tampa bay bucs, '76. i will not bore you with their complete ineptitude. here's a link that does it for me:
http://football.about.com/library/weekly/bl_worstTB.htm

The Washington Generals

any NBA team that finished a season with less than 15 wins. That would be worse than any NFL team that went 0-16 because the NBA team had more games. Not sure if there has ever been an NBA team that has lost 67 games in a season.

The first season Capitals. Record-settingly bad. Look it up...most goals allowed, fewest standings points in a season, the list goes on. On the TV broadcast from the final game of that first season, the announcer said something about the "games of the Washington Craps:. Nuff said.

1962 NY Mets...a collection of young ineptitude and elderly retreads. their manager frequently fell asleep on the bench during games. their utility infielder made 35 errors. their best hitting catcher had the first name of Choo-Choo.

Hard to disagree with the 1974-75 Capitals, who went 8-67-5, including 1-39 on the road. I wonder whatever became of the legendary "Stanley Can," the trash can the Caps paraded as though it were the Stanley Cup after they finally won their first road game.

I've read that the 1899 Cleveland Spiders baseball team were truly wretched, to the tune of a 20-134 record, and that their futility may in fact have transcended the Caps' because they only played 41 games at home because their fans were so frustrated with how bad they were. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the National League contracted them out of existence after that season.

If one takes "worst" to refer to a team that has no grounding in the fundamentals of how to play its sport, then the "Daffiness Boys"-era Brooklyn Dodgers might qualify. I don't know of any other team that ever had three guys wind up on third base at the same time, such that Babe Herman actually doubled into a double play.

The 1972-3 76ers were 9-73. That is a winning percentage of .109, equivalent to a baseball team winning 18 games (the '62 Mets won 40 games!) or an NFL team winning about 2 games.

Clearly worse than the Mets, anyway. Worse than '76 Tampa Bay? Pretty close!

The 1976 Bucs especially with those poofy uniforms. Play ugly and look ugly. Ugh.

Marty Janetty & 1-2-3 Kid

The Washington Federals of the USFL

How about the 1961 NY Mets...the very definition of ineptitude and bad!

Definitely the Washington Federals. Unlike the 1974-75 Capitals, the USFL was a brand new league in 1983 so the expansion factor can not be used.

Speaking of expansion, the Federals lost their 1984 opener to the expansion Jacksonville Bulls 53-14, who were playing their first-ever game. This prompted their owner, Berl Bernhard, to tell the Washington Post, in an interview, that the Federals played like a bunch of "untrained gerbils."

Without question, the lowest moment in Washington professional sports.

It has been addressed already with three teams and I must agree with all three. Any professional basketball, baseball or hockey team that cannot win more than 10 games should all be considered the worst ever.

I think this is my top choice. They list two others above NW, but this was a much more prominent university. The 1999-2001 Duke football team comes a close second in my opinion!

Northwestern (1979-82)
Northwestern Wildcats

The Wildcats were in the midst of a 34-game losing streak (the longest in Division I-A history) during the 1981 season, when they lost all of their games, getting outscored 505-82 -- an average of 40 points a game. Northwestern fans celebrated a 61-14 home loss to Michigan State by tearing down the goalposts and marching through Evanston shouting, "We're the worst!" After the Wildcats ended their losing streak, defeating Northern Illinois 31-6 on Sept. 25, 1982, coach Dennis Green said, "When I woke up this morning, I knew it was a special day."

The 2007-08 New York Knicks

Easily the 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish,

The Leonard Hamilton Bullets?! 19 wins is the worst Bulets team I ever saw, and that is stating something!

But I'll go with the '82 Colts. Yes - a strike-shortened season, but 0 wins? Plus Art Schlichter!

how about the 1988 dallas cowboys or whatever year it was they were 1-15???

if it handnt been for our little skinnys blowing yet another game game against the cowpokes that they had no business losing...the cowgirls would have actually been the only team to ever go 0-16...

oh well!!!

i vote for that team cause how can you not take advantage of an opportunity to put dallas in a category like that?

dallas cowboys...worst team ever!!! hey that has a nice ring to it! its fun to say over and over again...fun for the whole family!!!

Hmm. Tough call

62 Mets
2007 Mets?

88 Orioles

The Yankees since A-Rod joined them!

The Redskins post-Jack Kent Cooke

No use voting 'til the current Caps' season ends.

While the 1899 Cleveland Spiders had the worst record in baseball history, there was a reason. In those days, the National League (at the time, the only major league) allowed people to own more than one franchise, and the Cleveland owner, who also owned the St. Louis team, sent all the good players there. (I believe the same "syndicate" situation was in place for Louisville and Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Brooklyn, and Washington and Philadelphia. It was thus no surprise that Cleveland, Louisville, Baltimore and Washington were all dropped from the NL after 1899.)

Anyway, my choice as the worst team is the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, whose 36-117 record is the worst in MLB history since the American League became "major" in 1901. Here's how bad the A's were:

* The next-worst team, the seventh-place Senators, finished 40 games ahead of them at 76-77. Had it not been for a rainout, it's possible all seven other AL teams could have finished .500 or better.

* The Athletics' three-game series with the White Sox at Chicago in June was rained out and the games were tacked onto an already-existing five-game series at Comiskey Park in late July/early August. The Sox won all eight games, the biggest series sweep in major-league history.

