California has nineteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has seven major league teams spread in three cities, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. While the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to ten major league franchises, it is also the largest metropolitan area not to have a team from the National Football League. San Diego has two major league teams, and Sacramento has one.
Home to some of the most prominent universities in the United States, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others.
California has also long been a hub for motorsports and auto racing. The city of Long Beach holds an event every year in the month of April, which is host to IndyCar Series racing through the streets of downtown. Long Beach has hosted Formula One events there in the past, and also currently hosts an event on the American Le Mans Series schedule. Auto Club Speedway is a speedway in Fontana, and currently hosts one to two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races a year, and used to host CART Indycar races. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma is a multi-purpose facility, featuring a road course and a drag strip. The road course is home to a NASCAR event, an IndyCar event, and used to host an International Motor Sports Association sports car event. The drag strip hosts a yearly NHRA event. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a roadcourse that currently hosts an ALMS event, and formerly hosted CART events. The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona has hosted NHRA drag racing for over 50 years.
Professional sports
California has over twenty major professional sports franchises, far more than any other US state. The San Francisco Bay Area has nine major-league teams spread amongst three cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Although it is home to ten major-league franchises, the Greater Los Angeles Area is the largest metropolitan area without a team in the National Football League. San Diego has two major-league teams, and Sacramento has one.
Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – based in Anaheim
Los Angeles Dodgers
Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
National Basketball Association
Golden State Warriors – Based in Oakland
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Sacramento Kings
National Football League
Oakland Raiders
San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
National Hockey League
Anaheim Ducks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Major League Soccer
Chivas USA – based in Carson
Los Angeles Galaxy – also based in Carson
San Jose Earthquakes – based in Santa Clara
Women's National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Sparks
College sports
Home to some of most prominent universities in the United States, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. In particular, the athletic programs of the University of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley, UCLA and Stanford University are often nationally-ranked in the various sports. In addition, those Universities boast the highest academic standards (on average) of all major college (NCAA Div I) programs. All 4 schools are ranked, academically, in the top 30 nationally with Cal (specifically) ranked as the #1 public university in the country (usually about #15 overall) and Stanford is the highest academically ranked Division 1A university in the country (usually #5 overall). California is also home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl (Pasadena), as well as the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (San Diego), the Emerald Bowl (San Francisco), and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego).
The Great Heisman State
California has produced the most Heisman Trophy winners. Thirteen winners were both born and played high school football in the Golden State. Six played collegiately at USC and one each at UCLA, Stanford, Army, Texas, Colorado, Notre Dame, and Miami.
1946 Glenn Davis from Bonita High School in La Verne
1964 John Huarte from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana
1965 Mike Garrett from Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles
1967 Gary Beban from Sequoia High School in Redwood City
1968 O.J. Simpson from Galileo High School in San Francisco
1970 Jim Plunkett from William C. Overfelt High School, then James Lick High School, in East San Jose
1979 Charles White from San Fernando High School in San Fernando
1981 Marcus Allen from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego
1992 Gino Torretta from Pinole Valley High School in Pinole
1994 Rashaan Salaam from La Jolla Country Day School in La Jolla
1998 Ricky Williams from Patrick Henry High School in San Diego
2002 Carson Palmer from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita
2004 Matt Leinart from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana
Local sports
Most city municipals house a variety of sports activities. The available sports are typically listed on their city websites. Additionally, there are a variety of California Sports activities listed on FindSportsNow's California database.
Others
The California State Games, a state-wide Olympics-like sport event, take place in California every year. The United States Olympic Committee governs this event. Many of California's high school teams are often nationally-ranked. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series holds 3 races in California, two at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and one at Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway. The IRL Indycar series competes every April in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, through the streets of downtown Long Beach. The IRL also holds an event at Infineon. The NHRA Drag Racing Series holds three national events in California, as well; two at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (formerly Pomona Raceway) and at the aforementioned Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. The AMA Supercross Series holds several events in the state in cities such as Anaheim, San Francisco, and San Diego.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is a sport heavily associated with California as it is the place where the sport started. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk was born in California in 1968 and was involved in many bowlriding and vert competitions there.
All about California:
- California
- History of California
- Ecology of California
- Demographics of California
- Languages in California
- Religion in California
- California Racial and ancestral makeup
- Economy of California
- Transportation of California
- Energy use in California
- State finances of California
- Cities towns and counties in California
- Government of California
- Education in California
- Politics of California
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