iconic ballplayers such asBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig,Joe DiMaggio,Mickey Mantle,Yogi Berra and countless others, they play inYankee Stadium inthe Bronx and have won theWorld Series 27 times, the most victories by any team in the fourmajor North American professional sports leagues. TheNew York Mets have represented New York in theNational League since 1962. The Mets play inCiti Field inFlushing, Queens and have won five NL pennants and two World Series, thus making them one of the most decorated expansion teams in Major League Baseball. The "Subway Series" is the name used for all regular season and World Series meetings between the two teams. Beforeinterleague play was introduced in 1997, the only instance these two teams could have played each other would have been in the World Series. The Mets and Yankees played for theWorld Series in 2000, with the Yankees winning the series 4–1.
For many New York baseball fans, the most intense rivalry is between theYankees and the Boston Red Sox, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports.[19][20][21] When the Mets beat the Red Sox in the1986 World Series, many Yankee fans attended the parade celebrating the Mets' win, saying that "anyone who beats Boston is worth coming down for."[22]
There have been 14 Subway Series World Series match-ups between the Yankees and theirNational League rivals; the Mets (once), and with the two teams that departed for California in the 1950s — theBrooklyn Dodgers (7 times) andNew York Giants (6 times).
New York City is also home to oneMinor League Baseball team, theBrooklyn Cyclones. They are the MetsHigh-A affiliate, playing in theSouth Atlantic League. Twoindependent baseball league teams also play in the New York metropolitan area, with a third planned. TheLong Island Ducks of the independentAtlantic League have played inBethpage Ballpark inCentral Islip since 2000, and were joined by a club playing in the city limits when theStaten Island FerryHawks began play atSIUH Community Park in 2022.[23] In 2011, theNew York Boulders, now of the independentFrontier League, began play atClover Stadium inPomona.
New York has historically had many short-lived baseball clubs including theNew York Mutuals,Brooklyn Atlantics,Brooklyn Enterprise,Excelsior of Brooklyn andBrooklyn Eckfords of theNational Association of Baseball Players; theNew York Knickerbockers, one of the first baseball teams; theNew York Metropolitans andBrooklyn Gladiators of theAmerican Association (19th century); theNew York Giants (PL) andBrooklyn Ward's Wonders of thePlayers' League; theBrooklyn Tip-Tops of theFederal League; theBrooklyn Bushwicks, Springfield Greys, Barton's Nighthawks, Glendale Farmers, Mount Vernon Scarlets, Union City Reds, Carlton's of the Bronx, and Bay Parkway, Bay Ridge, Cedarhurst, West New York, and Queens Club of The Metropolitan Baseball Association;[24] and theNew York Highlanders andBrooklyn Bridegrooms, precursors to the Yankees and Dodgers. There were also two Newark Bears teamsNewark Bears andNewark Bears (International League).Negro league baseball teams also were present in New York, including theBrooklyn Royal Giants,Newark Stars,Lincoln Giants,Newark Browns,New York Black Yankees,New York Cubans, and theNewark Eagles.
In 1858 inCorona, Queens, at the Fashion Race Course, the first games of baseball to charge admission took place. The games, which took place between the all-stars ofBrooklyn, including players from theBrooklyn Atlantics,Excelsior of Brooklyn, Putnams andEckford of Brooklyn, and the All Stars of New York (Manhattan), including players from theNew York Knickerbockers, Gothams (predecessors of theNew York Giants), Eagles and Empire, are commonly believed to the first all-star baseball games.[25]
Two historical clubs, theBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Giants, were among the most storied clubs in professional baseball, and were home to such players asJackie Robinson andWillie Mays. The two teams left forCalifornia—the Dodgers for Los Angeles and the Giants for San Francisco—in 1957. The city currently has twoMajor League Baseball teams, the Mets (who were formed in 1962 to replace the Dodgers and the Giants), and the Yankees.
Major League Baseball's headquarters are located in New York City, at245 Park Avenue in Manhattan.[26]
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The first nationalbasketball championship for major colleges, theNational Invitation Tournament, was held in New York in 1938, and its semifinal and final rounds remain atMadison Square Garden. The NIT has spawned a major early-season tournament known as theNIT Season Tip-Off; the semifinal and final rounds of that event are also held at the Garden.
At Madison Square Garden, New Yorkers can watch theNew York Knicks playNBA basketball. Through the 2017WNBA season, theNew York Liberty also played at the Garden, but that team's main home has changed twice since then. First, the team moved toWestchester County Center inWhite Plains in 2018. Then, after the team's 2019 purchase bythe owner of the NBA'sBrooklyn Nets, the Liberty have moved to the Nets' home ofBarclays Center inBrooklyn in 2020.
The Nets began playing in Brooklyn in 2012, the first major professional sports team to play in the historic borough in half a century. Before the merger of the defunctAmerican Basketball Association with the NBA during the 1976–77 season, the New York Nets, who shared the same home arena (Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) on Long Island with the NHL's New York Islanders, were a two-time champion in the ABA and starred the famous Hall of Fame forwardJulius Erving. During the first season of the merger (1976–77), the Nets continued to play on Long Island, although Erving's contract had by then been sold to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets transferred to New Jersey then next season and became known as the New Jersey Nets, and later moved to Brooklyn prior to the 2012–13 NBA season.
TheLong Island Nets, anNBA G League team, started playing at the Barclays Center in 2016 before moving toNassau Coliseum in 2017. TheWestchester Knicks started in 2014 at the Westchester County Center.
Rucker Park inHarlem is a celebrated court where many NBA athletes play in the summer league.
TheNBA's headquarters are located in New York City, atFifth Avenue'sOlympic Tower.[27]
TheNew York Liberty are one of the original teams of theWNBA, which was formed in 1997. The team's main venue moved from Madison Square Garden to Westchester County Center after the 2017 season, and then to Barclays Center after the 2019 season. During a massive renovation project at the Garden between 2011 and 2013, the Liberty temporarily played their home games at thePrudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The team were the last remaining original franchise in the WNBA to win a championship, which they finally won in 2024.
From 1933 to 1935, Newark had a team in theAmerican Basketball League. It its first season it was known as theNewark Bears, and in its second and final season the Newark Mules.
There was briefly aLong Island Ducks basketball team at theLong Island Arena in 1977–1978.
Long Island PrimeTime played at Louis Armstrong Gymnasium in Flushing from 2006 to 2007. They were part of theUnited States Basketball League.
