The 50 Most Unbreakable Records in Sports History

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Date: 7/19/2008
Set By: Ryohei Masuda

We have to say, this might be the worst strategy we've ever seen in a boxing ring. Who sprints right at their opponent with their hands down? Takahiro Kuroishi was really just asking to get knocked out. Hopefully getting "Pacquiao'd" the way he did taught him a valuable lesson about how not to approach a fight after the opening bell.

Date: 8/16/2009
Set By: Usain Bolt

Was Bolt actually trying when he ran a 9.63 100m dash at the Olympics this past summer? We'll never really know, but it sure seemed like he might have been able to shave a little time off of that. Even if he did, though, he very well may have still been short of his own world record he set in 2009. The Jamaican is just 26 years old, so he probably has another year or two to try to topple his own incredible feat.

Date: 6/24/2010
Set By: John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France)

They'll always have Wimbledon. While neither Isner nor Mahut has gone on to do much of anything in tennis, their epic 70-to-68 fifth set tiebreaker is one of the all-time craziest things to happen on a tennis court. The fifth set lasted longer than the previous record holder for longest match in tennis history. While it seems that at some point a longer match will be played just by the laws of random probability, that's sort of like saying at some point you could flip a coin and have it land on heads 100 times in a row. Sure, it will happen eventually, but don't hold your breath.

Date: 7/4/1984
Set By: Richard Petty

Petty's seven career titles are more than anyone currently competing, although that record may fall if Jimmie Johnson continues on his current trajectory. Even if it does, though, you could combine the total number of wins Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have and still be 33 short of Petty's. That record isn't going anywhere. To catch Petty, Johnson would have to win at the same rate while racing until after his 63rd birthday; for Gordon, he'd have to keep winning at the same pace until age 66.

Date: 1948-56
Set By: Rocky Marciano

In the heavyweight boxing ranks, knockouts happen far more frequently than in the lower weight classes. One false move from someone like Marciano would send him to the canvas before he even knew what happened. So for a champ to not only go 49-0, but to also record 43 knockouts in the process, is simply not seen anymore. Even the Klitschko brothers have a couple losses on their records and several wins not by knockout. And don't talk to us about Floyd Mayweather, who fights in a lower weight class and purposely avoids both giving and receiving big hits in the ring (as proven by his winning just 26 of his 43 fights by knockout).

Date: 1985-2004
Set By: Jerry Rice

Everyone knows how great Jerry Rice was, but given the pass-friendly rules of modern football his record would seem destined to fall. However, Rice had a couple things going for him that may never be seen again. For one, he probably played with tons of concussions that would keep him off the field now, and it also would be hard for anyone to stay as productive as Rice did into his 40s. As an example, Calvin Johnson has averaged 1,306 receiving yards per season over his six years in the league. He'd have to maintain that average into his 18th season in order to catch Rice, and at that point he would be either 39 or 40. With the money these guys make and the alleged emphasis on player safety, we're not sure anyone will want or be able to play that long.

Date: 1976-77
Set By: Tampa Bay Buccanneers

The only thing more offensive than the Buccaneers' orange creamsicle colored jerseys was their ineptitude on the field, as they managed to lose an unprecedented 26 games in a row between the 1976 and 1977 seasons. Things were bad enough that when they finally did break the streak, the opposing coach was immediately fired. While another NFL team may descend to some pretty dark places (like the 0-16 Lions in 2008), we highly doubt in this age of parity that anything could approach just how bad the "Yucs" were in their early years.

Date: 4/13/2003
Set By: Paula Radcliffe

If it seems absolutely ridiculous that there is a difference between "world record" and "world best," then you're right. This time is apparently a world best because Radcliffe set it in a race where she was paced by men. However, that doesn't change the fact that it's over two minutes better than any women's marathon time, ever. Her speed is unmatched in the sport, as practically no women have been able to keep up with her pace in even a half marathon setting. The only threat to Radcliffe's record is Radcliffe herself.

