Staying Power
These days it’s Serena Williams that is the center of the tennis world. It wasn’t always like that. Go back a few decades and you will find that it was all about Steffi Graf. The superstar tennis player spent more time as the number one tennis player for longer than anyone else in the game.
During the ’80s, Graf spent 377 weeks on top, but her reign as tennis champion only lasted between 1987 and 1991.
LeBron James Bests Michael Jordan With This Record
Michael Jordan scored at least ten points in the 866 consecutive games in his career. This record stood the test of time until LeBron James broke it in March 2018. It took James over a decade to acquire those bragging rights over Michael Jordan, but he did.
James, like Jordan, has always been the top-dog of his team so this record should have some staying power.
Jerry Rice Was A Major Monster
Jerry Rice showed an amazing commitment to the game and to maintain his outstanding records. He led in numerous categories during his career and reached 1,549 career receptions. The NFL champ played for 20 years and turned and throughout was simply the best wide receiver in history.
It was Tony Gonzalez who had a taste of that success at 1,325, but no cigar. Whoever has the ability to better Rice deserves endless praise.
Ledecky, The Human Dolphin
Katie Ledecky's superhuman swimming abilities landed her four gold medals at the Pan Pacific Championship. She almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle.
Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. There is simply no stopping this woman.
John Stockton Is The Assist King
Aside from Russell Westbrook, players rarely focus on passing and assists. When it comes to John Stockton however, it's a whole different ballgame. His record of 15,000 assists is incredible. To set his stupendous record, Stockton averaged ten assists a game over his career. He also led the league as an assist from 1987 until 1996 and had over 1,000 assists in seven separate seasons.
Jason Kidd hit 12,000, while Chris Paul is the league's active assists leaders with just under 9,000. They still have a long way to go.
Ian Millar Is Magic On Four Legs
In 2012, the Canadian equestrian rider Ian Millar set an Olympic record by making his number 10 appearance in the Olympic Games. The then 65-year-old began his streak in 1972, at the doomed Summer Games in Munich.
There have only been an additional two other Olympians who have made 9 appearances at the Olympics. Ufortauneyly, Millar did not make his 11th Olympic appearance in Rio due to an injury to his horse that will require an operation.
Wilt Gets 100
Certainly, one of the most famous basketball records of all time, Wilt Chamberlain's insane skills let him score 100 points in a single game. Keep in mind that this before the three-point line was entered into the game.
Kobe Bryant came close with a score of 81. While that makes Kobe one of the greatest players of all time, Wilts' score almost makes him non-human. Perhaps the NBA will never see another player make it pass 100 ever again.
Richard Petty's Unbelievable Number of Titles
NASCAR driver Richard Petty's seven career titles beat anyone currently active in the game. That might be subject to change with Jimmie Johnson's current path. Still, you could combine all the wins from Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have and still be 33 shy of Petty's incredible record.
In order to beat Petty, Johnson would have to conquer that by racing at the same rate until and after his 63rd birthday. Gordon, on the other hand, would have to continue racing until 66 years old.
Roger Federer, There's No Competitor
No one has come close to Roger Federer and it looks like we will be waiting for quite some time for that to change. Rafael Nadal almost reached that level of success, but clearly just couldn't make it all the way. The tennis legend spent 237 consecutive weeks as the top player in the association of Tennis Professionals.
Not many reach that number one status and no one holds onto it for that long. The tennis world will lose a phenomenal player once he retires.
Georgia Tech Team Were Ferocious In This Historic Beatdown
Legend has it that Georgia Tech had been meaning to destroy Cumberland University ever since the two went head to head for the first time in 1916. Georgia Tech coach, John Heisman, ruthlessly trained his team until they scored 220 points and Cumberland scored zero.
It sounds impossible, but it totally happened and we don't know-how. It's safe to say that revenge was served that day. Never mess with Georgia tech again.
