I was just channel surfing past the national high school dance championships on ESPN, and watched long enough to hear that in the large pom category, Floyd Central high school had a TEN YEAR winning streak (they came in second this year, ending the streak). That’s pretty amazing, considering how many high schools there are in the US, and that the entire team turns over every 4 years at a minimum, and probably less than that.
Granted, (a) it’s not a very prominent competition, and (b) I don’t know how many high schools actually have serious dance programs with aspirations to compete at that level, but still… 10 years in a row national champions is something.
Are there any other similar streaks that people know about?
Yes, she did. That was in 1984. She went 78-2 in singles that year and won the Grand Slam in doubles. And in singles that was kind of a down year for her. She went 90-3 in 1982 (and again in 1986) and 86-1 in 1983. There was a five year stretch where she won about 97% of her matches and lost 14 times total in singles.
So that’s someone who was clearly head and shoulders above the field. The 2007-08 Houston Rockets won 22 games in a row (the third-longest streak in the history of the NBA) even though they didn’t seem to be all that great. They were barely over .500 (24-20) when the streak began, and after 12 wins, they lost Yao Ming, who was arguably their best and least replaceable player. Dikembe Mutombo was playing major minutes for them at center at the age of 42 and I think their other center was Chuck Hayes, who is good but very small for an NBA center. They still managed to win another 10 games. Everything just sort of fell into place for them at the right time. I don’t think it compares to some of these other streaks where a person or team was clearly the best in the world for a long period, but it was remarkable in that you would not have expected this team to do it, especially under those circumstances.
Cherry Creek High School in Denver won 38 consecutive state championships in boys tennis. It ended in 2010. They also won 316 consecutive dual meets during the streak.
Marion Tinsley, 9-time World Checkers champion, finished in undivided first place in every tournament that he played in over a 45-year period. He also won the first Man-Machine World Championship, beating the University of Alberta’s Chinook program 4-2 (with 33 draws). During the 45-year period he lost only seven games, including the two he lost to Chinook.
Australian squash player Heather McKay after 2 losses early in her career remained unbeaten for the next 19 and a bit years. During this time she won the world title or equivalent every year.
Dutch wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer won her last 470 matches from 2003 onward, until her retirement.