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Ice hockey has a storied history and large following in the New York metropolitan area, which is unique in being the only metropolitan area and media market in the United States and Canada to feature three major league professional teams participating in the same sport. New York City is represented by theNew York Rangers, playing atMadison Square Garden inManhattan. TheNew York Islanders play atUBS Arena in theNassau County community ofElmont. TheNew Jersey Devils play atPrudential Center inNewark, New Jersey. The metropolitan area's threeNHL franchises have won theStanley Cup a combined eleven times, and they are historically division rivals with high levels of intensity and animosity among and between their respective fans, having played in the same division every season since the Devils relocated to theNew Jersey Meadowlands fromDenver in 1982. Currently, they play in theMetropolitan Division.
The Rangers, established in 1926, are one of theOriginal Six — a term given to the six NHL teams in existence before the leaguedoubled its size in 1967. The primary fan base for the Rangers is in the city's five boroughs,Westchester County, lower Hudson Valley New York, western Connecticut, and Northern New Jersey. However, they maintain a sizable following within parts of the market claimed by their two local rivals.
The Islanders, established in 1972, opened the new UBS Arena, adjacent toBelmont Park and immediately across theCross Island Parkway fromQueens, for the2021–22 season. The Islanders provide their fans with anintense rivalry with the Rangers, most of whom are based inNassau andSuffolk Counties onLong Island. The chosen location of their new home also includes a new full-timeLong Island Rail Road station atElmont, providing direct access fromPenn Station and other points both in New York City and out east on Long Island. This has the effect of connecting all three area NHL franchises with a single transfer at Manhattan's Penn Station (located beneath Madison Square Garden) necessary to reachNewark Penn Station (two blocks from the Devils' Prudential Center) from Elmont.
The Devils, who moved fromDenver, Colorado to New Jersey in 1982, provide area hockey fans with yet anotherintense rivalry involving the Rangers largely stemming from geographic proximity, a manifestation of a long-standing rivalry between the states of New York and New Jersey. Both teams have achieved famous results for their respective fan bases in playoff meetings, including the1994 Eastern Conference Finals, ending in a dramatic double-overtime goal by the Rangers'Stéphane Matteau during the 7th and deciding game. The Devils took a 3–2 series lead into Game 6 in New Jersey and jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the game. However,Mark Messier's famous guarantee andhat-trick led the Rangers to victory and a seventh game. As time wound down in Game 7, the Rangers were clinging to a 1–0 lead when New Jersey'sValeri Zelepukin tied the game with 7.7 seconds left in regulation to silence the Garden crowd and send the game into overtime, where Matteau won it for the Rangers. In the2012 Eastern Conference Finals, the Rangers would be in a very similar scenario, but would ultimately fail to overcome the 3–2 series deficit after trailing 2-0 and forcing overtime in Game 6 across the Hudson River atPrudential Center inNewark on a series-winning goal only 1:03 into overtime byAdam Henrique. As of their most recent meeting in2023's First Round in which the Devils rallied to win in seven games after recovering from a 0–2 series deficit, the Devils and Rangers have met seven times in the playoffs, with the first three series won by the Rangers, and three of the last four series won by the Devils. The Devils' primary fan base resides throughout Northern and Central New Jersey, specifically areas of the state coterminous with the New York media and sports market where theMSG networks (which serve as the television home for all three area hockey teams) are available.
The Islanders and Rangers had a bitter rivalry in the 1970s and the 1980s, as the Islanders won four consecutiveStanley Cup titles; the Rangers won their most recent NHL championship in the1994 Stanley Cup Finals, the fourth Cup victory in that team's history. The two teams have met eight times in the playoffs, with the Islanders winning five of those matchups. Incidentally, as the Islanders and Devils have had little success simultaneously (the Devils’ Stanley Cup success occurred in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s) throughout their respective histories and have faced off in the playoffs only once in the1987-88 season in a series won by the Devils, this rivalry is perceived as an afterthought in the area particularly when compared to the Rangers’ rivalries with the Islanders and Devils.
TheMetropolitan Riveters, established in 2015, were one of the four charter members of theNational Women's Hockey League (NWHL). They played home games in theBarnabas Health Hockey House at the Prudential Center in Newark beginning with the2016–17 NWHL season.[28] In 2017, the Riveters announced they were partnering with the New Jersey Devils, becoming the first NWHL team to officially partner with an NHL team. In 2018, the Riveters won theIsobel Cup title. The NWHL, which rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation in 2021, was purchased and dissolved in 2023 as part of an effort to create a new, unified North American women's professional league.[29] This meant that the Riveters folded; however, New York was granted one of six charter franchises in the newProfessional Women's Hockey League.[30][31]New York Sirens debuted on January 1, 2024, winning the league's inaugural game.[32]
New York City also had a historical NHL team, theNew York Americans (also known as the Amerks, and in 1941–42, the Brooklyn Americans), who played between 1925 and 1942. Predating the Rangers by one season, they were the first hockey team to play in the city, and for most of the life of the franchise shared Madison Square Garden with the Rangers. The franchise was never a big winner, and disbanded during World War II due to financial problems and a depleted roster. TheWorld Hockey Association team called the New York Raiders and later theNew York Golden Blades played at Madison Square Garden andCherry Hill, New Jersey from 1972 until 1974 when they moved to San Diego. A few historical minor league hockey teams played in the New York area in theEastern Hockey League. TheNew York Rovers started as a farm team of the Rangers in 1935 playing at Madison Square Garden. They moved to theLong Island Arena in 1959 and became theLong Island Ducks (ice hockey) until 1973. TheNew York Bobcats are a USA Hockey-Sanctioned Tier III Junior Ice Hockey Team at Twin Rinks in Eisenhower Park from 2000 to the present. TheNew York Apple Core are a Tier III Junior A Ice Hockey Team in Brewster, New York.
TheNHL's headquarters are also located in New York City, atOne Manhattan West.[33]
Professional soccer, as in the rest of the country, is rapidly growing in popularity in New York. TheNew York Red Bulls ofMajor League Soccer (originally known as the "MetroStars" until the team's purchase by Austrian corporationRed Bull GmbH in 2006) have played in the metropolitan area since the league's founding in 1996. Since 2010 they have played atSports Illustrated Stadium, asoccer-specific stadium inHarrison, New Jersey, with a capacity of just over 25,000.[34] The Red Bulls have won theSupporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record, on three occasions, most recently in2018.