Date: 1982-87
Set By: Martina Navratilova

In the Open era, no woman has won Wimbledon more than three times in a row. The competition is too good and there are simply too many variables to win many beyond that number. However, Navratilova was a different kind of player, and she absolutely dominated at the All-England club every single year en route to six titles in a row and an astonishing nine overall. We're not sure what she does with all those silver plates, but she's got enough to serve the entire Kardashian family.

Date: 11/9/1957
Set By: Oklahoma Football

As long as the rules stay as they currently are in college football in terms of draft eligibility, we may see this record challenged at some point (Alabama would certainly be a leading candidate). Then again, with the best teams constantly moving to the top conferences so they can cash in, they also face better competition and are unable to pad their schedules with weaker opponents. Carrying out a four season winning streak like this one may not be impossible, but it would take a remarkable effort from two to three classes of top talent.

Date: 1945
Set By: Byron Nelson

There was a time when it seemed inevitable that Tiger Woods would break this record. Even in his prime, though, the most tournaments in a row Tiger ever won was seven, still well short of Nelson's mark. To play 792 consecutive holes of championship golf is practically impossible, and given the way the PGA has expanded to include the best international players it seems far less likely than anyone could get that hot in the face of such quality competition.

Date: 6/15/1938
Set By: Johnny Vander Meer

Throwing a no-hitter is, for many, a once-in-a-career experience. After all, only 30 pitchers in MLB history have thrown more than one in their careers. To do it in back-to-back starts, then, is absolutely insane. And sure, maybe someday a pitcher will tie Johnny Vander Meer's record; however, if you think somebody is going to actually toss three no-hitters in a row, you're out of your mind. The likelihood of recording 81 consecutive outs without a little dribbler or blooper sneaking through is essentially zero.

Date: 4/16/2003
Set By: John Stockton

In this age of isolation, one-on-one focused basketball, the assist has become something of a dying art. Stockton was nothing short of a master of passing the ball, leading the league in assists every year from 1987-88 through 1995-96. He had over 1,000 assists seven times in that stretch; you know how many players have had over 1,000 since? None. Jason Kidd is the closest active player to Stockton in terms of overall assists, but even he is still almost 4,000 short. This is one that may get broken someday, but it won't be by anyone you currently see in an NBA uniform.

Date: 11/7/1962
Set By: Glenn Hall

In this era of specialization and, you know, taking care of athletes' bodies, the likelihood of a goaltender being able to suit up for every single game for over six NHL seasons at such a brutally demanding position is exceedingly doubtful. Hall actually played in 551 straight games if you count the playoffs, with his team almost never bothering to carry another goalie. Now that teams always have two goaltenders on their game day rosters, there's no point in absolutely destroying one player like that. It appears Hall's record may be safe forever.

Date: 9/29/1988
Set By: Florence Griffith-Joyner

Flo-Jo was incredibly controversial, considering her record-setting performance shaved a suspicious amount of time off her previous best and she was more than once accused of using PEDs. However, she was also one of the most tested athletes in the history of sports, and never once did she fail. Her absolutely scintillating 200m time from the 1988 Olympics still has yet to be challenged in earnest; the closest anyone has come was Allyson Felix at the 2012 Olympics, and even she was well short with a time of 21.69.

Date: 2/7/1976
Set By: Darryl Sittler

Sittler absolutely went off against the Boston Bruins, lighting up poor rookie goaltender Dave Reece for six goals and four assists. A Hall of Famer, Sittler is at least a legitimately good player who had a career worthy of this crazy record. We could eventually see someone top this one; 15 others have reached eight points in a game, with Sam Gagner of the Oilers being the most recent player to do it in 2012. Given all the great scorers in the NHL right now and the general boost in scoring over the last five years, even though it may take a while we'll probably see this one at least get tied.

Date: 5/1/1991
Set By: Nolan Ryan

It would seem that a relatively modest total like seven no-hitters would be catchable, but what you have to consider is how difficult it is to throw one in the first place. In baseball's modern era (since 1901), there have been a total of 236 no-hitters thrown. The only active pitchers who have thrown two no-hitters are Roy Halladay, Mark Buerhle, and Justin Verlander. While Verlander does have an outside shot at Ryan's record, the more potent offenses of this current era make it exceedingly unlikely he'd be able to throw five over the rest of his career.