* The A's were actually a respectable 13-17 after beating Cleveland 10-8 on May 22. But they then wemt into a 6-63-1 tailspin, capped by a 20-game losing streak, before winning 7-1 at Detroit on Aug. 9. And their final record could have been worse, but they swept a season-ending doubleheader at Boston against a Red Sox team resting its regulars for the upcoming World Series against Brooklyn.

Gotta go with the '76 Bucs. The stats posted above say it all. (And the fact that Steve Spurrier was their quaterback.)

With out a douubt it has to be the '76-'77 Bucs. That is a record that could never ever be broken by any pro sport team. Thats wqual to what 11 games over two seasons (at the end of the second season mind you) or 5 games in two NBA seasons.

And yes it does have a nice ring to it calling the 1-15 Cowboys America's "Worst" Team. Remember the 2005 'BOYS

the german army, 1914-1945

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be setting the record for most consecutive losing seasons in '08. The cumulative effect of their stink puts them at the head, or is it back, of the class.

The 1961 Redskins

What great answers...I was going to say the 2007 NY Jets under the witless Eric Man-genius. But the above examples are making my head spin.

I don't think it's 'fair' that an expansion team would be worst team ever(T.B. Buccaneers)...so I have two:'88 Dallas Cowboys & '72-3 76er's

Until this year I would have said the expansion Caps, but these Capitals might just give them a contest.

The 2007 Washington Nationals.
No wait, they weren't. Just about everyone predicted them to be the worst team EVER, but 7 or 8 teams finished worse than them this year. I don't remember any of the pundits saying they were wrong,
Go Nats.

2007-2008 washington capitals

any Richie Petitbon coached Redskins team. Horrible

The French Army 1914-1945

At least the 74-75 Capitals team gave a crap. Hanlon has this years team so sedated that the team should hold "ambivalance night." Hanlon was a bum as a goalie in Van-cooo-ver, and he was a bum as a coach here. Hopefully this years edition of the Capitals won't be the worst team ever with one of the best players in history.

Most teams playing the last season of their existence before relocating the following season. i.e. The 2004 Montreal Expos. Awful team. Awful attendance. And left to rot by Major League Baseball. But they are also an example of the promise of a new existence- i.e. 2005 Washington Nationals and soon to be 2009 World Champion Washington Nationals!!!

Any Cowboys team

Any team owned by Danny Boy Snyder

The Dallas Cowgirls (also Know as cow little boys) as the worst team ever. the should be ban from football

56 & 57 ALABAMA FOOTBALL TEAMS WENT 1-19 WITH NO LESS THAN BART STAR AS QUARTERBACK

Vince:

We dont need a dissertation. Just state the team.

Don't forget Praire View football - they lost 80 games in a row! 1989 thru late 1998 they lost every game. Now that's BAD.

I meant Prairie View. Here is a link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/1998/09/26/prairieview_wins/

Okay I know we are upset with the current Caps and Danny-owned 'Skins teams, but it's a little premature to call them the worst ever (heck, Caps could still make the playoffs).

It's hard to compare teams in different sports so here are my worst ever in each sport...
the expansion Caps
those 36 win Philadelphia Athletics
72-73 9 win 76ers
and if the Dolphins go 0-16 they are the worst in football ever. I don't care how much of a fight they put up, but no wins against the Bills or even the Jets, woof. If not them the 1-15 '91-'92 Cowboys whose one victory seems to exist just to spoil the 'Skins perfect season (we can only hope Miami can do the same to the Pats)

1992-93 Ottawa Senators. They were 10-70-4 for 24 points and the 74-75 Caps were 8-67-5 for 21 points. However, the Sens played 4 more games than the Capitals and with all the expansion the NHL was doing at that time, there were several weak teams around the NHL those years.

I had the pleasure (?) of sitting through every one of the 74-75 Capitals home games. I remember the last home game. We beat Pittsburgh 8-4 and celebrated like the Caps had won the Cup. What did we know? We were just happy to have Big League Hockey in D.C.

When you combine really oppresive NHL rules for expansion in 1974 with the absolutely awful front office player selections and inept coaching, it's a wonder the Caps won a game at all.

I'll bet none of you remember a game early that season in Chicago, when the Caps backup goalie--Think his name was Giles Villemure--stopped TWO penalty shots in the same game, one of them by the great Stan Mikita. That's when we thought we would have a helluva season. We did, just not quite the way we thought.

Anyway, the worst teams in sports: The 88 Cowboys, 72 Sixers, and the Fighting Phillies (who never came close to winning anything frm 1915 to 1950). These weren't expansion teams, they had no excuse!

The Team Peter Angelos owns

There is a tie between the Washington Post sports columnists, the Washington Post sports management, and the people who asks stupid questions like this one.

The 1998 (inaugural season) Washington Mystics: 3-27.

The French Army 1870-1954.

At least the Germans won a few road games.

Yeah, you could do a heck of a lot worse in your fantasy league than the German Armies of 1914-1945 (really two different teams). The '39-'45 sqaud went undefeated in '39 and '40, piling up a string of victories against an admittedly weak schedule. But even the '45 team, hobbled by injury and forced to field a lot of raw rookies aging free agents, would crush the '76 Buccanners.

Washington Redskins franchise

Hmm.., being a Chicago sports fan, I would have to say the Cubs of 1946-current. Or perhaps the Blackhawks of 1962-current. Both have done NOTHING!!! Then again, atleast the Cubs made the playoffs 5 times since 1984. The Brewers can't even say that.

Nobody mentioned the 2007 Baltimore Ravens. They lost to the 2007 Miami Dolphins which has only one win for the year (over the Ravins).