On May 21, 2013, MLS announced thatNew York City FC would be the league's 20th team, jointly owned by the English clubManchester City F.C. and the New York Yankees. They began playing in MLS in 2015 atYankee Stadium inthe Bronx, and became the first New York City-area team to win theMLS Cup in2021. After a ten-year campaign to build a stadium within the five boroughs of New York City, the club announced in November 2022 that they had a deal to buildEtihad Park, a privately funded 25,000-seat stadium in theWillets Point neighborhood of Queens.[35] The new stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in New York City, will be the centerpiece of a 23-acre redevelopment project in the former industrial area, including a 250-room hotel, 2,500 affordable housing units, retail space and a public elementary school.[36]
The New York City area was once home to theNew York Cosmos (1970–1984), which was arguably the most popular American soccer team ever.[37] Playing in theFIFA-backed, major professionalNorth American Soccer League (NASL), the Cosmos were known for fielding some of the world's greatest players includingPelé,Franz Beckenbauer,Carlos Alberto Torres,Johan Neeskens, andGiorgio Chinaglia. The acquisition of these foreign players, particularly Pelé, made the Cosmos into what Gavin Newsham called "the most glamorous team in world football", and contributed to the development of soccer across the United States. The club won theSoccer Bowl five times:1972,1977,1978,1980, and1982. Soccer Bowl '78, which was held atGiants Stadium, saw a record crowd of 74,091 – the highest attendance to date for any club soccer championship in the United States. Cosmos road trips, described by traveling secretary Steve Marshall as "like traveling withthe Rolling Stones", saw the team pack out each stadium it visited, while at home, the team attracted numerous high-profile celebrity supporters. While soccer had previously been largely ignored by the American press, the Cosmos and other NASL teams now became regular fixtures on the back pages.[38] The NASL collapsed abruptly in late 1984, and was not replaced by a new professional soccer league untilMajor League Soccer's first season in 1996. A feature-length documentary about the New York club, calledOnce in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, was released in theaters in 2006. The film, narrated byMatt Dillon, featured interviews with many of the players and personalities involved with the team.[39][40][41]
Asecond Cosmos club was founded in 2010, beginning play in a new second-divisionNorth American Soccer League in 2013.[42] The team most recently played atMitchel Athletic Complex in suburbanUniondale, New York, in the third-divisionNational Independent Soccer Association before going on hiatus in January 2021.[43]
Based in Brooklyn,Brooklyn FC, fields a women's team in the first-divisionUSL Super League in 2024 and is scheduled to add a men's team in the second-divisionUSL Championship beginning in 2025.[44]
Gotham FC, known before 2021 as Sky Blue FC and NY/NJ Gotham before 2025, is one of the eight charter teams and nine current members of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the third women's professional league in the US. Since 2020, Gotham FC has shared Sports Illustrated Stadium with the New York Red Bulls. The organization had previously been charter members of NWSL's effective predecessor,Women's Professional Soccer. The league started play in2009; Sky Blue became the league's inaugural champion despite finishing fourth in the league during the regular season, which meant that they had to play on the road in all threeWPS playoff games. The defunctNew York Power was the region's first professional women's soccer team, playing in theWomen's United Soccer Association from 2000 to 2003.
The men's semi-pro teamsManhattan SC andF.A. Euro play in the fourth tier of U.S. Soccer inUSL League Two.
Major League Soccer's headquarters are located in New York City, at 420Fifth Avenue.[45]
New York City was one of the host cities of the1994 FIFA World Cup and will be one of eleven U.S. host cities for the2026 FIFA World Cup, with thefinal taking place atMetLife Stadium.[46] The city also hosted theCopa América Centenario final in 2016 and the2025 FIFA Club World Cup final.
New York Yankees (MLB)[edit]27 World Series titles
New York Mets (MLB)[edit]2 World Series titles New York Giants (MLB)[edit]5 World Series titles Brooklyn Dodgers (MLB)[edit]1 World Series title New York Cubans (NNL)[edit]1 Negro World Series title | New York Cosmos (NASL)[edit]5 Soccer Bowl titles New York City FC (MLS)[edit]1 MLS Cup title Gotham FC (NWSL)[edit]3 Women's Professional Soccer titles New York Giants (NFL)[edit]4 NFL championships (pre–Super Bowl) 4 Super Bowl titles New York Jets (NFL)[edit]1 Super Bowl title New York Knicks (NBA)[edit]2 NBA Finals titles New York / Brooklyn Nets (NBA)[edit]2 ABA Finals titles New York Liberty (WNBA)[edit]1 WNBA Finals title New Jersey Devils (NHL)[edit]3 Stanley Cup titles New York Rangers (NHL)[edit]4 Stanley Cup titles New York Islanders (NHL)[edit]4 Stanley Cup titles
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Throughout the 20th century, the city had several historic sports venues: theoriginal Yankee Stadium, home of theNew York Yankees from 1923 to 2008, before the team moved into theirnew stadium in 2009;Ebbets Field, home of theBrooklyn Dodgers from 1913 until 1957, which was torn down in 1960; and thePolo Grounds in northernHarlem, which was the home of theNew York Giants ofMajor League Baseball from 1911 to 1957 (and the first home of theNew York Mets) before being demolished in 1964. The Mets, who previously played atShea Stadium, moved into the newly constructedCiti Field in 2009. Also the currentMadison Square Garden, atopPennsylvania Station inMidtown Manhattan, is actually thefourth separate building to use that name; thefirsttwo were nearMadison Square, hence the name, andthe third was at 50th Street andEighth Avenue.
The 2000s saw almost a complete revamping of the area's major sporting venues. This began in 2007, when the Devils moved toNewark, New Jersey, and opened thePrudential Center. In 2009, both the Mets and Yankees opened new baseball stadiums adjacent to their old homes, with the Mets replacingShea Stadium withCiti Field and the Yankees building a newYankee Stadium. In 2010, the Jets and Giants moved to a new shared facility called New Meadowlands Stadium (nowMetLife Stadium) and the Red Bulls opened their ownsoccer-specific stadium inHarrison, New Jersey, calledSports Illustrated Stadium (the three had previously sharedGiants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey). In 2012, the Nets moved from New Jersey to theBarclays Center in Brooklyn and became theBrooklyn Nets. The Islanders left Nassau County, and followed the Nets into Brooklyn in 2015 before returning to a new location in Nassau County in 2021.
Other sports-related renovations and construction work is as follows:
The following New York metropolitan area sports teams play in a lower level professional sports leagues in the United States:
The sport ofboxing came to the United States from England in the late 1700s and took root in the 1800s mainly in large urban areas such as Boston, New York City, and New Orleans. Initially boxing was viewed as illegal and many fights and fighters operated in secrecy to avoid arrest. The New York state legislature passed “An act to prevent Prize Fighting” in 1859.[57] With the law, the act of boxing was not illegal in itself, but fighting for prize money was against public decency.