Curry Out Does Himself
Stephen Curry not only broke a record but also out-did himself by 78 threes to secure his spot. The person to come closest to this record was his very own teammate Klay Thompson. The list of top five three-pointers goes as follows: Stephen Curry (402), Stephen Curry (324), Stephen Curry (286), Klay Thompson (276), and Stephen Curry (272).
While Thompson is one formidable shooter, he still is several points away from beating Curry in that regard. Also, the point guard has quite a few more years on the court.
The Hitter
Pete Rose is probably the most iconic baseball player to have ever played in Major League Baseball. During his 24 year career, Rose broke multiple records, one of which are remained untouched for years.
His 4,256 career hits blew the world's mind. Ty Cobb came second with a measly 4,19. To this day, no one in the MLB came close to beating that record-breaking. Rose could rest easy when he retired knowing that he would forever be unmatched.
UCLA Top Dogs
The list of records is neverending. Just to name a few, they have 11 NCAA titles, 7 consecutive NCAA titles, 25 Final Four wins, and have been 34 weeks ta the No. 1 in AP Top 25 Poll.
Also, it seems inconceivable that a coach could get one generation of stars to not drop out. Does it seem like John Calipari is trying to recreate the Wooden magic by bringing in seven different classes of five-star freshmen year after year? Possible.
Joe DiMaggio Hated Not Getting On Base
In baseball, a good hitter if you reach the base 25 percent of the time you're doing a good job. It's not guaranteed that you will get a single hit every game. For Joe DiMaggio that was simply not an option.
He proved that with his streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941. No other player has ever hit more than 44 consecutive games. The most recent hitter to come close to DiMaggio's record was Jimmy Rollins when he hit 38 games in 2005.
Watch Out For Wayne
Wayne Gretzky deserves to be "The Great One". One of the greatest sportsmen to have ever lived, the hockey player managed to hold 61 records before retiring in 1999. His greatest record is his 2,857 career points. That's one for the history books.
His score remains unbeaten and will remain so likely for many years. The 46-year-old Jaromír Jágr attempted to take him on but ended up with only 1,921. Oh, well.
Henri Richard Won 11 Stanley Cup Titles
Henri Richard got the nickname the "Pocket Rocket." He certainly early earned it. In his 21 year career, he not set one of the most incredible records and that was winning 11 Stanley Cups.
That's more than Tom Brady. It's difficult enough to win one championship at all your career. He, on the other hand, spent half of his enjoying victory parties. If that can ever be broken, well then, we may as well cancel hockey after that.
Drew Brees Sets The Bar High
Previously set by Peyton Manning, the record for having the most passing yards of all-time was broken by Drew Brees. The NFL champ made the record by racking up 72,103 passing yards. He broke it with a 62-yard touchdown against the Washington Redskins.
When giving the speech, Brees became overwhelmed with emotion and said "the two people that are most responsible for my football career, early on, my mom and my grandpa, are up in heaven," Brees continued. "There were a lot of people I wanted to prove right tonight, but none more so than them. I know they are watching down on me."
Pete Maravich The Pistol
The Pistol was evidently created to just shoot hoops. For a college player to achieve this at such a rate was simply astonishing.
He holds nearly every major NCAA scoring record, including most career points (3,667).
The Home Run Record Isn't As Controversial As You Might Think
When Barry Bonds set the home run record in a single-season he did so by hitting 73 balls over the fence. His achievements might be debatable has this did take place during the "steroid era." Still, the books seem to accept.
Since that season, nobody has come near challenging Bonds for the title. As the MLB moves into a new era, people are beginning to question if Giancarlo Stanton might one day break the record. Likely, but probably not.
Back-To-Back Perfection
Cincinnati Reds pitcher, Johnny Vander Meer wasn't particularly successful before he broke this record, making the achievement all the more monumental. The athlete had a perfect week when in 1938 on June 11, he no-hit the Boston Bees.
He pulled this off again when he completed the same feat against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Many pitchers can go entire careers without getting a single no-hitter. The fact that he did this consecutively just goes to show how this one of the greatest feats in baseball history.
