Top 10 North American Sports Rivalries: From USA vs. Mexico to Ohio State vs. Michigan

These are the definitive rivalries of North American sports.

Some of these rivalries span more than 100 years, while others have taken on a life of their own over the past decade. What they all have in common: These matchups mean a little more when the teams face off.

Here's our list of the best rivalries across the continent and major sports:

Rowan Kavner: This rivalry dates back to the 1800s, long before both teams moved from New York to California in 1958. Remarkably, they’ve each won exactly 1,288 games against the other in their regular-season history. 

Among the most historic meetings were the 1889 World Series and Bobby Thomson’s "Shot Heard Round the World" to win the pennant in 1951. The teams spent much of the 60s battling for the pennant, and the geographical rivalry has always heightened the animosity between the franchises and their supporters. That has led to some ugly moments on the field (Hall of Famer Juan Marichal once clubbed Dodgers catcher John Roseboro over the head with a bat in 1965) and even uglier and more violent events off the field between their fans.

There have been some on-field sparks in recent years, including in the 2010s between Yasiel Puig and Madison Bumgarner and later between Bumgarner and Max Muncy, who told the Giants pitcher to go get his ball out of the ocean after the southpaw took exception to the Dodgers slugger watching a home run in 2019. 

The rivalry hasn’t been quite as heated lately, though, largely because the Dodgers have dominated the division while the Giants have finished third or worse in the NL West in eight of the last nine seasons. Still, the 2021 season did see one of the biggest battles in recent memory between the clubs, when the Dodgers and Giants met in a