Arguing the most impressive sports records is a difficult task: does longevity matter? What about one-time or one-season gameplay that has stood the test of time? Are older records automatically better? How are we taking into account the changes that have radically changed several sports?
Imagine going back 30 years and watching NBA players pull up 3 points during a quick two-for-one break with regularity. On the other hand, imagine that you are sitting in the game tonight and you see a baseball player playing his 2000th game in a row or trying to steal the base almost every time he comes in.
It just didn’t happen – or it hasn’t happened now.
There are many records that will never be broken because people don’t try to break them anymore. From May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998 Cal Ripken Jr. played 2632 consecutive matches. This is an absolutely stupid record: over 500 games longer than Lou Gehrig’s runner-up streak and roughly 2,400 games longer than Matt Olson’s longest active streak. It’s just a turntable they don’t chase anymore. Same with Rickey Henderson’s 1,406 stolen bases, nearly 500 more than the second Lou Brock and over 1000 more than the active leader Dee Strange-Gordon (336). Baseball has changed enormously thanks to smarter practices regarding player health, the development of advanced statistics and analysis, and more.
It’s not limited to baseball either.
This does not mean that the recordings of Ripken Jr. and Henderson do not impress. They are extremely impressive. It’s even hard to comprehend. Honestly, they are indestructible, even if people are still trying to break them. But the criteria for this list include two things: impressive and still trying to be broken.
Let me repeat this so that everyone is clear: Cal Ripken Jr. and Rickey Henderson hold amazing records. They won’t be on this list.
NFL
LaDainian Tomlinson one-season touchdowns See the article : CBS Sports Top 25 ‘Best in Student Sports’ for 2021-22.
In his MVP 2006 campaign, Tomlinson threw 28 touchdowns (a record) and scored a total of 31 touchdowns (also a record).
28 quick touchdowns are only one record: both Priest Holmes (2003) and Shaun Alexander (2005) had a 27 season. But since 2006, no one has surpassed the relatively small number of 18, DeAngelo Williams (2008), Adrian Peterson (2009) , LeGarrette Blount (2016) and Jonathan Taylor (2021).
Meanwhile, the 31 touchdowns scored is three more than Alexander’s 28 in 2005. But since then, no one has crossed 23, which Randy Moss did in 2007.
Consider this: In 2006, Tomlinson had 38 take-away goals. In 2021, only 12 teams had at least 38 strikes on goal. Even the real three defenders who have loads of work from goal to exit failed to repeat Tomlinson’s performance. In 2006, Tomlinson scored halfway (19 of 38) of his take-away goals. Last year, Taylor scored 13 out of 39 points, just 33%. There are amazing seasons – and then there’s a huge chasm – and it’s 2006 LaDainian Tomlinson.
Jerry Rice’s career taking yards and taking touchdowns
Rice’s career is second to none, but two records stand out in particular: 22,895 yards scored (the most by more than 5,000 yards) and 197 touchdowns received (the most by 41).
Cooper Kupp would need to repeat his 2021 season – arguably the best hectic season ever – nine more times to pass Rice in yards and another 10 times to pass him in touchdowns.
What about the younger player, you ask? Justin Jefferson’s 3,016 receiving yards are the most frequently performed by the athlete over the course of two seasons. He will only have to maintain that pace for the next 14 seasons to overtake Rice in the yards. Rice also owns the record for career admissions (1,549) and 1,000-yard pickup seasons (14), but there are players who have come a little closer to these two, so we’re not taking them into account for now.
Eight Jim Brown’s quick titles
We’ll do it quickly. Brown played nine NFL seasons. He won eight racing titles. No one else has more than four (made by Steve Van Buren, OJ Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders). Durability, consistent perfection, absolute dominance in its position … make an amazing impression.
Every runner wants to be the best in the league. Nobody has come close to owning this title for a long time as thoroughly as Jim Brown.
MLB
Like Rice, this is one where the sheer magnitude is stunning. To see also : Nine NFL players entering winning or breaking season 2022: Steelers ‘Devin Bush, Lions’ Jeff Okudah and more. Ryan’s 5,714 strikes in his career are nearly 900 more than second-highest Randy Johnson and approximately 2,600 more than active leader Justin Verlander, who is 39 years old.
Another Johnny Vander Meer non-punch
This one needs no explanation. On June 11, 1938, he did not hit the Boston Bees. Four days later, he didn’t hit the Brooklyn Dodgers. Nobody gets three in a row.
Monograde .609 OBP Barry Bonds
In 2004, Bonds safely reached the base 376 times (135 hits, 232 walks, nine hits on the lifts). He only recorded 373 on bats. Result? Stunning .609 OBP, a record that probably won’t get touched.
688 deliberate walks in Bond’s career
How much were Bonds afraid of opponents? His 688 purposeful walks are more than twice the second place of Albert Pujols 316. (Note: this statistic has been stored since 1955)
Seven players made it to the 250-hit club in one season. Six of these seasons occurred in the 1920s or 1930s. The second was the record-breaking 262 hits of Ichiro Suzuki … in 2004. This is a truly remarkable achievement considering the changes to the game and is unlikely to be exceeded. Since 2004, the highest number of hits in a season by an unnamed player Ichiro Suzuki were 225 hits by Jose Altuve in 2014.
