Worst to First: The Teams That Turned Things Around In One Season

by Richard Janvrin, December 23, 2025

There are few storylines better in sports than a team that’s been down in the doldrums for several years, only to get it together for a season and completely turn things around.

Whether it’s a new coach, a key free agent signing, or putting faith in a player that was previously on the bench, we’ve seen this happen in more ways than one.

Below, I’ll examine five of the best “worst to first teams” we’ve seen and those that I consider some of the biggest single-season turnarounds in sports history.

• 1981 San Francisco 49ers
• 1999 St. Louis Rams
• 2013 Boston Red Sox
• 2008 Tampa Bay Rays
• 2007-08 Boston Celtics

1981 San Francisco 49ers

Heading into the 1981 season, the 49ers were coming off a 6-10 record, finishing third in the NFC West and missing the playoffs. In 1980, the 49ers had Steve DeBerg start 9 games, and Joe Montana start 7.

A quick sidenote: DeBerg suffered a vocal injury after a hit to the neck, and for a few games, he couldn’t yell or anything at the line of scrimmage, so the team devised a contraption that would help him lead the offense.

That said, DeBerg was eventually replaced by Montana, who was in only his second season. He completed 64.5% of his passes for 1,795 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. For context, DeBerg had 1,998 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions in two more games.

In 1981, one of the biggest team turnarounds in sports was happening.

Montana led the 49ers to a 13-3 record, winning the NFC West and beating the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. If NFL betting sites were around then, I’d be interested to see what their preseason Super Bowl odds would’ve been.

Montana completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,565 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 picks. Remember, this was just his third season, and he finished second in MVP voting.

This would be the start of a 49ers dynasty. Montana and the 49ers won four Super Bowls in the 1980s (though Super Bowl XXIV was played on Jan. 28, 1990), making this one of the most epic worst to first teams in sports history.

1999 St. Louis Rams

Before the era of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” the Rams hadn’t had a winning season since 1989. They finished fifth in their division in 1997 and 1998. He was the third-string quarterback, attempting just 11 passes all season and completing four of them.

In 1998, they took a chance, signing quarterback Kurt Warner from the Arena Football League, and little did they know this would be the start of an eventual biggest single-season turnaround.

Their starting quarterback was Tony Banks, who had just seven touchdown passes in 14 games—yeah, it was bad.

Heading into 1999, Warner was one of the Rams’ five unprotected players, meaning he could’ve been selected by the expansion franchise, the Cleveland Browns, but wasn’t.

The team signed Trent Green as their starting quarterback, and Banks was traded to Baltimore.

However, Green tore his ACL in the preseason, and the team turned to Warner.

Head coach Dick Vermeil famously said, “We will rally around Kurt Warner, and we’ll play good football.”

Of all teams that went from last place to champions, none may be more jaw-dropping than the 1999 Rams.

Warner completed 65.1% of his passes for 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. In his first start, against Baltimore, Warner threw for 309 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks in a 27-10 win.

From there, the Rams would go 13-3 and beat the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans in the playoffs, winning the Super Bowl.

This was, without a doubt, one of the most legendary seasons ever, considering who Warner was before the season began.

2013 Boston Red Sox

While the Red Sox had broken the Curse of the Bambino about a decade before, winning the World Series in 2004 and again in 2007, the Red Sox enjoyed a bit more success before bottoming out in 2012, going 69-93 with Bobby Valentine and dealing with a plethora of injuries.

But, just around the corner would be one of the biggest single-season turnarounds.

He hung around for just one season before the team hired John Farrell, who served as their pitching coach from 2007 to 2010.

The rotation in 2013 was led by Jon Lester, who went 15-8 with a 3.75 ERA.

The team also signed key players such as Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Ryan Dempster, and Stephen Drew.

Other key members of the rotation included Clay Buchholz, who, in just 16 games, went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA. Closing pitcher Koji Uehara had a 1.09 ERA across 73 games.

As for the offense, David Ortiz hit 30 home runs, Dustin Pedroia hit over .300, and Jose Iglesias finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

The team went 87-65, beating the Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the ALDS, the Detroit Tigers in six games in the ALCS, and the St. Louis Cardinals in six games in the World Series.

2008 Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays were known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from their inception in 1998 until the start of the 2008 season.

From 1998 through the 2008 season, the Rays never won more than 70 games in a season and had 10 straight losing seasons.

However, after dropping the “Devil” from their name, they appeared to benefit, as in 2008, they went 97-65 and won the AL East. They were already one of the most improved sports teams ever.

The team received massive contributions from players like catcher Dioner Navarro, who was an All-Star, hitting .295; first baseman Carlos Pena, who hit 31 home runs; and rookie Evan Longoria, who played 122 games and hit .272 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs.

Their rotation included James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson, and Scott Kazmir.

They also had a rookie, David Price, come up clutch for them in the postseason, pitching 52 innings and allowing just one run, while striking out 8.

In the playoffs, they beat the Chicago White Sox in four games in the ALDS. In the ALCS, they faced their division rival, the Red Sox.

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in Game 7 before Longoria hit a ball down the right field line and Pena scored from first, tying the game.

The Rays eventually went up 3-1 and held that lead into the ninth.

Price, a rookie, came in to close it out, and with two outs, Jed Lowrie came up for the Red Sox before grounding out, and the Rays won the ALCS in stunning, dramatic fashion.

Unfortunately, the magic ran out, though the Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the World Series. Considering this team never had more than 70 wins in a season, the 2008 Rays will forever be remembered as one of the most memorable worst to first teams.

2007-08 Boston Celtics

Before the 2007-08 season, the Celtics hadn’t won 50 games or more since 1991-92.

In the two years before 2007-08, the Celtics won a combined 57 games, and these were two awful seasons for the Doc Rivers-led Celtics.

Next up, though, was one of the biggest team turnarounds in sports.

However, for the 2007-08 season, the Celtics made two massive signings: Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

This completely changed the team, dawning the first “Big Three,” with these two alongside Paul Pierce.

Garnett was the Defensive Player of the Year, and Allen, Pierce, and Garnett all averaged at least 17.4 points per game.

It was not an easy playoff run, though. The Celtics went seven games against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, seven games with the LeBron James-led Cavaliers in the Conference Semifinals, and six games with the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Finals. Finally, they took on the Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals and won the series in six games.

A remarkable turnaround that was the start of them making the playoffs every season except one (2013-14).