A Dozen Different

In a previous post, I pointed out the coincidental statistic that the longest losing streak in the NFL, NBA, and MLB are all 26 games.  Tonight, I bring up another oddity shared by three of the major sports leagues in the nation.  The record for most franchises played for by an individual athlete is shared as well.  MLB, the NBA, and the NHL have all seen at least one player appear for twelve teams over the course of a career.

The first athlete to complete this odd feat is generally considered to be long time pitcher, Mike Morgan who completed the feat in 2000 when he appeared with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  He stayed with the Diamondbacks before retiring in 2002.  Since then, two other MLB players have completed the feat including pitcher Ron Villone in 2009, and in 2011 by Matt Stairs.  Stairs was released by the Washington Nationals in August of last year, and promptly announced his retirement only a couple days later.  It is worth noting that the Washington Nationals and Montreal Expos are the same franchise; otherwise, one may be led to believe that he played for a 13th team.

Next, NBA forward Chucky Brown completed the feat when he 18 games for the Sacramento Kings in the 2001-02 season.  Like in baseball, Brown no longer holds the sole NBA record.  Tony Massenburg accomplished the feat in 2004, and a year later Jim Jackson would in 2005.  Former first overall pick Joe Smith of the University of Maryland played for his 12th team just last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.  While, I don't believe he has announced his retirement, he has not played a game this season.  If he were to sign with a new team, he could hold the record by himself.

NHL center Mike Sillinger is the sole record holder of the most NHL teams played with at 12 as well.  After playing with only three teams for his first six seasons, Sillinger began to bounce from team to team, and played with multiple teams in the same season a total of 8 times in his career.  His record of 12 was set in the 2006-07 season when he appeared with the New York Islanders.  He would spend the final three years of his career in the Islanders system.

The NFL record is a little dicier.  A tackle by the name of Tillie Moss is credited with playing for 11 teams during a 9-year career in the 1920s.  While seemingly accurate, this was a different era for the NFL altogether.  A couple places credit quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan with playing for 11 teams, and the same for kicker Dave Rayner, but this is less accurate.  While part of 11 organizations, some stops were nothing more than a practice squad, preseason games, or signing and being cut in the same offseason.  I would count neither.  Football is unique in that players on the roster can go a full season without seeing the field.  Of those who played, the record is only 8 teams held by Chris Chandler, Mark Royals, Karl Wilson, and Jeff Brady. Chris Chandler is the only player to start for all eight teams.

It's pretty impressive to find your way into twelve different franchises over a sports career, but I simply found it oddly coincidental that this would occur a dozen times in three of the four major sports.