From 2019-21, all three Wisconsin professional sports teams… Brewers, Bucks and Packers… made the playoffs. This year, however, that three-year streak will end. The Brewers missed the MLB post-season by one game, and unless they win their last five games and get a lot of help, the Packers will miss the playoffs for only the third time in the last 14 years.
Brewers, Bucks and Packers make playoffs in same season
The Brewers, Bucks and Packers each making the playoffs the same year has happened only four times since 1969. The first time was in 1982 when the Brewers made it to the World Series, the Bucks’ 1981-82 squad lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the ’82 Packers made the playoffs in the strike-shortened season due to a players’ strike.
All three making the post-season did not happen again until 2019, a span of 37 years. In 2019, the Brewers lost in a one-game National League Wild Card game; the Bucks fell one game short of the NBA Finals, losing to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals; and the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
The Brewers, Bucks and Packers made the post-season in the same year four times: 1982, 2019, 2020, 2021.
Years with no Wisconsin pro team in post-season
There have been six times when none of the three Wisconsin professional sports teams (Brewers, Bucks and Packers) made the playoffs. That happened last in 2005 when the Brewers finished third in the N.L. Central with an 81-81 record; the 2004-05 Bucks were 30-52; and the 2005 Packers were 4-12 in Mike Sherman’s last season as the Pack’s head coach.
The Brewers, Bucks, and Packers each did not make the playoffs in the same season six times: 1969, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1992 and 2005.
Throughout the 54 years (since 1969) that the Brewers, Bucks and Packers have each played in the MLB, NBA and NFL, the Bucks have made the playoffs in 34 of those seasons. The Packers have made the playoffs 24 times, and the Brewers have played in the post-season eight times.
Wisconsin fans have been spoiled the last three seasons with each of the three teams making the post-season. The 2022 sports year, with only the Bucks making the playoffs (the 2021-22 team), would be the 34th time since 1969 that only one of the three teams make the post-season… if the Packers don’t make the playoffs this year.
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