While all World Series title winners receive the same size trophy, some champions leave a more lasting impression than others.

Arguably the two greatest World Series championship victories in history happened in the current century, as a pair of purportedly "cursed" franchises ended lengthy title droughts in epic fashion.

2004 Red Sox

A screenwriter couldn't have scripted a better ending to the "Curse of the Bambino." Eighty-six years since their previous World Series crown, facing a 3-0 deficit in the American League Championship Series against the rival Yankees and down to their final three outs in Game 4, the Red Sox forged a comeback for the ages.

After Kevin Millar walked against future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera leading off the ninth, pinch-runner Dave Roberts famously stole second base and Bill Mueller drove him in with a single up the middle to tie the game. A pair of David Ortiz walk-offs sent the ALCS back to the Bronx, where Boston took two more games -- highlighted by Curt Schilling's bloody-sock performance in Game 6 and Johnny Damon's grand slam in Game 7 -- to become the first team to win a postseason series after trailing three games to none.

The Sox were like a runaway train at that point, vanquishing the Cardinals in a World Series sweep to bring Boston its first title since 1918 -- the year before Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000.

2016 Cubs

Twelve years after the Red Sox put their curse to rest, the Cubs did the same with the "Curse of the Billy Goat," ending a 108-year championship drought. To do so, they had to go through the Indians, another long-suffering franchise that was in the midst of a 68-year span without a title.

Cleveland seemed poised to extend Chicago's drought and end its own when it won three of the Fall Classic's first four games. But with a talented roster that featured young players such as Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Kyle Hendricks alongside veterans such as Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Aroldis Chapman, the Cubs won Games 5 and 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. And what a Game 7 it was.

The Cubs took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but the Indians tied the game on Brandon Guyer's RBI double and Rajai Davis' unbelievable two-run homer off Chapman, who had thrown 62 pitches over four innings the previous two days. As the bottom of the ninth ended and the game went to extra innings, the grounds crew began to pull out the tarp for a rain delay. During the 17-minute stoppage, Heyward roused his teammates in the clubhouse with a speech that is now etched in Cubs lore, and Chicago came out in the top of the 10th and scored two runs -- one on a double by Zobrist and another on a single by Miguel Montero. Cleveland cut Chicago's lead to one when Davis knocked a two-out RBI single to left field in the bottom of the 10th, but Mike Montgomery got Michael Martinez to weakly ground out to Bryant, and the Cubs were champs for the first time since 1908.

Best of the rest

Here are some other World Series champs from the past 100 years that won't soon be forgotten.

2017 Astros

A lengthy rebuild reached its culmination as the Astros triumphed over the Dodgers in a back-and-forth Fall Classic that featured two of the most exciting World Series games ever. The victory gave Houston its first title in the franchise's 56-year history.

2014 Giants

Behind World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner's legendary performance on the mound, the Giants outlasted the Royals in seven games to win their third title in five years.

2011 Cardinals

The Cards were one strike away from defeat in both the ninth and 10th innings of Game 6 against the Rangers, but World Series MVP David Freese and Lance Berkman came up big to help the team extend its season, and St. Louis defeated Texas in Game 7 for its second championship of the 21st century.

2002 Angels

Down 5-0 to the Barry Bonds-led Giants in Game 6, the Angels scored three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to tie the series, and rookie John Lackey fired five strong innings in Game 7 as the Angels captured the crown for the first time in their 42 years of existence.

2001 D-backs

From the dominance of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, to President George W. Bush's first-pitch strike in Game 3 (after the 9/11 terrorist attacks), to the game-tying, two-out, two-run homers Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit in the ninth inning on back-to-back nights, to Derek Jeter's "Mr. November" walk-off blast, this World Series was already one of the all-time greats even before the D-backs walked it off on Luis Gonzalez's title-winning bloop single against Mariano Rivera in Game 7. With that, Arizona became the fastest expansion team to win a World Series title, doing so in its fourth season.

1998 Yankees

The Yanks notched the first in a string of three consecutive World Series wins by sweeping the Padres on the heels of a 114-win regular season, which set an American League record at the time.

1997 Marlins

In their fifth year of existence, the Marlins shocked the Indians with a ninth-inning rally against closer Jose Mesa in Game 7 and walked off to their first championship on Edgar Renteria's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th.

1993 Blue Jays

Joe Carter's iconic home run -- the second World Series-ending homer in history -- off Phillies closer Mitch Williams in Game 6 lifted the Blue Jays to their second consecutive title.

1991 Twins

Kirby Puckett put on a show in Game 6 of this thrilling World Series, robbing Ron Gant with a fabulous leaping catch at the wall before later hitting a walk-off homer in the 11th to pass the baton to Jack Morris, who threw a 10-inning shutout in Game 7 to bring Minnesota its second title in five years.

1988 Dodgers

Sparked by a hobbled Kirk Gibson's famed walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 and an MVP performance by right-hander Orel Hershiser, the Dodgers topped the A's -- who had more wins (104) than anyone else in the regular season -- in five games to win their second championship of the 1980s and fifth since moving to Los Angeles.

1986 Mets

The Mets' two-out, 10th-inning rally in Game 6 -- which was sealed by Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's infamous error, allowing the winning run to score -- and subsequent victory in Game 7 ensured that this World Series would forever hold a place in the minds of baseball fans.

1985 Royals

The same goes for this World Series, which is best remembered for first-base umpire Don Denkinger's blown call in the ninth inning of Game 6, sparking a Royals rally that forced Game 7. Like the Mets would do a year later, Kansas City took care of business in the winner-take-all contest, putting up 11 runs against the Cardinals to back MVP Bret Saberhagen's shutout and bring the franchise -- which joined MLB in 1969 -- its first title.

1975 Reds

After World Series losses in 1970 and '72, the "Big Red Machine" reached the pinnacle in the '75 Fall Classic, withstanding Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk's legendary "wave-it-fair" walk-off homer in Game 6 before winning Game 7 on Joe Morgan's tiebreaking single in the top of the ninth inning. Cincinnati earned its first title since 1940 and would defend it a year later, sweeping the Yankees to repeat as champions.

1969 Mets

An expansion team in 1962, the Mets lost 100-plus games in five of their first seven seasons and finished no higher than ninth in the National League in any of those years. But in '69, New York shocked the baseball world with a 100-win campaign that culminated in a five-game World Series triumph over the Orioles.

1960 Pirates

Glove-first second baseman Bill Mazeroski took down the mighty Mickey Mantle- and Roger Maris-led Yankees with one swing of the bat, slugging the first and only Game 7 walk-off homer in World Series history to give the Pirates their first championship since 1925.

1955 Dodgers

After losing to the Yankees in the World Series in 1941, '47, '49, '52, '53, the Dodgers flipped the script in '55. Although the most memorable moment of the series -- Jackie Robinson's straight steal of home -- came in a Dodgers loss, "Dem Bums" ultimately knocked off their crosstown rivals in seven games, winning the franchise's only title during the 73 seasons (1884-1957) it spent in Brooklyn.

1939 Yankees

Despite the retirement of an ALS-stricken Lou Gehrig, who gave his famous "Luckiest Man" speech on July 4, 1939, the Yankees went 106-45 and swept the Reds in the World Series for their fourth straight championship.

1927 Yankees

Featuring a lineup referred to as "Murderers' Row," this club remains the go-to comparison for powerhouse offenses in present day. Ruth, Gehrig and Co. helped the Yankees win 110 games before sweeping the Pirates in the World Series for the franchise's second title overall and first since 1923.