Pat Summitt Never Lost A Season
American women's college basketball head coach had a career for 38 years and never once had a losing season. There were only two occasions in which her teams lost more than 10 games. Summit is clearly one of the greatest coaches to have ever lived.
After finally retiring in 2012, the NCAA world, and the sporting world truly felt the void that she left. The legendary coach accrued 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history upon her retirement.
Nolan Ryan And His Seven No-No's
Back in the day, the true greats didn't really worry about pitch counts or inning limits, and even still, these days, it's highly unlikely that any pitcher will match Nolan Ryan's career record of seven. With the way the game is handled now, we may never see another no-hitter.
Managers regularly pull starting pitchers from games just to preserve their elbows. There are some teams that are even contemplating with pulling starting pitchers entirely and just having every game be a bullpen game!
Spitz The Torpedo
While the 1972 Munich Games was struck with tragedy, it was the time where Mark Spitz made some unimaginable accomplishments by setting seven world records in the span of eight days.
Spitz took the world by storm when he won the gold medal in the 100- and 200- meter freestyle and butterfly events, the 4x100- and 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and the 4x100-meter medley relay. That was unbroken for 36 years until Michael Phelps came along.
Byron Nelson Sets An Impossible Record
When it comes to golf, not many can consistently maintain such records. Byron Nelson is a little different, however. In 1945, Nelson crushed it at the PGA tour and won 18 tournaments.
At the point in the game, he actually won 11 in a row. The closest to come to that winning streak was Tiger Woods, unfortunately for him, he has yet to beat that 1945 score.
11 Ring Russell
Before LeBron got to be who we know him as today, it was Bill Russell who truly demonstrated to the world what can be done in basketball. The man won 11 rings, not that's not all he did, he also lasted 13 seasons.
Only two franchises in the NBA have gotten over six titles in their history, and not many have come close to scoring 11 rings.
Oscar Robertson The Offender
The NBA had a crazy year from 1961-62. The defense playing practically disappeared and the number of possessions each team had per game sky-rocketed. Beyond Wilt Chamberlain, almost no one gained anything more from this offensive boom. Unless you were Oscar Robertson. His triple-double average was buoyed by the fact that the team points per game average that year (118.8) was the highest in the league's history.
Of course, we will never see that little emphasis placed on defense ever again, so the probability of a player being able to maintain that kind of output for an entire season is non-existent.
The Lakers 33 Wins Remains Unbeaten 40 Years Later
In 1971 the LA Lakers achieved the unthinkable when they won 33 games in a row. Anything is possible but it's going to take a majorly powerful team to break that record. The 73 win Warriors couldn't even do it.
In 2008, the Houston Rockets challenged that record but last after 22 games. In the time the Lakers had their hot streak, they beat their opponents by an average for 17 points a game.
Paula Radcliffe Is The World's Best
Apparently there is a difference between the "world record" and "world's best." In any case, the "world's best" title belongs to the former British long-distance runner, Paula Radcliffe who set it in a race where she was paced by men.
That title is still over two minutes faster than any women's marathon in history. Her speed is simply unbeatable and no one other woman has come close. The only one who can top that title is Radcliff herself.
Grete Waitz The History Maker
Grete Waitz achieved the unimaginable when she did not only become the first woman in history to run a marathon in under two and a half hours, but she also won 9 New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988. That is more than any other runner in history.
How did she do it? Sheer super-human abilities apparently.
Rocky Marciano Knock Out Champ
Knockouts are common in the heavyweight class, far more than in the lower weight classes. So for a boxer to not only go 49-0 but to also get 43 knockouts in the process sounds like an impossibility.
The famous Klitschko brothers couldn't even rack up those kinds of wins. Floyd Mayweather may have a higher knock out rate but he's in a lower weight class and intentionally avoids both delivering and taking big hits, so we can't compare.