Date: 1964-65
Set By: Oscar Robertson

1961-62 was a crazy year in the NBA. Everyone essentially stopped playing defense, which meant that the number of possessions each team had per game went through the roof. Beyond Wilt Chamberlain, few benefited more from this offensive boom than Oscar Robertson, whose triple-double average was surely buoyed by the fact that the team points per game average that year (118.8) was the highest in the history of the league. Because we'll never see such little emphasis placed on defense again, the likelihood of a player being able to sustain that kind of output for a while season is also pretty low. If LeBron can't do it, no one will.

Date: 1959
Set By: Pele

There was a lot of fanfare last year when Lionel Messi scored 91 goals in the calendar year. He was (rightly) celebrated for an extraordinary accomplishment that was the product of incredible skill, perfect health, and a whole mess of matches in which to play. And after all that, he was still 40 percent short of the goals he needed to break Pele's record. While FIFA refuses to officially acknowledge any of the records, on their own website they offer that Pele did indeed score the 127 he claims he did. That's good enough for us.

Date: 11/4/2007
Set By: Antonio Cromartie

Maybe it's a technicality, but this play will never be beaten, ever. Sure, someone could tie it, but this is a list of "unbreakable records," after all. There was a time where Cromartie was known as more than just a below average cornerback with a strong seed and big mouth; he was a big play specialist for the Chargers who had speed to burn, and on this night he proved it. Teams remember this play when attempting long field goals now, though, so it is less likely than ever that someone would even have a shot at attempting such a long return.

Date: 2/22/2010
Set By: Damian Rubino, Referee

Considering a team has to forfeit a soccer match if they are down to fewer than seven players on the field, this is a real head scratcher. The volume of people needed to be sent off to reach the magic number of 36 defies all logic, and if a ref is issuing this many cards then chances are nobody's listening to him anyway. This record could maybe be equaled if we brought soccer refs out into the middle of riots as police had them try to use red cards instead of riot gear. Beyond that, we don't see this total being equaled in any sort of controlled sporting environment.

Date: 1999-2005
Set By: Lance Armstrong

After the Oprah-induced series of revelations, this one obviously needs an asterisk. But ask yourself this: Who wasn't doping at this point? And if everyone was doping, isn't that essentially a level playing field? And if it's a level playing field, is this achievement any less remarkable? One crash during this race can absolutely ruin your chances, and yet Lance was able to avoid any such problems for seven full years. Especially now that the sport is (allegedly) clean, we'd be impressed if someone could win three in a row.

Date: 1956-1975
Set By: Henri Richard

The "Pocket Rocket" was a winner to the highest degree, and was a vital part of the Canadiens' NHL dynasty in the '50s and '60s. In a career that spanned 21 seasons, he managed to win titles in over half of them. It actually seems conceivable that this one could be topped by a player (perhaps a goaltender) who manages to play well into his forties. Even then, though, with the salary cap structure in place it seems far less likely that any kind of dynasty could really take hold. Plus, it would be a shame if we lost the right to say "Pocket Rocket" all the time.

Date: 1978-88
Set By: Grete Waitz

Running a marathon is hard. Running it fast is even harder. Winning a world-famous marathon where the top competitors from all across the world train for months on end for this one race? Almost impossible. So if anyone thinks they can take down a staggering nine of these, good luck to you. What is really amazing about Grete Waitz's achievement is that she won her nine in 11 years. You have to wonder, though, with skills like that, what the hell happened in those two years she didn't win?

Date: 1995-96
Set By: Chicago Bulls

This Bulls team was incredible on a number of levels: they lost two home games all season, dropped two in a row just once and really should have had 73 wins (their starters all played limited minutes in their 10th loss, and they still fell by just one point). When you have someone as pathologically competitive as Michael Jordan, you're going to win a lot of games simply due to the fact that he wants it more than anyone else. Unless someone like that comes along again (which is unlikely to say the least), this record may never fall.

Date: 1967-70
Set By: Pete Maravich

The Pistol was put on planet Earth to score. For a college player to do it every night at such a prolific rate is simply amazing, and it would take an absolute perfect storm for someone to challenge the record now. Given the intense media coverage that comes with any sort of streak like this, even someone playing in a mid-major conference would have a hard time staying strong under the scrutiny that would invariably follow him at every turn.

