# Achievable sporting feats we're still waiting to see

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [January 5, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201 "2016-01-05T05:18:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 8

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/141 "2016-01-20T06:37:54Z")

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> [@phreesh](#):
>
> A double hat trick in hockey (6 goals) in one game would be amazing.
> 
> It’s been done before by a handful of players, but none since the 70s.

Mario Lemieux came very close in 1988 when he scored five goals in five different ways (still the only player to do so).

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/142 "2016-01-20T14:22:50Z")

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> [@OldGuy](#):
>
> Of course it’s going to be broken. And this year. By the Phillies.

Good point. They break the record every time they lose a game.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/143 "2016-01-20T14:39:18Z")

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Y’know, I held a world record once, for about a third of a second. I was the youngest person in the world.

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/144 "2016-01-20T17:05:21Z")

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> [@russian\_heel](#):
>
> The 25 inning MLB record for longest game being broken.

The record is 26 innings, and this I believe is extremely unlikely to be broken, because of the limited workload for modern pitchers. Long before 26 innings are reached, one or both teams will run out of pitchers and use position players, which almost always leads to scoring and an early end to the game.

The White Sox and Brewers played a 25-inning game in 1984. One White Sox relief pitcher pitched seven innings (!), and several pitchers on both staffs worked three or four innings. Even so by the end of the game the White Sox had to call on two starting pitchers, to work in between their regular starts.

For the most part, this would not happen today. Managers won’t burn out their pitching staff to that extent just to win one game. More recently, we see position players coming in even in 15- and 16-inning games. I don’t believe any game will ever again make it to 25 innings, ever.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/145 "2016-01-20T17:24:48Z")

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What if it’s the last game of a qualifying series, where if you don’t win, you go home? Keeping your pitchers fresh won’t matter if there’s not another game to keep them fresh for.

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/146 "2016-01-20T17:31:50Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> What if it’s the last game of a qualifying series, where if you don’t win, you go home? Keeping your pitchers fresh won’t matter if there’s not another game to keep them fresh for.

Restricting the set of possible games to walk-off win-or-go-home games raises the odds astronomically. Long games are extremely rare under any circumstances, and the odds against one happening in a win-or-else situation are, well, high. Really high.

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**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/147 "2016-01-20T17:49:18Z")

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My particualr sport is archery flight shooting. We have several different categories and classes of bows that are shot purely for distance. I would say that nearly all of our current records would be relatively easy to break yet may never be broken due to a lack of participation in the sport.

Practice requires large areas of clean flat land for shooting arrows that is becomming harder and harder to gain access to. Most of us don’t practice, we show up for the championships and shoot. We spend a lot of time testing the performance of our bows but there is no substitute for actual practice.

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**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/148 "2016-01-20T21:01:24Z")

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> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#):
>
> The record is 26 innings, and this I believe is extremely unlikely to be broken, because of the limited workload for modern pitchers. Long before 26 innings are reached, one or both teams will run out of pitchers and use position players, which almost always leads to scoring and an early end to the game.

It’s worth noting that the time of game was 3:50! Three complete ballgames in not quite four hours. If that happened today the time of game would be a week and a half.

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**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/149 "2016-10-12T13:58:26Z")

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> [@notfrommensa](#):
>
> Someone shooting 58 in a official PGA Tour round.
> 
> Several 59s have been shot, but no one has shot 58 on the PGA tour.
> 
> It has a reasonable chance of happening this week in Palm Springs or in two weeks at Phoenix.

Bump to say - this actually happened this year! Jim Furyk.

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**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/150 "2016-10-12T15:43:09Z")

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Joining in to say that this is the first one of the predictions that’s actually come true

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/151 "2016-10-12T17:45:19Z")

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0-0 tie after overtime in an NFL regular season game.

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**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achievable-sporting-feats-were-still-waiting-to-see/742201/152 "2016-10-12T18:54:32Z")

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> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> 0-0 tie after overtime in an NFL regular season game.

Ugh, what a crap game. I bet the Browns will be involved…maybe the Lions, too.

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