Cael Sanderson Non-Stop Perfection
Not only did wrestler Cael Sanderson get a crazy number of matches on his way to snatching up his four consecutive NCAA titles, but he also did it without a single loss. Even the best talent have bad days. Apparently not him.
That kind of consistent perfection seems to belong exclusively to Cael Sanderson. Oh, and he also has an Olympic gold medal.
A Killer Streak For This UConn Team
During the college basketball season of 31 games, the Huskies team from the University of Connecticut has pulled off some unbelievable feats. The female basketball team has four consecutive national championships. As a whole, UConn managed to win 111 games.
Not only that, but they also beat their previous record of 91 easily. Unfortunately, their reign lasted between 2014 and 2017. The match ended thanks to a buzzer-beater from Mississippi State and they were sent packing. Did things turn around? We'll see.
The Celtics' Unstoppable Reign
The Celtics have been fantastically successful by winning three titles in five years and three back-to-back. Are they the greatest team to ever exist? It's possible. If we go back some years, you will find even more incredible accomplishments by the Boston Celtics, specifically from 1959 to 1966.
The Celtics won eight consecutive companionships during those years. Bill Rusell, Bob Cousy, and head coach Red Auerbach were pretty much unbeatable. Between 2000-2002, The Lakers of 2000-2002 came pretty close to the records.
Bob Beamon The Super Jumper
The U.S. Olympian Bob Beamon set the long jump distance record at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when he hit 29 feet and 2 1/2-inch for the long jump. It took another 23 years before Beamon’s mark was beaten by Mike Powell who set a new record of 29 feet and 4 1/4 inches at the World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo in 1991.
While that wasn't an Olympic jump, the furthest long jump at the 2012 London Games was achieved by UK's Greg Rutherford who managed a rather insignificant 27 feet and three inches.
The Base Thief
To steal a base in baseball is a science. Pitchers study every runner's movement and the catcher makes sure to closely observe those who like to creep away from their base. But Rickey Henderson didn't worry about any of that.
With 1,406 career stolen bases. Today's active players who are attempting to break that record haven't even reached 800 stolen bases. This record is safe with Henderson.
Floyd Remains Untouched
Prior to Floyd Mayweather hitting 50-0, it was the legendary boxer, Rocky Marciano who had the best win-loss record with 49-0. When Mayweather entered the ring with Conor McGregor at 49-0, everything changed.
Mayweather is famous for his timing, slowly picking apart his opponent with small and precise moves. His "stick and move," a highly defensive style is what landed him in the history books for boxing. While many tried, no one could defeat him and he remains one of the greatest to this day.
The Record-Breaking Losing streak
During the 1970s, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers arrived in the NFL in a terrible state. In their first year, they lost every single game. The following year they lost another 12, making them the team with the longest losing streak in history.
It's no easy feat to lose 26 games. You have to be on another level of bad for that to happen. Needless to say, the coach was fired and two leads later they , managed to turn things around. They made it to the NFC championship but then lost to the Rams.
Daryl Sittler Scored Six Goals In One Game
This hall of Famer holds the latest record for most NHL goals scored in one game. Daryl Sittler, who at the time was up against the Boston Bruins in 1976, scored six goals and four assists. That rookie goalie must have been completely crushed and will probably never recover.
During pre-NHL times, in 1920, "Phantom Joe" Malone scored seven goals in one game. But in the modern NHL gaming, even with the new weight on scoring, it's still hard to get a hat trick (three goals).
Martina Navratilova The Three-Timer
No woman has ever won Wimbledon more than three times consecutively. The competition is generally fierce and winning involves many elements. Somehow, none of that really applied to Navratilova.
This player was famously unique and totally dominated the All-England club year after year. All in all, she claimed six titles in a row and an astonishing nine overall. That's a lot of silver plates.
Phelps The Olympic King
Michael Phelps dominates the water completely. The Olympic champion's career spans five different Olympic Games and has broken the world record 39 times. Of those, 29 records were individual and the rest were relay races.
