Kansas City started out with humble roots before developing into a small-market sports mecca. Over a century and a half of history has brought some of the greatest championships, athletes, coaches and executives as well as passionate fan bases and countless memories to America’s heartland.

Arriving a little late to the sports scene, Kansas City’s sports history started with pre-pro baseball back in the 1860s. While many throughout the United States had been playing organized pre-pro baseball for decades, Kansas City, founded in 1853, didn’t have any documentation of such a thing until 1866.

Baseball became America’s pastime and planted its roots in Kansas City. Many teams came and went for various reasons, but the first sustainable team was the Kansas City Blues, beginning play in the late 1880s. The Blues won three championships and fielded stars such as Mickey Mantle and Casey Stengel.

The Kansas City Monarchs dominated the Negro Leagues from the 1920s through the 1940s. The Monarchs became one of the greatest baseball franchises of all time, fielding stars like Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Andy Cooper and Willard Brown. The Monarchs have had 14 members inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Kansas City Chiefs arrived in 1963. While the early days cast doubt, Lamar Hunt and the Chiefs helped transform the NFL to become the most dominant league in the United States. Len Dawson and Patrick Mahomes have served as two of the greatest faces of the franchise in two dominant eras.

After the Athletics didn’t succeed in Kansas City, Ewing Kauffman made sure the Royals did. The Royals quickly became an American League power ahead of their 1985 World Series championship. The Royals fell in misery for nearly three decades before returning to the postseason in 2014 with back-to-back World Series appearances.

Kansas City’s first glimpse of soccer came in the late 1960s as the Spurs won an NASL championship and exhibited global stars. After three seasons, the Spurs folded.

NHL came to Kansas City in the 1970s, but the Scouts had major struggles before relocating after just two seasons. The NBA had a more successful era in KC, beginning in 1973. The Kings had some great players who led them to numerous playoff appearances before the team’s relocation to Sacramento in 1985.

Soccer made an innovative return to Kansas City in 1981. The Kansas City Comets moved into Kemper Arena as members of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The Comets drew great crowds before eventually falling off and folding in 1991, making way for the Attack, who went on to win two championships before folding in 2005.

Hockey found some success in the 1990s with the rise of the Kansas City Blades, winning the IHL championship in 1992 before folding in 2001. The Mavericks continued hockey’s legacy in KC when they started play in 2009.

Outdoor soccer made its return to KC in 1996, debuting as the Wiz before becoming the Wizards. Early success featured MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield titles in 2000 and the 2004 U.S. Open Cup. The franchise conducted a major rebrand to become Sporting KC in 2011, which led to greater success with three U.S. Open Cup titles and the 2013 MLS Cup. Sporting KC’s success, proven with championships and missing the playoffs just twice since 2011, helped to establish Kansas City as the Soccer Capital of America.

Indoor soccer returned in 2010 with the Comets, who went on to win the MISL championship in 2014. Similar to Sporting KC, the Comets established a winning mentality and have missed the playoffs just twice since 2010.

Professional women’s soccer came to town in 2013 as FC Kansas City. FCKC won back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015. After FCKC folded in 2017, the KC Current brought the NWSL back to the city in 2021.

Kansas City sports dominated from 2012 to 2021 with seven league championships between its professional teams. In addition, Sporting KC has won three U.S. Open Cup titles while the Chiefs, Royals and Comets have each had additional championship-round appearances where they lost.

Major championships in football, baseball and soccer while also hosting numerous major events have made Kansas City a small-market sports mecca. KC’s future is on a good trajectory with huge events upcoming.