Most boxing matches of the early 1800s were conducted under theLondon Prize Ring Rules, which were based on a set of rules documented by English boxerJack Broughton in 1743. A change in the rules occurred in the 1860s whenWelsh sportsmanJohn Graham Chambers wrote rules based on the use of padded gloves and got aristocrat and sportsmanJohn Douglas, who held the title of the Marquess of Queensberry, to promote theMarquess of Queensberry Rules. The new rules came into use in the United States in the 1880s.[58]
John L. Sullivan became the first American heavyweight champion in 1882 under the bare-knuckle rules and again in 1892 he became the first heavyweight champion of the gloved era. Sullivan trained for his initial heavyweight championship inBelfast, New York. By the end of the 19th century America was becoming the center of professional boxing. The sports economic incentive rose as popularity brought larger purses and commercial success. Sullivan's championships initiated a period of over 100 years of American dominance in the heavyweight class.[59]
Boxing was again being banned in America in the early 1900s, and was mostly outlawed in New York state. A loophole allowed fights to take place in athletic clubs, so many bars became on-the-fly athletic clubs in order to host matches.[60] TheWalker Law, passed in 1920, regulated boxing in the state of New York. The law reestablished legal boxing following the three-year ban created by the repeal of theFrawley Law. On December 14, 1920, Jack Dempsey, the heavyweight champion, appeared atMadison Square Garden, knocking out Bill Brennam in the 12th round. The fight drew one of the largest crowds the arena had experienced in that period.[61]
In 2018,Newsday selected the 10 most notable fights that took place in New York:
Other fights of note include:
TheDaily News Golden Gloves Tournament started in 1927 when The New York Daily News took title and ownership of a citywide amateur boxing tournament with matches taking place at Madison Square Garden.
The first film ever made outdoors in New York was produced in 1895. Woodville Latham and his sons Otway and Gray Latham had invented the Eidoloscope projector, running very crudely like a film projector today. The Latham brothers had debuted test images to the press. But their real test of this device was to film something live and then display it a short time later. So on May 4, 1895, the brothers filmed a boxing match on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden, then on 27rd Street and Madison Avenue. The competitors were ‘Battling’ Charles Barnett and Young Griffo, a legendary Australian boxer.[64]
TheStaten Island Cricket Club, established in 1872,[65] is the oldest continuously operatingcricket club in the United States.[66][67] The New York Metropolitan Cricket League (MCL), established in 1890, is one of the oldest cricket leagues in the country. The MCL conducts matches inStaten Island,Brooklyn, andNassau County.[68]
In 2023,Major League Cricket gave one of 6Twenty20 Cricket teams to New York City calledMI New York. to kick off the league's inaugural season.[69] They became the 2023 MLC Champions and became the first ever champions in MLC's history by defeating theSeattle Orcas in the2023 Major League Cricket final in 7 wickets.
Thebicycle boom of the late 19th century had a strong impact in the area.[70] As a spectator sport,six-day racing was popular and spurred the building ofvelodromes in the area includingWashington Heights, Manhattan, andJersey City, New Jersey.
Weekly races were held in suburban roads, includingPelham Parkway inthe Bronx. The biggest races were ininner city locations, notably at the originalMadison Square Garden which had been designed for cycle racing and at the time was located adjacent toMadison Square. The Olympic sport,Madison Racing, is named after cycle races that became popular at Madison Square Garden.[citation needed]
The Kissena Velodrome, a 400-meter (1,300 ft)velodrome, was constructed in the center ofKissena Park in 1962. It was used during the1964 New York World's Fair and theU.S. team trials for the1964 Summer Olympics.[71] It is the only remaining bicycle track in New York City.[72]
The New York area is home to many competitive fencing clubs.Fencers Club offers all three weapons (épée, foil and saber),Manhattan Fencing Center[73] offers foil and saber, andNew York Athletic Club offers épée and saber.
Other clubs in the city include Brooklyn Bridge Fencing Club, Brooklyn Fencing Center, New York Fencing Academy, Sheridan Fencing Academy, South Brooklyn Fencing Center, Staten Island Fencing Center, Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, Woodside Fencing Center.[74]
The Saint Andrews Golf Club inHastings-on-Hudson, organized in 1888,[75] is a founding member of theUnited States Golf Association (USGA) and is considered the oldest continuously operating golf club in the United States.[76] Opening in 1895,Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course is America's oldest public golf course.[77][78]Richmond County Country Club onStaten Island along withNorth Shore Towers and Country Club in theborough ofQueens are the only privatecountry clubs in New York City.[79] Golfing greatsBobby Jones (1921 and 1930) andBen Hogan (1953) were honored withticker-tape parades down theCanyon of Heroes, after theirBritish Open triumphs.
With its headquarters inFar Hills, New Jersey, the New York area has hosted just about every type of USGA championship. TheU.S. Open has been played atShinnecock Hills Golf Club,Englewood Golf Club,Garden City Golf Club,Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course),Inwood Country Club,Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course),Fresh Meadow Country Club, andBethpage State Park (Black Course, often called "Bethpage Black"). TheU.S. Women's Open has been held at Winged Foot Golf Club (East Course), Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course and Upper Course),Plainfield Country Club,Sebonack Golf Club, andTrump National Golf Club (Old Course). The USGA has conducted a number of individual amateur championships in the area.
TheProfessional Golfers' Association of America (PGA), thePGA Tour, thePGA Tour Champions, and theLadies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) have had events hosted in the area.
ThePGA Championship has been held atEngineers Country Club, Inwood Country Club,Pelham Country Club,Salisbury Golf Club (Eisenhower Park), Fresh Meadow Country Club,The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort (Composite),Pomonok Country Club, Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course), Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), and Bethpage Black. The Trump National Golf Club (Old Course) is a future host of the event. TheRyder Cup has been held atRidgewood Country Club (Composite); Bethpage Black is a future site of the event. ThePresidents Cup has been conducted atLiberty National Golf Club.
For a number of yearsWestchester Country Club (West Course) was a regular stop on thePGA Tour with the current PGA Tour event, The Barclays, nowThe Northern Trust, being played at various clubs in the area. ThePGA Tour Champions has held events atMeadow Brook Golf Club and Eisenhower Park (Red Course). The firstU.S. Senior Open was conducted on the East Course at Winged Foot Golf Club and has also been held at Ridgewood Country Club (Composite). TheLPGA tour has conducted events atWykagyl Country Club,Upper Montclair Country Club (Composite),Pocono Manor (East Course),Deepdale Golf Club,Scarsdale Golf Club,Grossingers Golf Club, Knollwood Country Club, andForsgate Country Club (Banks Course). In 2015, theLPGA Championship was held at Westchester Country Club (West Course).