His most outstanding accomplishment that is currently unbreakable is his accumulation of 28 medals The next closes are 18 medals, so clearly, he is still pretty ahead.
Wayne Gretzky's Single Season Scoring Record
We already know that Wayne Gretzky maintains the most points scored in the NHL of all-time. There is more whoever, he also holds the record for most points in just one season. In 1985, Gretzky scored 215 points.
That was just one of the four times that Gretzky scored over 200 points in a season. The majority of NHL offensive players are happy to just score 100 goals in a season. Clearly that wasn't the case for Gretzky.
The Ever- Controversial Lance Armstrong
After the series of admissions about doping, the media frenzy, and the public shame, we might want to retract this one later. Still, at the time it happened, Armstrong's records were momentous.
His seven Tour de France titles (1999–2005) did prompt authorities to do some major investigating. While cycling might be clean now, it will forever make us skeptical over these record breakers.
Cal Ripken Never Took A Vacation
For 17 MLB seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. never sat on the bench. starting 162 games a record number of times. All in all, Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive games before eventually taking a day off.
No one in baseball will ever be able to break this record. Not to mention that he didn't even get any injuries. Ironically, the moment he ended his streak, he got injured. Ain't that just the way.
Fernando Tatis Doubles Down On The Grand Slams
In 1999, Fernando Tatis was fortunate (or gifted enough) to hit two grand slams in his career. There have of course have been other teams to make such accomplishments in one inning, but not by a singer player.
To be clear, other teams have hit two grand slams in one inning, but never by the same player. In order for this record to be beaten, a batter would have to come up three times in one inning with the bases loaded, and then on top of that, hit a home run. We wish whoever tries that the very best.
Archie Moore Knocked Out 131 Opponents
He didn't get the name Archie Moore the "Old Mongoose" for nothing. Between 1938 until 1963, the boxer participated in 215 fights, and out of those, he won 185 of those fights, 131 from a knockout.
With how long fighters have to wait between bouts now, and how short careers tend to be, we don't see this record going down for the count anytime soon. In one year, Moore took on 15 fights! And the man went on to live until he was 81-years-old. That is mightily impressive.
Glenn Hall The Unstoppable
NHL goaltender Glenn Hall played 551 straight games if you include the playoffs and was so seldomly replaced with another goaltender. In fact, he got the nickname" Mr. Goalie."
These days teams always have two goaltenders on their game-day programs. You cant destroy one player like that. So with that in mind, it looks like Glenn Hall's record will never be beaten!
The Golden State Warriors Crush It 73 Times
For a long time, it appeared that the Chicago Bulls 72 wins would be forever unmatched. That was until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games, effectively breaking the record and raising the bar once again.
Unfortunately, they lost the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was especially difficult after that many wins. But never say never! The Warriors proved the haters wrong once. It can happen again!
Cy Young Gets It Done
If you know just a little about baseball today, then you should know that pitchers don't play a whole game, nor do even they play in every single game. At least it's like that now Cy Young played in a time wherein pitchers played entire games and almost every day!
Because of this, Young ended up winning 511 of the 749 games he played in. During his 22 year career, he broke additional records too but his games-to-win ratio is supernatural.
Anotonio Cromartie's 109 Yard Return
In 2007, Antonio Cromarties returned a missed field goal right from the back of the endzone. He then subsequently ran with the ball the entire length of the field and scored a touchdown.
That distance measured 109 yards. That feat cannot be matched. The record was set during his second season in the NFL. Cromarties retired after the 2017 season came to end. He did leave one the thing behind and that was his legacy of superhuman legs.
The Oklahoma Football Winning Streak
The college team's streak spanned five seasons from 1953-57. The streak is regarded as a serious major accomplishment. It would take a huge effort and a bunch of talent to top that.
