Prompted by a question from Kerry, GM of the freshly relegated Buckhead Bowties, a little research was done into the number of wins of promoted and relegated teams in USBA history, including the just-completed 2043 season.
Starting with wins by promoted teams, the winningest teams to be promoted from the SL to the PL are shown in Table 1.
| Team | Year | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Gold Sox | 2019 | 83 |
| Louisville Slugs | 2015 | 83 |
| Northern Virginia Retrievers | 2023 | 78 |
| Buckhead Bowties | 2017 | 78 |
Overall, here’s a chart of the number of wins by teams promoted from the SL, including winning the league and teams winning the promotion series. The most common number of wins is 63, and the average is just under 67 wins. For teams with fewest wins, Philly was promoted with 57 wins in 2032, and Vancouver with 58 wins in 2029.
The winningest teams in 3L history are shown in Table 2.
| Team | Year | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Columbus Tidal Waves | 2016 | 86 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 2027 | 81 |
| Portland Evergreens | 2029 | 81 |
| St Louis Couer | 2040 | 79 |
Here’s the chart of the number of wins by teams promoted from the 3L. For teams promoting from the 3L to the SL, I had expected to see a slightly lower range, given finishers 2-5 make the 3L promotion playoff, and it’s far from unusual for the 5th place finisher to win the playoff, but that isn’t necessarily the case. The most common number of wins is 68, and the average is just over 67 wins. For teams with fewest wins, 3 teams are tied with 57 – Northern Virginia in 2019, Thunder Bay in 2031, and Cleveland in 2039.
Now on to the relegated teams. The winningest team to be relegated from the PL was DC in 2026, when they won 50 games, finished in 8th and only 15 games out of 1st, yet lost the relegation series to ACKC.
In 2043, Buffalo set a new low for fewest wins by a team in the PL or SL, with a mere 23. On average, relegated PL teams win between 38-39 games. The chart of wins for all teams relegated from the PL is below.
And lastly, the official answer to Kerry’s original question as to where Buckhead’s 48 wins ranks all time for wins by a team relegated from the SL: Near the top, but not the most. The most wins by SL relegated teams is 52 by Thunder Bay in 2024, followed closely by Greenville with 50 wins in 2029. Kerry’s boys are the 3rd team to finish with 48 wins and be relegated.
The worst teams in SL history are Philly way back in 2019, and Thunder Bay just last year in 2042, with 29 wins. On average, teams relegated from the SL win about 41 games. Here’s the break down of all the wins for SL relegated teams:
