Sports in Massachusetts have a long history with both amateur athletics and professional teams. Most of the major professional teams have won multiple championships in their respective leagues. Massachusetts teams have won 6 Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins ),[ 1] 17 NBA Championships (Boston Celtics ),[ 2] 4 Super Bowls (New England Patriots ),[ 3] and 9 World Series (8 Boston Red Sox , 1 Boston Braves ).[ 4] Early basketball and volleyball was created in Massachusetts, which homes the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield ),[ 5] the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke ),.[ 5] Massachusetts also houses the Cape Cod Baseball League . It is also home to prestigious sports events such as the Boston Marathon and the Head of the Charles Regatta . The Falmouth Road Race in running and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in bicycle racing are also very popular events with long histories.
The PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship is a regular professional golf tour stop in the state. Massachusetts has played host to nine U.S. Opens , four U.S. Women's Opens , two Ryder Cups , and one U.S. Senior Open .
Many colleges and universities in Massachusetts are active in college athletics. There are a number of NCAA Division I members in the state for multiple sports: Boston College , Boston University , Northeastern University , Harvard University , College of the Holy Cross , University of Massachusetts Amherst , and the University of Massachusetts Lowell .
Major league professional teams
Minor league or semi-pro clubs
Defunct or relocated professional clubs
Club
Sports
Founded
League
Venue
Boston Breakers (defunct)
Soccer
2001
Women's United Soccer Association
Nickerson Field
Boston Breakers
Soccer
2008
Women's Professional Soccer
Harvard Stadium
Boston Braves (NFL) /Boston Redskins (moved to Washington, D.C. and are now the Washington Redskins )
Football
1932
National Football League
Braves Field /Fenway Park
Boston Braves (moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Braves , would move again to Atlanta, Georgia and are now the Atlanta Braves )
Baseball
1871
Major League Baseball
South End Grounds /Braves Field
Boston Reds (defunct)
Baseball
1890
Major League Baseball
Congress Street Grounds
Boston Reds (defunct)
Baseball
1884
Major League Baseball
Dartmouth Grounds
New England Whalers (joined the National Hockey League and moved to Hartford, Connecticut and became the Hartford Whalers , would move again to Raleigh, North Carolina and are now the Carolina Hurricanes )
Ice hockey
1972
World Hockey Association
Boston Arena /Boston Garden /The Big E Coliseum /MassMutual Center
Boston Yanks (defunct)
Football
1944
National Football League
Fenway Park
Boston Bulldogs (defunct)
Football
1929
National Football League
Braves Field
Boston Breakers (moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and became the New Orleans Breakers, would move again to Portland, Oregon and become the Portland Breakers for the rest of the team's existence)
Football
1983
United States Football League
Nickerson Field
North Shore Spirit (defunct)
Baseball
2003
Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
Fraser Field
Boston Braves (defunct)
Ice hockey
1971
American Hockey League
Boston Garden
Lowell Devils (relocated to become the Albany Devils in 2010)
Ice Hockey
1998
American Hockey League
Tsongas Center
Springfield Indians (relocated to become the Worcester IceCats in 1994)
Ice Hockey
1935
American Hockey League
Springfield Civic Center
Worcester IceCats (relocated to become the Peoria Rivermen in 2005)
Ice Hockey
1994
American Hockey League
Worcester Centrum
Worcester Sharks (relocated to become the San Jose Barracuda in 2015)
Ice hockey
2006
American Hockey League
DCU Center
College sports
NCAA: Divisions I and II
NCAA: Division III
NAIA
High school
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which writes the rules for most U.S. high school sports and activities. The MIAA was founded in 1978, and was preceded by both the Massachusetts Secondary School Principals Association (MSSPA) (1942-1978) and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council (MIAC) (1950-1978).
Rugby will become the MIAA's 35th sport in 2016, following a 2015 MIAC vote that passed by a wide majority.[ 7] As of 2015, there are 19 boys’ teams and 5 girls’ teams across the state, with the majority of the Catholic Conference schools fielding rugby teams.[ 7]
References
By state / territory
Major sports
Minor sports
International
sporting
competitions