Date: 3/23/1952
Set By: Bill Mosienko

If there was nobody else on the ice, it would be pretty tough to skate a puck down inside the blue line and score three times in 21 seconds. Add in defensemen and goalies, and it's nearly impossible. Mix in the fact that after almost every goal in a hockey game there's a line change, and you've reached other worldly status. This one simply isn't happening again, period.

Date: 5/5/1969
Set By: Bill Russell

Not one—not two—not three—and on it goes. Before LeBron talked about how big a winner he wanted to be, Russell showed everyone just what it meant to get it done year in and year out. Not only did he win 11 rings, but he did it in a playing career that lasted just 13 seasons. Every time a team wins a title they talk about how hard it is to win just one, but to do it 11 times? That's just insane. Considering only two franchises in the NBA have won more than six titles in their history, we're not sure anyone is going to catch 11.

Date: 1967-73
Set By: UCLA Men's Basketball

In this age of "One and Done," it seems impossible that a coach could get one generation of stars to stay in school for four years, let alone two or three groups of players. Could John Calipari attempt to recreate the Wooden magic by bringing in seven different classes of five-star freshmen every year? We suppose it's possible. Even so, though, as we saw with Nerlens Noel already this year even the most talented teams are always one bad step away from being just another team.

Date: 1985-86
Set By: Wayne Gretzky

In the last 15 years, the average NHL-leading point total for a season was just under 111. Think about that for a second. The best the league has to offer is almost exactly half as good as Wayne Gretzky was in 1985-86. And this was no aberration, either; he exceeded 200 points in a season four times in a five-year stretch and was incredibly close (199 and 196) two others. "The Great One" owns pretty much every scoring record that the NHL has, many of which won't be beaten.

Date: 11/24/1960
Set By: Wilt Chamberlain

The most rebounds in a single game since the 1985-86 season is 35 by Charles Oakley. To approach Chamberlain's 55, you'd need incredible skill (which many players obviously have) combined with a size disparity that nobody can overcome and rules that create lots of chances for boards (that, not so much). Chamberlain played in an era where practically nobody was even in the same category as him physically, with Bill Russell, Walt Bellamy, and Bob Pettit being the lone exceptions. Each team also had significantly more possessions per game, on average, which thus created many more rebounding opportunities. With so many guys of roughly similar stature and defense actually being an important part of a game now, there is no way anyone can touch this record.

Date: 6/9/1973
Set By: Secretariat

Many Triple Crown races come down to the wire, given the incredible time and care spent training each horse. In 1973, though, the playing field was anything but level. In one of the great displays of dominance in the history of sports, Secretariat sent the rest of his competition to the glue factory with a performance so stunning that even years later no horse has come remotely close to approaching it. The next-longest victory occurred in 1943 (which was 25 lengths), and in the modern era the closest anyone has come was Smarty Jones at the 2004 Preakness with an 11.5 length win. Nobody is beating this horse, which will go down throughout history as the greatest racer who ever lived.

Date: 1961-62
Set By: Wilt Chamberlain

We know what you're thinking. Yes, an NBA game is 48 minutes long. Surely this has to be some kind of mistake. While it's true that a game is only 48 minutes long, it goes up to 53 minutes when you play overtime. When you play as many overtime games as Chamberlain's 1961-62 Philadelphia Warriors (five regular, one double and one triple), it depends solely upon your best player to never get hurt, and if that happens you've got a recipe for an over-48 MPG average. This one will never happen again, as any coach who keeps a star player in for that long in today's game would be fired immediately.

Date: 10/7/2001
Set By: Barry Bonds

Say what you will about his personality and what he allegedly did to get this record, but Barry Bonds has never been convicted of anything. So, if you ask us, this record is just as legitimate as any other set in the steroid era of baseball. The combination of health, luck, and incredible physical strength and stamina required to hit this many home runs makes catching this record a near-impossibility. Then again, we don't want to count out the scientists hard at work right now trying to create the next home run-crushing monster. We're pretty sure Jose Canseco would offer himself up as a guinea pig.

