Mickey Mantle of the Yankees hitting his 500th home run on May 14, 1967. Associated Press

Updated, Feb. 6: We have updated this article to include the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory — and to add four new entries at the bottom, based on reader suggestions.

New York in the 1950s holds a special place in the consciousness of sports fans. For many people, it’s the answer to a question: If you could have grown up as a fan at any time and in any place, what would you choose?

In the ’50s, New York had Jackie Robinson. It had “Willie, Mickey and the Duke” — the center fielders whose baseball teams combined to win eight straight championships starting in 1949. The city also had the football Giants, a team that hosted the 1958 game known as the “greatest game ever played.”

But 1950s New York has now arguably been surpassed as the setting for the country’s luckiest sports fans. (And, yes, sports fans will certainly argue over this.) The new titleholder? Boston, in the early 21st century.

The Patriots have just won their six Super Bowl in 18 years, a recent dynasty with no peer. The Red Sox have won four of the past 15 World Series. The Celtics and Bruins have each won a championship since 2008.

Below, you’ll find a ranking of the best two-decade runs that any pro sports fans have had since World War II, based on both statistical and subjective factors.

Note: This ranking counts only titles in the N.F.L., N.B.A., N.H.L. or Major League Baseball.

Did not win World Series N.F.L. title Stanley Cup N.B.A. championship Team did not play in that city that year World Series N.F.L. title Stanley Cup Did not win N.B.A. championship Team did not play in that city that year

1. Boston, 2001-2018

12 titles in 72 team seasons (17%) All 4 franchises won a title

The breadth of the success makes Boston’s current run unique. Across one recent seven-year span (2008 to 2014), its teams in each of the four major sports won a championship. No other city has completed such a sweep in fewer than 21 years. Over the past two decades, Boston fans have been able to watch Tom Brady and Pedro Martinez, two of the great modern team athletes, as well as the beloved David Ortiz and the gruff mastermind coach, Bill Belichick. And because this run began in 2001, it is still two years shy of the 20-year mark.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady calling a play during this season’s A.F.C. Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Elise Amendola/Associated Press

For much of the 20th century, of course, Boston was famous for its sports heartbreak. The rest of the country looked at the city’s fans with a mixture of mockery and pity. These days, fans outside of Boston tend to loathe the city’s teams. Boston’s fans are quite happy with the tradeoff.

2. New York, 1951-1970

13 titles in 108 team seasons (12%) 7 of 8 franchises won a title

New York in the 1950s is still probably the best setting for a baseball fan. Think of the all-star lineup that could be formed with players only from the city’s three teams: Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Gil Hodges, Sandy Koufax and on and on.

Beyond baseball, the picture is more mixed. The Knicks won a title in 1970, and the Giants won one in 1956. But the Giants also lost five title games during this span, and the Rangers did not win one at all. In 1957, baseball’s glorious run in the city came to a shocking end: The Dodgers and Giants left for California.

3. Pittsburgh, 1974-1993

7 titles in 60 team seasons (12%) All 3 franchises won a title

Pittsburgh is the only city where the different professional teams share one color scheme: the black and gold of the city’s flag. There were a lot of championship banners with those colors flying from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. This run was the most successful any three-team city has had. (Pittsburgh lacks a basketball team.) The Steelers were a dynasty. The Pirates won two titles in the 1970s, partly by signing large numbers of Latino players, including Roberto Clemente, before other teams did. And the Penguins closed the run with Mario Lemieux leading them to back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Mario Lemieux of the Penguins holding up the 1991 Stanley Cup trophy. Bill Waugh/Associated Press

4. Chicago, 1997-2016

7 titles in 100 team seasons (7%) 4 of 5 franchises won a title

The best basketball player in history — the Bulls’ Michael Jordan. Two baseball teams — the Cubs and White Sox — each ending championship droughts that had started before the end of World War I. And a hockey team — the Blackhawks — that won three Stanley Cups. Only the Bears missed out on winning a title.

5. Boston, 1957-1976

15 titles in 71 team seasons (21%) 2 of 4 franchises won a title

There was one giant exception to the mediocrity and disappointment of Boston sports in the late 20th century: The Celtics, basketball’s most successful franchise. Starting in 1957, they somehow won 13 titles in 20 years. Strictly by the numbers, the city’s original golden age was even better than the current one: 21 percent of team seasons ended with a championship. But the success was narrow. Beside the Celtics, only the Bruins won a title.