On July 13, 1905,Isaac Mackie, the head professional at Fox Hills Golf Course on Staten Island, won an Open Tournament at the Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course, shooting 152 and holding off joint second-place finishersWillie Anderson andBernard Nicholls who finished at 157. It was the first ever professional tournament held on a public golf course in the United States.[80]
From 1897 to 1933 anIvy League school won the men's college golf national championship. Consequentially, many New York metropolitan golf courses have hosted theNCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship including:Ardsley Country Club, Garden City Golf Club,Morris County Golf Club, Nassau Country Club,The Apawamis Club, Essex County Country Club, Baltusrol Golf Club (Old Course), Greenwich Country Club,Siwanoy Country Club, Deal Golf and Country Club, Springdale Golf Club (Princeton University), and The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort (Composite).
One of the most unique golf courses in the area was theGovernors Island Golf Course due to its views of the Brooklyn and the Manhattan skyline, with theStatue of Liberty as a backdrop. It was considered the only golf course in Manhattan as the island is technically part of the borough. Golf was played onGovernors Island from 1903 through 1996. In 2006 over $1 million was spent to temporarily restore green complexes abandoned in 1996 and an 18-hole course was routed for a charity event that also promoted the island's opportunities. The Manhattan Golf Classic was conducted in October of that year. The event was billed as the "first ever professional golf tournament in the history of New York City", althoughFresh Meadow Country Club, when it was inQueens had hosted two major championships in the 1930s, andVan Cortland Park Golf Course inThe Bronx and the Fox Hills Golf Course onStaten Island had conducted professional events in the early 1900s.
Horse racing in the United States dates back to 1665, with the establishment of theNew Market course in Salisbury, New York. Salisbury was a section of what is now known as Hempstead Plains, near GreaterWestbury and East Garden City inNassau County onLong Island.[81] New Market was the first regulated form of horse racing in North America. The races were facilitated and supervised by New York's colonial governor,Richard Nicolls, and race winners were awarded with the first known sporting trophies in the country.[82][83]
In 1824, as regional rivalries in the country were growing, theUnion Course inWoodhaven,Queens offered a $24,000 prize for a race between top thoroughbredsAmerican Eclipse, from the North, and Sir Henry, from the South. It is believed that the race between Eclipse and Sir Henry was America's first national sporting event.[84][85]
Major New York metropolitan racetracks, listed by the year they were opened:
In 1908, theNew York State Legislature approved theHart–Agnew Law, which banned gambling at racetracks. Some tracks shut down permanently, but later a court ruled that oral betting was legal as the law only covered bookmakers, so activity continued. In 1955 the non-profitNew York Racing Association (originally the Greater New York Association) was founded.
Belmont Park's mile-and-a-half main track is the longest dirt Thoroughbred race course in North America,[87] and it has the sport's largestgrandstand. Belmont Park hosts theBelmont Stakes, an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held each June. The Belmont Stakes is the third leg of theTriple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States.
Long Island seems to have a vast amount of elite lacrosse talent and the ability to develop top players. If you hear about a great lacrosse player, chances are that player has ties to Long Island. In 2002 more than one-third (4 of 11) of the players on theNCAA Division I All-American First Team came from Long Island high schools, with 16 Long Islanders honored overall. In the same year, the NCAA Division II All-American list was virtually all Long Islanders and nearly every NCAA Division I, II and III lacrosse team had at least one player from the area. In 2002 at theNCAA Division I championships, three of the four men's teams were coached by a Long Islander and all four had a Long Islander as a captain.
By some accounts, lacrosse was almost as big as baseball in New York City in the first decade of the 20th century. After learning the game in New York City and moving to Long Island, Jason Stranahan started the first high school lacrosse program atManhasset High School in 1933; football Hall of FamerJim Brown played lacrosse at Manhasset and is considered by some as the greatest lacrosse player of all time. By the 1950s, the sport was embedded across Nassau County but had still failed to reachSuffolk County.Huntington High School fielded that county's first varsity team in 1957. In the 1960s, there was a large migration to Long Island which resulted in high schools hiring a sizable number of teachers and coaches that coincidentally had college lacrosse backgrounds and the desire to build powerful programs.[88]
TheNew York metropolitan area was home to aMajor League Lacrosse team called theNew York Lizards, formerly the Long Island Lizards, before that leaguemerged with thePremier Lacrosse League in December 2020. The PLL plays a tour-based schedule, visiting a series of American and Canadian cities where the sport enjoys significant popularity; currently, the league's New York-area stop is Sports Illustrated Stadium. TheNew Jersey Pride, also of the former MLL, played inPiscataway, New Jersey but suspended operations after the 2008 season. TheNew York Titans also played in the New York area before moving to Orlando. TheNew York Saints were members of theNational Lacrosse League atNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum from 1987 to 2003. They were previously theNew Jersey Saints.
In December 2018 it was announced that professional indoor lacrosse would begin play in 2019 on Long Island. TheNew York Riptide were the 13th team to join theNational Lacrosse League. Games are played in NYCB Live'sNassau Coliseum.[89] In 2024, NLL announced that Riptide will be relocating toOttawa and renamed to theOttawa Black Bears in the 2024–2025 season due to poor attendance.[90]
In 1904, auto enthusiast and railroad heirWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt II organized an auto race on the public roads of Long Island. The prize, a massive silver cup from the Tiffany studio, known as theVanderbilt Cup, attracted top racers from Mercedes, Packard, and Fiat. The race took place on country roads with hundreds of spectators watching cars go by at speeds close to 100 miles per hour. In 1906, several spectators were killed when a car went off the road. Vanderbilt responded quickly by building a 45-mile private highway. Races resumed in 1908, but another accident killed spectators in 1910 making organizers abandon the Long Island course for good. The Vanderbilt Cup returned in 1936 and 1937 atRoosevelt Raceway in Westbury, Long Island. The 1937 race was one of the greatest races in New York State's history, featuring the only pre-WWII appearance of the German racing team in the United States. Legendary driverRalph DePalma served as the honorary starter for the race where the starting signal came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Hyde Park home viaWestern Union Telegraph.[91]
From 1953 until 1972stock car races were held weekly from May until October at a 1/5th-mile asphalt racetrack on Staten Island. The local dairy, owned by the Weissglass family, financed promoter Gabe Rispoli with $700 so he could make improvements to an existing sporting facility that became known as Weissglass Stadium.[92][93]
Oval track racing continues to this day atRiverhead Raceway, a quarter-mile short track located inRiverhead at theEast End of Long Island. The track plays host to theNASCARWhelen All-American Series for weekly short-track racing and theWhelen Modified Tour national series.