There is actually some hope for Alabama though. They're beginning look like potential record-breaker
The Lightning Bolt
The Jamaican born Usain Bolt is an unstoppable force. When the track and field athlete entered the 2008 Olympics, he completely took over. Breaking the record in the 100-meter dash, he was on fire and far from cooling down.
A year later he bested himself with another 100-meter record and clocked at 9 minutes and 58 seconds. It doesn't end there, the last record-breaker, Justin Gaitlin clocked 9.85 in the 2004 Olympics, but was accused of using speed-enhancing drugs.
36 Red Cards Is Unheard Of
Handing out 36 red cards in a match should essentially be illegal. However, in 2010, an Argentinian referee found it to be incredibly necessary. When a fight broke out between the teams in the second half, the referee felt he was left with no choice.
To punish the teams, the Damian Rubino gave Red Cards to every single player, as well as the 14 coaches. The reactions were mixed on both sides. One coach even though the other team was going to kill him. Another source said the ref was a little dramatic.
Florence Griffith-Joyner The Sprinter
The famously controversial track and field athlete achieved her suspiciously good record and was accused multiple times of using PEDs. She does go down as one of the most tested athletes in sports history! Not once did she fail. Her 200m time in the 1988 Olympics still has yet to be challenged.
The closest anyone has come was Allyson Felix at the 2012 Olympics, and even she was well short with a time of 21.69.
Bill Mosienko The Ice King
You might be able to skate a with a puck along the ice in 21 seconds in a completely empty rink. Throw in the actual payers, it's impossible. Unless you're Bill Mosienko.
Keep in mind that in every hockey game there is a line change. There is simply no way this record can be broken.
Cy Young Played 749 Full Games
Sometimes you got to give these athletes another round of praise. Cy Young is an example of that. Over the course of his celebrated career, the iconic pitcher threw 749 complete games.
Why this record will never be met? These days the MLB operates a little differently than they did back then, by actually limit the number of throws that their pitchers take. Those arms need to be protected! They cannot throw more than 100. Most of these pitchers go more than five innings. The fact that Young hit a full nine 749 times is mind-blowing.
Wilt The Stilt
Here he is again for another extraordinary feat. The giant not only scored 100 in a game but also grabbed the most rebounds with 55 back in 1960. Infortantelyu his team still lost to the Boson Celtics even after this amazing effort.
No one since 1973 has surpassed even 37 rebounds in an NBA game. Bill Russell reached a measly 51, but his playing days are far from over. We'll wait a few more decades to see of someone can make it.
The Legendary Pele
Many people have heard the name Pelé, even if they don't know exactly what he did. The legendary soccer player is highly regarded. His career his filled with record-breaking achievements. Even if there are some disputes around certain goals. Still, his legendary status remains unquestioned.
If you combine his international tours with the time he spent playing for other teams, the awe-inducing total comes out to 1,281 goals.
The 11 Hour Tennis Match
While the tennis players John Isner and Nicolas Mahut may not have had particularly notable careers individually, they did, however, participated in one of the most historical tennis games in the world. In the 2010 Wombledaon games, the pair had an exhausting 11-hour match.
It's hard to see if this record could ever be broken, or how these two even survived a match that long. Eventually, the next day, Isner won the game. He then probably slept for eternity.
Farve The Iron Man
Brett Farve is one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history. Between the years 1992 and 2010, Farve achieved the unthinkable and played in 297 consecutive games. If we were to include playoffs that would boost that number to 321.
Quarterbacks are also more prone to injuries, so this is even more impressive. On top of that, Farve played the night after his father died and threw for 399 passing yards that game. The closest to come to that record is Peyton Manning with 208 starts.
You Can't Stop This Racehorse
Secretariat the American Thoroughbred racehorse, became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years 1973. In one of the most incredible feats in racehorse history, Secretariat left his competitions in the dust by winning 31 lengths.
In 1943 somebody managed 25 lengths, and in the more recent times, it was Smarty Jones at the 2004 Preakness got an 11.5 length win. Doesn't look like Secretariat will be challenged anytime soon.