NBA
Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game See the article : The Boys’ Season 3 Season 3 is coming to Prime Video tonight.
There was no one like Wilt Chamberlain. Let’s start with the list for most of the game points:
That’s a lot of Wilt Chamberlain, but what interests us is the number at the top. In the 60 years since that record was set, Kobe Bryant’s staggering 81 points in 2006 against the Raptors is the closest anyone has ever beaten him.
And, with all due respect to Bryant’s performance, it’s not even that close.
Chamberlain played every minute of his record-breaking game. It was the norm: in 1961-62 he played an average of 48.5 minutes per game. He made 63 field goals – still an NBA record – and 32 free kicks. By comparison, Bryant scored 46 outfield goals and 20 free-kicks on his 81-point point.
There is one major caveat: around the middle of the fourth quarter, the teams began to foul incessantly – the Knicks to prevent Chamberlain from reaching 100, and the Warriors to get the ball back and pass it to Chamberlain. As the goalscorer with 51% of his career free throws, Chamberlain was eliminated 28v32.
It could be argued that the popularization of the 3-point line makes this record breakable. I argue that the opposite is true. In general, jumpers are less likely to score points in other ways – especially free kicks. When Klay Thompson set the NBA record of 14 threes in a game, he finished with “only” 52 points and only released two free kicks. There are 29 examples of a player who has made more than 10 threes in the game. The highest scored game is Damian Lillard with 61.
John Stockton is the all-time leader in assists and steals
It’s hard to grasp that he is the all-time record holder in two major statistical categories, but that’s exactly what Stockton has: 15,806 career assists (almost 4,000 more than second place) and 3,265 career steals (almost 600 more than second place).
3117 Stephen Curry’s 3-point career
Curry has overtaken Ray Allen for most of his career for three points in NBA history last season, and the NBA Finals reminded us that Curry isn’t even close to finishing. At 34, Curry has plenty of time to break his record.
NHL
Almost every Wayne Gretzky career?
If Gretzky had never scored a goal, he would still have the highest score in NHL history. That’s right: Gretzky’s 1963 career assists are more than anyone else’s career goals plus assists (Jaromir Jagr had 1,921 career points, second in history). Adding 894 goals to that, Gretzky’s record of 2,857 points is absurd. Some other remarks about the Great …
Speaking of Ovechkin, he poses the greatest threat to one of Gretzky’s record-breaking goals: he has 780 goals and Gretzky 894.
Tennis
This article was inspired in part by Nadal’s 14th title at the French Open in June. Bjorn Borg is next with the six. In fact, the second largest one-way title for a man is Novak Djokovic’s nine Australian Open titles. Still and Roland Garros’ clay pair up like no other – and he’s not done yet.
Horse racing
Kentucky Derby Secretariat, 1973
In 1973, the Secretariat traveled 1.25 miles at the Churchill Downs in 1:59.4, a record almost 50 years later. Only one horse since then – Monarchos in 2001 – entered in less than 2 minutes. Each year, the Secretariat’s record run becomes more and more impressive.
Secretariat for the Belmont Prize 1973
After winning the Derby and the Preakness, the Secretariat completed the Triple Crown in style by winning the Belmont Prize with an astonishing 31 lengths in a still record time of 2:24, which is not only the best Belmont run ever, but also still the fastest time I have ever run in USA a mile and a half in the mud.
Golf
Jack Nicklaus in the best two finishes in the main categories
Any golf enthusiast knows that Nicklaus’ 18 major wins are the gold standard, with Tiger Woods taking second place at 15. What is not quite common knowledge is that Nicklaus has been a world runner-up an amazing 19 times. The 37 best destinations in the major majors are by far the most numerous. Woods is second out of 22.
Tiger Woods Weeks at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings
Woods probably won’t catch Nicklaus on majors without a miracle, but his dominance shows how great he was at the height of his powers. Woods spent 683 weeks on the OWGR; next is Greg Norman in … 331.
NASCAR
Petty’s 200 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series career are almost double that of anyone else. He is called “King” for a reason. But his 1967 season was especially amazing: 27 wins, including 10 in a row. Nobody will touch 27 wins – especially since NASCAR shortened the season in 1972, which started the “Modern Era”. But what about 10 wins in a row which is a bit more mathematically possible? Regardless, that won’t be replicated either.
Olympics
Phelps has won 28 medals – including 23 gold – in his amazing career. The peak, of course, came in 2008 when he won eight gold medals in Beijing to break Mark Spitz’s 1972 record. But he also won six gold (and two bronze) in 2004, four gold (and two silver) in 2012 and five gold (and silver) in 2016.
Five gold medals from Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are both a testament to longevity and a superstar, and their status as the only basketball players – male and female – with five Olympic gold medals, shows the same. These two icons have long been the faces of the sport in both international competitions and the WNBA, and while this is only one of their many achievements, it is arguably their most impressive.