Founded in 1965,Old Bridge Township Raceway Park located inOld Bridge Township,Middlesex County, New Jersey hosted the SuperNationals and later the Summernationals of theNational Hot Rod Association (NHRA) forFunny Car andTop Fuel competitions, as well as other drag racing events. In 2018, the track announced that they would cease conducting drag races at the facility due to rising costs. However, other motorsports events still occur at the facility.[94][95]
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) held races at theMeadowlands from 1984 to 1991.
On September 21, 2016, theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA),Formula E, and New York City government officials announced that theNew York City ePrix would be held in July 2017 at theBrooklyn Cruise Terminal, with a track layout presented. The New York ePrix became the city's first automobile race since 1896. On July 15–16, 2017, the Formula E race was held inRed Hook, Brooklyn. It was the first FIA-sanctioned race to be held in New York City.Sam Bird won both races.
There was a plan by theInternational Speedway Corporation (ISC) to build an 82,000-seatspeedway[96] on Staten Island that would host National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) races by 2010. The ISC abandoned the plan in 2006 citing financial concerns, and sold the 676 acre parcel in 2013.[97] Another speedway project was proposed for the Meadowlands (Liberty Speedway) but discussions were abandoned in the early 2000s. Plans called for aFormula One race known as theGrand Prix of America, to be held on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, were scheduled to start in 2014, but those plans have been postponed indefinitely. The race was to be held on thePort Imperial Street Circuit, a 3.2-mile (5.1 km) circuit to be built using existing streets inWeehawken andWest New York aroundWeehawken Port Imperial.
Polo, considered by some to be world's oldest team sport, has a long history in theNew York area, especially on Long Island.
In 1876, James Gordon Bennett, a noted American publisher, introduced the sport of polo to New York City. He organized the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue. In the spring of 1876, a group of polo players established the first formal American polo club, theWestchester Polo Club, in New York. On May 13, 1876, theJerome Park Racetrack inWestchester County was the site of the first American outdoor polo match. The Westchester Polo Club alternated their playing seasons between New York and Rhode Island before making Newport their permanent home.[98]
TheMeadowbrook Polo Club is among the most historic polo clubs in the United States with its roots dating back to 1877 whenThomas Hitchcock Sr., Oliver W. Bird,August Belmont, Benjamin Nicoll, and their associates participated in the first polo match on Long Island. The polo match was played on the infield of the racetrack of the Mineola Fair Grounds. The Meadowbrook Polo Club, originally located inEast Meadow andJericho and currently located inOld Westbury, was formally incorporated in 1881. The Meadowbrook Polo Club's first polo field was created in 1884, leading to Long Island's role as "Polo Capital of the World" during the 1920s and 1930s.
Besides Meadowbrook other polo clubs in the area include: Equuleus Polo Club, Shannon Hill Polo Club,Greenwich Polo Club, Princeton University Polo, Fairfield County Hunt Club, North Fork Polo Club. TheRockaway Hunting Club andPiping Rock Club are country clubs with polo fields and golf courses on Long Island.
The New York Titans is an expansion team play in theMajor League Quadball in 2015, also they're won their first league championship during the 2024 season.
During the 19th century professionalrowing (a.k.a. "crew" in America) was the most popular sport in the nation, and the waters around New York City were home to some of the most successful and popular competitors at the time. Amateurs also proliferated the area, and remain successful and influential in the sport, though professional rowing has been banned nationally for over a century because of corruption. Both college teams and clubs ply the traditionally popularHarlem River and other waters around the city. The Harlem River was the traditionalrowing course for New York, analogous to theCharles River inBoston and theSchuylkill River inPhiladelphia. On the Harlem's banks is the boathouse for theColumbia University crew, and the river is the home course for the university's crew. Since 1952, a large flat rock face, called the "(Big) C Rock" has been painted with Columbia's varsity "C".[99] The river is used by crews fromNew York University,Fordham University, andManhattan University, though the only university with permanent facilities currently on the river is Columbia. Formerly, a number of boathouses lined the Sherman Creek inlet off the river, but each was destroyed by suspected arson over the course of the 1970s. The last boathouse before the 1990s Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse to be on the creek was the Fordham Boathouse, which burned in 1977.
The city currently has onerugby league football club in theBrooklyn Kings RLFC who play in theUSA Rugby League.[100]
The city has two division one rugby union teams, theNew York Athletic Club RFC, which was established in 1973 and theOld Blue, both who play in theRugby Super League (rugby union). The city has other amateur rugby union clubs as well, paying in theMetropolitan New York Rugby Football Union. The clubs have contributed to the national team, theEagles, who have participated at theRugby World Cup.
New York got a professional rugby team in 2019 withRugby United New York (RUNY) atMCU Park as a member ofMajor League Rugby. RUNY was formed by James Kennedy and formerWWE wrestler,John Layfield. New York and USA Rugby veteranMike Tolkin was named head coach after previously coaching theUSA national side and the local club sideNYAC.
TheNew York City Marathon is a foot race run over a 42.2 km (26.2 mi) course through the five boroughs of New York City. Next to theBoston Marathon, it is considered the preeminent long-distance running event in the United States. The race is conducted by theNew York Road Runners organization and has been held annually since 1970 on the first Sunday of November. The marathon attracts top professional and amateur marathoners from all over the world. Due to the popularity of the event, participation is limited to 35,000 entrants chosen by a lottery system, with preference given to previous participants.
TheMillrose Games is an indoor track and field meet that has been held on the first Friday in February atMadison Square Garden since the current site of the arena opened in 1968. The meet was conducted at previous versions of The Garden starting in 1914. In 2012 the Millrose Games were moved tothe Armory inUpper Manhattan.[101] The games started when employees of theWanamaker's department store formed the Millrose Track Club to hold a meet. The featured event is theWanamaker Mile which was first conducted in 1926.
Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx is a prominent site for cross-country running. The parks trails are some of the most utilized cross-country courses in the United States. Van Cortlandt is the venue for the annual IC4A or Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (ICAAAA)cross country championships. The1968 and1969NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship was hosted byManhattan University at Van Cortlandt. The distance for the championship race was 6 miles (9.7 kilometers).
The Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex is a state-of-the-art indoor track and field facility in Ocean Breeze Park which is part of theSouth Beach section of Staten Island. On November 19, 2015, the complex became the first facility in the United States to be recognized as a certifiedInternational Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) facility.[102] A project under Mayor Bloomberg's Design Excellence initiative, the athletic complex was designed as part of the PlaNYC 110-acre Ocean Breeze regional park.[103]
Tennis is said to have made its debut in the United States in 1874 on Staten Island thanks toMary Ewing Outerbridge. The first American National championship was played at theStaten Island Cricket and Baseball Club in September 1880.[104][105]
TheU.S. Tennis Open is the fourth and final event of theGrand Slam tennis tournaments and is held annually in late summer at theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center inFlushing Meadows Park in Queens. The main tournament consists of five championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for junior and wheelchair players.