Date: 1961-62
Set By: Wilt Chamberlain

In 2013, a 50 point night will keep you in the sports news cycle for at least two days. For Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62, it was simply average. Like with Oscar Robertson's triple-double average that same season, this number is inflated by the lack of defense played and the fact there was no such thing as offensive goaltending at the time. Nevertheless, 50.4 is a lot of points even if the rules make it easier to get. While the addition of the three-point line makes this number slightly more achievable, don't expect to see it broken unless the NBA starts mixing in four and five-pointers too.

Date: 4/23/1999
Set By: Fernando Tatis

Joe Buck rumors aside, Fernando Tatis did not do much of anything in his brief three-year stint as a St. Louis Cardinal. However, he defied pretty much all odds one night in April of 1999 when he managed to not just hit two home runs in an inning (which has only been done 57 times in MLB history), but had both of those be grand slams. For this record to be broken, someone would not just have to hit three homers in an inning (which has never happened), but would also have to have the good fortune of the bases being loaded all three times. We love to say nothing is impossible, but that is pretty much impossible.

Date: 9/22/1911
Set By: Cy Young

MLB players make a ton of money. Like, a ridiculous amount of money. If you're a pitcher who wins a lot of games, you're rich as hell. When you hit 35 years old and have been in the league for 10 to 15 years, you have enough money for about four or five generations of your family, plus a few of their friends. So why would you stick around to play 25 or 26 years? That's basically what it would take to best Cy Young's record, keeping in mind that you'd have to average 20 wins a year to do it. Seeing as only two or three guys top 20 every season, the odds probably aren't in your favor.

Date: 1959-66
Set By: Boston Celtics

When LeBron James bragged about winning all those championships in Miami, we're guessing this is the dynasty he was thinking of. Unfortunately for James, the Celtics' eight titles in a row is inconceivable in today's game. Remember how big a deal we made of the Bulls' and Lakers' three-peats? The Celtics had almost three of those in a row. They had a multitude of Hall of Famers, not just two or three "superstars." They amassed more talent than any other team could possibly match, something that is simply impossible in the current NBA. Unless the salary cap goes away, this record isn't.

Date: 8/14/1985
Set By: Pete Rose

To reach as many hits as Pete Rose did, you'd have to play for 20 years, averaging 212 hits per season. Keep in mind that 212 hits have been recorded in a season exactly 197 times in the history of baseball. How can someone this good not be in the Hall of Fame? Sure, he likes to gamble a little, but who doesn't? Nobody in the game today is going to get close to this record; the only one with a shot is probably Miguel Cabrera (1,802 hits and 29 years old), but even he seems like a long shot at best.

Date: 12/13/2010
Set By: Brett Favre

While Favre likely wistfully shakes his head when asked if he has heard of Snapchat, he undoubtedly perks up whenever this streak is mentioned. For nearly 19 seasons he could be counted on to take the field and lead the Packers (or whichever other team he was playing for) for better or for worse. The only position that could equal this record is also a quarterback, and it may happen someday given all the rules now protecting QBs. The larger unknown is whether the player can stay effective long enough to play for 19 full seasons.

Date: 1890-1911
Set By: Cy Young

Would you care to know how many pitchers in the history of baseball have started over 749 games? That would be three: Young, Don Sutton, and Nolan Ryan. The active leader in complete games? Roy Halladay with 66. This record is completely ridiculous, because nobody would ever let a pitcher do to his arm what Young did over the course of his 22-year career. He once started 49 games in a season, completing 48 of them. Barbaric.

Date: 1999-2002
Set By: Cael Sanderson

Not only did Cael Sanderson win an insane number of matches on his way to four consecutive NCAA titles, he did it without losing once. Face it, even the best teams and players have bad days. You could just be a little off, maybe carrying a little injury, or even by dumb luck your foot could slip at the wrong time. These things happen. Well, they happen to everyone except Sanderson. This kind of perfection may not ever be seen again, in any sport.