Celtics star Bill Russell, right, celebrating after the team won its sixth consecutive championship in 1964. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

6. Detroit, 1950-1969

8 titles in 72 team seasons (11%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

Detroit was both an economic and sports powerhouse in the 1950s and 1960s. The Lions, Red Wings and Tigers all won championships. Gordie Howe became the icon of hockey. Strange as it may sound to younger football fans, the Lions were a dynasty, appearing in four N.F.L. title games in the 1950s and winning three of them. But since 1957 they have won just a single playoff game, in 1991.

Lions running back Bob Hoernschemeyer in 1953. George Gelatly/Getty Images

7. San Francisco, 2010-2018

6 titles in 36 team seasons (17%) 2 of 4 franchises have won a title

One city is now in the midst of a run that could ultimately match or surpass Boston’s. Fans in San Francisco have enjoyed six championships since 2010, from the Giants and Warriors. (The Warriors currently play in Oakland, but we’re counting them as San Francisco’s basketball team and the San Jose Sharks as the city’s hockey team, to be consistent with rooting patterns there.) The 49ers, once the city’s main source of championships, will need to rebound, however.

8. Los Angeles, 1969-1988

9 titles in 91 team seasons (10%) 3 of 6 franchises won a title

Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s was home to some of the most memorable athletes and games of the past century. The Lakers of Wilt Chamberlain turned into the Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and ultimately of Magic Johnson. Kirk Gibson hit perhaps baseball’s most dramatic home run, helping the Dodgers win the 1988 World Series. As a bonus, the city hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Magic Johnson of the Lakers during the 1980 N.B.A. finals in Philadelphia. Joe Kennedy/Los Angeles Times, via Getty Images

9. Milwaukee, 1957-1976

7 titles in 48 team seasons (15%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

On April 13, 1954 — opening day — a 20-year-old outfielder named Henry Aaron made his debut for the Milwaukee Braves. He went 0 for 5 that day in Cincinnati, but it was the start of Milwaukee’s best sports era. Aaron’s Braves won the World Series three years later. The football Packers — effectively Milwaukee’s football team — won five titles in the 1960s. And a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to a title in 1971. This period would rank higher on our list if it hadn’t been marred by the Braves’ departure for Atlanta in 1965.

10. Oakland, 1972-1991

7 titles in 55 team seasons (13%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

Oakland in the 1970s won with attitude. The A’s — in their mustaches and bright yellow uniforms — were quirky and fractious. Still, they won three straight World Series. The Raiders of the same period were notoriously nasty. In the midst of it all, Rick Barry’s Warriors won a basketball title in 1975. The A’s, with “Bash Brothers” Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, won another title in 1989.

Reggie Jackson of the A’s during an M.L.B. game around 1974. Focus on Sport/Getty Images

11. Cleveland, 1948-1967

5 titles in 40 team seasons (13%) 2 of 2 franchises won a title

The most frustrated sports city of the late 20th century was Cleveland. The Browns sometimes lost in spectacularly painful fashion. The Indians and Cavaliers were usually just bad. Old-time Clevelanders, however, knew a happier sports scene. The Indians won a title in 1948 (still their most recent), while the Browns were to the 1950s what the Patriots have been to recent years: They appeared in seven title games during one eight-year stretch and won three. The Browns won again in 1964, which would turn out to be the city’s last major title until LeBron James’s Cavaliers won one 52 years later.

12. Baltimore, 1957-1976

5 titles in 50 team seasons (10%) 2 of 3 franchises won a title

“The greatest game ever played” — mentioned above — was the first overtime game in N.F.L. history, and it made many Americans realize how exciting football could be on television. It took place Dec. 28, 1958, at Yankee Stadium, with Baltimore’s Colts beating the New York Giants. The years that followed brought more titles for the Colts, behind Johnny Unitas and others, while the Orioles of the 1960s and 1970s flourished with great pitching. The Baltimore Bullets, who decamped for Washington in 1973, were less successful.

Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas holding out his arms to request quiet during the 1958 championship game against the New York Giants. Robert Riger/Getty Images

13. Philadelphia, 1964-1983

5 titles in 80 team seasons (6%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

Of America’s longest-standing four-team cities, Philadelphia is among the least successful. But it has had a few periods of glory. The 76ers won an N.B.A. title with Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 and again with Julius Erving in 1983. The Flyers team known as “Broad Street Bullies” won twice in the 1970s. The Phillies won their first World Series in 1980. And just outside of the 20-year window listed here — in 1960 — the Eagles won an N.F.L. title. The 21-year stretch in which all four Philadelphia teams won a title (1960 through 1980) was the shortest until Boston recently broke the record.

14. Dallas, 1992-2011

5 titles in 78 team seasons (6%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

Dallas is among those sunbelt cities that have attracted a full complement of pro sports teams only in the last several decades. The 20-year period that began in 1992 included a return to dominance for the city’s original team, the Cowboys, as well as the first titles for hockey’s Stars and basketball’s Mavericks. Baseball’s Rangers came within one strike of winning the 2011 World Series, and the city hasn’t won a title since.

15. Denver, 1996-2015

5 titles in 80 team seasons (6%) 2 of 4 franchises won a title

Until 1996, Denver had not won a single major sports title. Then the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup that June. Over the next few years, John Elway — initially known for losing Super Bowls — capped his football career by winning two in a row. Each of those two franchises would win another title in later years. The Rockies and Nuggets still have not done so.

Broncos quarterback John Elway celebrating his first Super Bowl victory in 1998. Jim Gehrz/The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, via Associated Press

16. Miami, 1997-2016

5 titles in 80 team seasons (6%) 2 of 4 franchises won a title

As in Dallas, football came first to Miami. And as in Dallas, the team — the Dolphins — was one of the best in the 1970s. But they haven’t won a championship in 45 years. The titles that younger Miami fans have enjoyed are thanks to the Marlins and the Heat.

17. New York, 1986-2005

8 titles in 120 team seasons (7%) 3 of 6 franchises won a title

This is the first of four entries that were not on our original list and that we’ve added based on reader feedback. This New York stretch missed the original list partly because the city has so many teams — six in the four major sports, not counting the Islanders (who played on Long Island during this period), the Nets (who played in New Jersey) or the Devils (who still play in New Jersey). But this period brought a lot of joy: a Yankee dynasty; the winningest Mets team; and long-awaited titles for the Giants and Rangers. Jets and Knicks fans are still waiting.

The Yankees celebrating after winning the 2000 World Series. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

18. Washington, 1978-1997

5 titles in 80 team seasons (6%) 3 of 4 franchises won a title

In the San Francisco entry above, we counted the Warriors as the local basketball team even though they play in nearby Oakland, because San Francisco is very much a Warriors town. Likewise, Washington in the 1970s and ’80s was a Baltimore Orioles town, as several readers pointed out. It had no baseball team of its own. Add in the great Redskins team of these years, as well as one championship Bullets team, and Washington enjoyed the closest thing to its sports golden age.

19. San Antonio, 1999-2018

5 titles in 20 team seasons (25%) 1 of 1 franchise won a title

The United States has several cities with only one team in the four major sports, like Memphis, Raleigh, Jacksonville, Salt Lake City and Sacramento. Of these, San Antonio has had the best 20-year stretch. Behind Tim Duncan, a soft-spoken big man, and Gregg Popovich, the coach, the Spurs won five titles from 1999 to 2014. There is a special intensity to the loyalty of fans whose city has only one major team.

Spurs forward Tim Duncan and the team celebrating after Game 5 of the 2014 N.B.A. finals. Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

20. Montreal, 1960-1979

11 titles in 31 team seasons (35%) 1 of 2 franchises won a title

The Montreal Canadiens won more than half of all Stanley Cups in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. The N.H.L. had only six teams for most of that period, but it was still an incredible run. The 20-year stretch listed here spanned several versions of the Canadiens, ending in four straight Cups. Baseball’s Expos arrived in 1969 and never made a World Series, before leaving to become the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season.

Which sports cities are missing from this list? Among others, Buffalo, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Houston, Seattle and the city that hosted this year’s Super Bowl, Atlanta. Over the past five-plus decades, Atlanta’s teams in the four major sports have won only one title (the Braves in 1995, although the soccer team did win a championship last year). Many teenagers in Boston have already enjoyed more championships than any 100-year-old sports fan in these cities.

For all cities, basketball and hockey seasons are considered to be in the year that they finish. Football seasons are considered to be in the year that includes the bulk of the season; the current season is 2018, for example.