The National Tennis Center, open to the public whenever the USTA is not holding an event, features the world's largest stadium built specifically for the sport, the 22,547-seatArthur Ashe Stadium.
TheNew York Empire began play inWorld TeamTennis (WTT) in 2016. Home matches were played atForest Hills Stadium in Queens.
Other teams have represented the New York City metropolitan area in WTT in the past. TheNew York Sets, who changed their name to New York Apples in 1977, were a charter franchise of the league and played from 1974 to 1978. The Sets originally played their home matches atNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum before splitting their home schedule between the Coliseum andMadison Square Garden. By the 1978 season, many home matches were played in theFelt Forum with those featuring marquee opponents played in the Garden's main arena. The franchise won the league championship in 1976 and 1977, and featured star playersBillie Jean King,Virginia Wade,Sandy Mayer andPhil Dent. The two title-winning teams were coached byFred Stolle. Following the 1978 season, the Apples announced they were folding. Soon afterward, WTT suspended operations, and there were no 1979 or 1980 seasons.
TheNew Jersey Stars joined WTT as an expansion franchise in 1987, playing their home matches inFranklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. The team went 0–14 in its inaugural season but, with a completely remade roster, reached the TeamTennis Final in 1988. Home matches were moved toChatham Borough, New Jersey in 1989, when the team was led byTracy Austin. The signing ofMartina Navratilova in 1994 produced immediate results on the court as the Stars won the league title in both 1994 and 1995. However, the team was unable to build a fan base and relocated, as two-time defending WTT champions, to become the Delaware Smash for the 1996 season.
TheNew York Hamptons were added as a WTT expansion franchise in 2000, playing their home matches inEast Quogue, New York. They moved toAmagansett in 2002. In 2003, Sportime NY became the team's majority owner. Home matches were moved toMamaroneck inWestchester County, and the team's name was changed to the New York Sportimes. Led byMartina Hingis, the Sportimes won the 2005 WTT title. In 2009, the Sportimes moved to New York City, playing their home matches onRandall's Island. Before the 2011 season, the Sportimes merged with theNew York Buzz, which had been based in theCapital District since 1995. Following the merger, the team played some of its home matches on Randall's Island and others in eitherAlbany orTroy, New York. Following the 2013 season, the team was sold, and the new owner relocated it and renamed it theSan Diego Aviators. Ironically, the Aviators won their first league title after relocation in New York City at Forest Hills Stadium, which was selected as the site for the 2016 WTT Final to welcome the expansionNew York Empire to the league.
The New York Rumble were a professionalultimate (commonly called "ultimate frisbee") league that competed inMajor League Ultimate (MLU) from the league's inaugural season in 2013.[106][107] MLU suspended operations in 2016.[108]
TheNew York Empire, also founded in 2013, compete in theUltimate Frisbee Association (previously called the American Ultimate Disc League). The Empire won championships in 2019, 2022, and 2023.[109]
In 2019, thePremier Ultimate League, a women's professional ultimate league, was formed with the New York Gridlock as a founding member.[110] The Gridlock won their first championship in 2024.[111]
TheNew York Excelsior (NYXL) was an American professionalOverwatch League (OWL) team representing New York City as one of 12 founding members of the Overwatch League. NYXL competes as a member of the league's Atlantic Division. The team folded when the Overwatch League folded on January 23, 2024.
TheCloud9 New York are an American professionalCall of Duty League (CDL) team based in New York City, announced as one of the first five cities to own a spot in the CDL. The C9NY won the 2023 Call of Duty League Championship as the New York Subliners.
Both NYCFC and the New York Red Bulls field players in eMLS, Major League Soccer'sesports league.[112]
The Suffolk Sting are a professional inline hockey team and part of thePIHA. They play at the Rapid Fire Arena on Long Island.
TheNew York Arrows represented the New York area in theMajor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984 atNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
TheNew Jersey Rockets played in the MISL with their home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey during the 1981–82 season. The Rockets filed for protection underChapter 11 of theU.S. Bankruptcy Code late in the season and folded shortly thereafter.
TheNew York Express played indoor soccer in theMajor Indoor Soccer League atNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1986–1987.
TheLong Island Academy play at Competition Field atAdelphi University in theNational Premier Soccer League as of 2006.
TheLong Island Jawz played Roller Hockey atNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1996.
TheLong Island Rough Riders andLong Island Rough Riders (UWS) play soccer and women's soccer since 1994 at Cy Donnelly Stadium in South Huntington, and formerly atBelson Stadium,Mitchel Athletic Complex, Michael Tully Field,Citibank Park and Stony Brook University Stadium.
TheLong Island Roller Rebels started in 2005 as a roller derby league featuring four teams: All Stars (A team), Rock-A-Betty Bruisers (B team), Ladies of Laceration, Wicked Wheelers and were aided by theGotham Girls Roller Derby. They play in Old Bethpage.
Gaelic games have been played in New York since the foundation of theGaelic Athletic Association. New York is considered aGAA county and plays in theConnacht Senior Football Championship.
TheUnited States Australian Football League is the biggest League ofAustralian rules football in the United States and the New York team is called TheNew York Magpies it is affiliated with theCollingwood Football Club.
Squash is organized by the New York Squash, formerly known as New York Metropolitan Squash Racquets Association, which was founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1932. This organization is a not for profit.[113]
There is a thriving field hockey competition in New York City,[citation needed] played predominantly by European and Commonwealth expats. The North East Field Hockey Association plays games at Columbia University, Hofstra University, DeWitt Clinton High School and Drew University. Teams from New York also regularly compete in indoor and outdoor tournaments around the country.
New York is considered to be the "world capital" ofone-wall handball.[citation needed]
TheNew York Emperors Stickball League has nine stickball teams in New York City.Stickball, a street version of baseball, was popularized by youths in working-class Italian, German, and Irish neighborhoods in the 1930s.
Although the New York area is home to numerous colleges, many of which have rich athletic histories, college sports is a somewhat less visible part of the regional sports landscape.
The followingNCAA Division I schools are located in the metropolitan area, as most broadly defined. The following details about the table should be noted:
Although in much of the rest of the countryAmerican football has surpassedbaseball as the most popular professional sport, in New York, baseball arguably still stirs the most passion and interest. A championship win by any major sports team is considered to be worthy of the highest celebration, including aticker-tape parade for the victorious team. In the past, ticker-tape parades have been held for the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Rangers. New Yorkers, however, tend to rally around any of the local teams who win (such as the1994 Stanley Cup champions New York Rangers, or the2007 New York Giants).