Date: 8/23/2003
Set By: Rickey Henderson

This one may be entirely impossible to catch. Like Pete Rose's hits record, it requires an average season to be absolutely superhuman; even if a player were able to maintain his incredible foot speed throughout his career, he'd still need to average 94 steals a season over a 15-year career to get it done. Do you know how many people have stolen 94 or more bases in a season in MLB history? 29. How many have done it in the last 25 years? None. Quite simply, the de-emphasizing of steals in modern baseball has virtually eliminated any chance this record had of getting broken.

Date: 1938-63
Set By: Archie Moore

Bestowed one of the sport's great nicknames, "The Old Mongoose" fought for longer than pretty much anyone could conceive. Over four different decades he stepped into the ring for an astounding 219 professional bouts, winning 185 of them. The 131 knockouts is particularly staggering because, in this day and age, who is going to fight 131 times? Most guys don't fight more than two or three times in a year. Moore fought 15 times in 1937 alone! You'd think he was probably severely brain damaged, but he actually lived to the ripe old age of 81.

Date: 3/2/1962
Set By: Wilt Chamberlain

It's hard to imagine anyone catching this record, mainly because nobody is this selfish anymore. Unless, of course, you count mid-2000s Kobe Bryant. Kobe did score 55 points in the second half of his 81-point outburst against Toronto in 2006, and he also had 62 points in three quarters against Dallas earlier that year. Now that Kobe is on the downside of his career and has better teammates, he is out of contention. Plus, considering the league average points per game is currently 97.9, we may never see someone break 100 again.

Date: 7/16/1941
Set By: Joe DiMaggio

If you ever wonder why DiMaggio is such a revered figure among baseball purists, it isn't just because he bagged Marilyn Monroe (although we're sure that helps). This streak is nothing short of amazing, and while it seems beatable there's a reason that people always seem to collapse when they get to 30. The pressure and simple luck involved inevitably catches up, ending the streaks before they even get within 20 games of Joe D. In our lifetimes, we're confident we'll never see somebody touch this one.

Date: 1974-2012
Set By: Pat Summitt

To stick around in coaching for 38 years, you have to do a lot right. To never have a losing record in any of those seasons seems impossible. However, for the legendary Pat Summitt, it was no problem at all. Her Lady Vols were consistently one of the best teams in the nation, losing over 10 games in a season only twice in her tenure at Tennessee. Nobody is even close to this record, and given the constant movement of coaches and fickle nature of college athletes in general, nobody ever will be.

Date: 1971-72
Set By: Los Angeles Lakers

This record gets challenged every few years it seems, only what we call a "challenge" can hardly be considered that. The Rockets won 22 in a row in 2008 for the second best mark of all-time, but that's only two-thirds of the way there. Nobody is going to dominate again quite like the Lakers did; they didn't lose for two months and their average margin of victory was 17 points. Even the best teams can have off nights and lose to another good team. While it didn't happen to the Lakers, the odds of anyone replicating such a feat in the modern game are impossibly small.

Date: 10/7/1916
Set By: Georgia Tech Football

If you're a gamer, go ahead and turn on Madden or NCAA Football, turn the skill level all the way down, pick the best team and play against the worst team. See how many points you get. We're guessing you're lucky if you're within 100 of what Georgia Tech did to poor Cumberland University almost 100 years ago. Mind you, this was before the forward pass, which stops the clock on an incompletion. Legend has it that this beat down was revenge for a 22-0 smashing of Tech by Cumberland's baseball team earlier that year. Who was this vengeful coach who threw any sense of sportsmanship to the wind, you wonder? John Heisman. Yes, as in the Heisman Trophy.

Date: 9/20/1998
Set By: Cal Ripken Jr.

When people think of Ripken's record, they immediately think: "Wow, I can't believe he stayed healthy." And it's true, that is pretty amazing. But we say this: We can't believe he was good enough to hold down a starting job for almost 17 years. Not only that, but he was a 19-time All-Star. What are the odds of someone being that good for that long ever again? Teams are so concerned about resting players that few ever get beyond 100 games in a row. The longest current active streak? Prince Fielder with 285. That means he only needs to play a shade under 14.5 more full seasons to catch the "Iron Man." He'd be 43 years old. #nothappening