Due to their geographic locations, New York has intense sports rivalries with the cities ofBoston,Philadelphia, andWashington, D.C. in addition to the natural rivalries that exist between the area's own teams.
Boston and New York teams have the most intense, heated, and beefiest rivalries in all of American sports. Decades before professional baseball became popular, New York and Boston claimed distinctive versions ofbat-and-ball games. A variant of baseball known asThe Massachusetts Game was played in New England in the 1850s, while New York teams played by theKnickerbocker Rules set up byAlexander Cartwright. The New York rules eventually became the basis for the modern sport of baseball.
Teams in Boston and New York offer some of the best rivalries in their respective sports. None are more famous, however, than the longtime feud between theNew York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox inMajor League Baseball. The viciousness and fierceness of the rivalry has led to the New York–Boston rivalry being evident between theNew York Jets and the New England Patriots in theNational Football League and theNew York Knicks and the Boston Celtics in theNational Basketball Association.[114] TheNew York Rangers have been longtime rivals with theBoston Bruins also due to the fact that both teams are members of theNational Hockey League'sOriginal Six franchises, but this has been eclipsed by theMetropolitan Division rivalries in recent years.
The rivalry has also spread to other teams not in the same league, The1986 World Series between theNew York Mets and theBoston Red Sox is considered a classic especially the 6th game and the famousBill Buckner error. TheNew York Giants andNew England Patriots have played two classic Super Bowls:Super Bowl XLII which features theHelmet Catch andSuper Bowl XLVI, There is also a rivalry between theBoston Celtics and theBrooklyn Nets. WhileMajor League Soccer has two teams in the New York area and one in the Boston area, therivalry betweenNew York City FC and theNew York Red Bulls overshadows either team's rivalry with theNew England Revolution.
In each of the four sports leagues, as well as Major League Soccer, there is intra-division competition between teams from New York and Philadelphia, as seen in the rivalries between theNew York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies inMajor League Baseball, theNew York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in theNational Football League, and theNew York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in theNational Hockey League.[115] There is also a rivalry between theBrooklyn Nets and thePhiladelphia 76ers of theNational Basketball Association, although it is not as intense as the other three rivalries. There is another rivalry between theNew York Knicks and thePhiladelphia 76ers. As in the case of Boston, the rivalries between New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls with thePhiladelphia Union have a lower profile than that of the two New York-area teams.
In the first season of theOverwatch League thePhiladelphia Fusion was the first team to beat the previously undefeatedNew York Excelsior in regular season play. Excelsior was a strong team throughout the season, bringing home two of the four stage titles and entering the post-season playoffs at the highest seed. However, in a surprise upset Philadelphia knocked New York out of the playoffs and went on to come in second place in the finals as both the first and last team to defeat New York in the 2018 season.[116]
The metropolitan area's three NHL teams tend to be primary rivals with one another, although they each have their own rivalry with theFlyers. Unlike baseball and football, the local teams in the New York area are in the same division and are therefore in direct competition with one another.
Sports teams in New York City andWashington, D.C. have long been strong rivals. The prominence of each city in America's media landscape has helped increase the notoriety of these rivalries, as has the fact that many teams in each city play in the same division.
The most historic sports rivalry between teams of these two cities is therivalry between theNew York Giants and theWashington Commanders in theNational Football League. Both teams play in theEastern division of theNational Football Conference, meaning that they play against each other twice every regular season. Both teams are among the oldest and most successful in professional football. Their rivalry goes back to 1932, and has included some of the game's greatest players and coaches throughout the decades.
In addition, two of theNational Hockey League's teams based in the New York metropolitan areas (theNew York Rangers andNew York Islanders) have developed passionate rivalries with theWashington Capitals, as all three compete in theMetropolitan Division of theEastern Conference. Both theCapitals–Rangers rivalry andCapitals–Islanders rivalry have increased in intensity over the decades as a result of highly competitive playoff matchups in addition to regular season encounters. TheNew Jersey Devils also play in the Metropolitan Division and are a division rival for the Capitals, though this rivalry is not as historic and intense as the ones with the two New York-based teams.
There is also a historic rivalry between theNew York Red Bulls andD.C. United ofMajor League Soccer. Both teams are two of the oldest and most historic teams in the league, and their rivalry dates back to 1996, the league's inaugural season. Both teams play in theEastern Conference. Their rivalry is known as theAtlantic Cup, which is also the name of the trophy awarded to the team that wins the matchup.
TheWashington Nationals andNew York Mets ofMajor League Baseball also share a rivalry. Though this rivalry is not as historic as the others mentioned here, the two compete in theNL East. This has naturally helped create a rivalry between the two teams since the Nationals moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
New York andLos Angeles submitted bids to theUSOC for the1984 Summer Olympics. The USOC voted to submit Los Angeles' bid to theIOC, which was the only bid for those games. While Los Angeles secured the right to host the 1984 Summer Olympics, New York served as host of the1984 Summer Paralympics.[117]
In 2005, New York Citybid to host the2012 Summer Olympics, but lost to London. It was the first time theUSOC submitted a bid from New York City to the IOC. Upon the USOC reaching a new revenue-sharing agreement with theIOC in May 2012, New York was mentioned as a potential candidate for the2024 Summer Olympics,[118][119] but the city declined to submit a bid to the USOC.Los Angeles was selected as the American candidate for the 2024 Olympics and ultimately secured the right to host the2028 Summer Olympics.
Newspapers such asThe New York Times and theNew York Post have lengthy sports sections. In addition, theSports Illustrated specialty magazine has been published since 1954.
The New York metropolitan area has three major regional sports television networks:YES Network,MSG Network (with sister channelMSG Sportsnet) andSportsNet New York. It also has five sports radio stations:
| Call sign | Frequency | Licensee | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| WADO | 1280 AM | Uforia | TUDN Radio |
| WEPN | 1050 AM | Good Karma | ESPN Radio |
| WFAN | 660 AM | Audacy | Infinity Sports Network NFL on Westwood One |
| WFAN-FM | 101.9 FM | Audacy | Infinity Sports Network |
| WHSQ | 880 AM | Audacy | ESPN Radio |
The Staten Island Cricket and Base Ball Club, had its grounds for many years at Camp Washington, or what may now be the ferry terminal. It was incorporated in 1866.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The Sixers and Knicks haven't been good at the same time, and the Nets were just... eh. This season could change everything.
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