# Sports records that will not be broken. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485 "2013-01-27T00:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/41 "2013-01-29T00:53:32Z")
One baseball record, even though it was set in the deadball era, is John Owen “Chief” Wilson’s 36 triples in 1912. The reason is that not even in the minors has anyone ever surpassed it. Interesting the record for doubles, 67 by Earl Webb was set in 1931. And neither of them are real prominent records either. In NASCAR, Richard Petty’s 200 wins looks pretty solid. They had more races before the early 1970s and more importantly only about 5 drivers would win back then. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/42 "2013-01-29T01:42:42Z")
I’ll go with 4 for Rickey Henderson: 81 Career Lead Off Home Runs 1,406 Career Stolen Bases 130 Stolen Bases in One Season 2,129 Career unintentional walks You could also throw in most lead home runs in one day (2), but that’s just cheating. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/43 "2013-01-29T01:43:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > In other words even if you extrapolate his stats, he’s still short. And he wasn’t taken out because the game was out of hand or anything. He sat out the first six minutes of the second quarter while the Lakers were losing - that might be the real story; this was a competitive game until near the end. He scored 26 points in the first half (in 18 minutes) followed by 55 in the second half. It looks to me like he really played 42 minutes: he sat out exactly six minutes in the second quarter, and the last 4 seconds of the game. If he’d played the entire game it seems more likely to me that his performance would have tailed off at the end of the second half. I think with the 3 point line coupled with the possibility of multiple OT’s, it’s within reason. It’d be a lot easier than OJ’s 2000+ in 14 games. More out of hand would be the career football records held by Jerry Rice (total/receiving td’s) and Emmit Smith (yards) Beyond that would be the Dimaggio’s and Wilt’s 48.5 mpg. according to my arbitrary gut feeling anyway. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/44 "2013-01-29T01:48:09Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Beyond that would be the Dimaggio’s and Wilt’s 48.5 mpg. Wilt is a Prius? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/45 "2013-01-29T02:05:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > To his credit, this is one record Bill James specifically called out as being a record everyone said couldn’t be broken that he felt could be. And I’d agree Ripken’s record is breakable, too. > > All it requires is that you START a long streak and then just be lucky. One a guy gets close to a thousand games in a row he’s not coming out unless he needs to. Ripken just never needed to; he never broke his hand, or seriously hurt himself in any way. Someone else could get lucky. I don’t think it will ever even come close. Managers just think different now than they did when Ripkin started his streak. Its a meaningless stat. Winning is more important. Giving a player a rest is seen as more important than having him in there every day. The last player to have a long streak was Prince Fielder at 327 games. Even with Ripkin the streak became more important than his play. He could have benefitted by some rest as he got older. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/46 "2013-01-29T02:11:15Z")
Hideki Matsui played something like 1,700 games in a row in Japan and the U.S. It wouldn’t have counted toward Ripken’s record, but if he could do that I don’t see why that record can’t be broken. Ripken’s streak lasted 16 years and ended in 1998 - he broke the record in late 1995 - which means that if someone had started a new streak in 1999 they wouldn’t even have tied him yet. It’s not like that record has stood the test of time in any particular way. Yes, it makes more sense to rest a player than run him out every day for the sake of a consecutive games streak, but that was just as true of Ripken. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/47 "2013-01-29T02:20:42Z")
Sammy Baugh led the league in passing, punting, and interceptions in the same season. Pretty sure that’s never going to happen again. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/48 "2013-01-29T02:39:52Z")
I haven’t seen mention in this thread of Bob Beamon’s Long Jump record. Sure, someone might break it tomorrow, but will anybody else keep it for _45 years!_ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/49 "2013-01-29T02:49:04Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I haven’t seen mention in this thread of Bob Beamon’s Long Jump record. Sure, someone might break it tomorrow, but will anybody else keep it for _45 years!_ It was broken in 1991. Mike Powell has held the record almost as long as Beamon did. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/50 "2013-01-29T03:21:19Z")
Wow! How’d I miss that? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/51 "2013-01-29T04:32:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t think it will ever even come close. Managers just think different now than they did when Ripkin started his streak. Its a meaningless stat. Winning is more important. Giving a player a rest is seen as more important than having him in there every day. The last player to have a long streak was Prince Fielder at 327 games. Even with Ripkin the streak became more important than his play. He could have benefitted by some rest as he got older. I dunno what you’re defining as “the last player to have a long streak” but as recently as the 2000s, Miguel Tejada went over 1000 games. They were willing to run Miguel out there. A player who attains a particularly long streak will eventually exceed the manager’s ability to bench him; there’d be too much pressure from in and out of the organization to safely bench Mr. Star for anything short of a legitimate injury. The same effect that happened with Ripken, as you yourself observe, would happen with anyone who started running up a long streak. Had Tejada not been hurt in 2007, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever they would have kept running him out there every single day (after the injury he played in ALMOST every game for a few more years, but with the streak broken it wasn’t a big deal to give him a day off every six weeks.) ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/52 "2013-01-29T05:02:06Z")
As always, this discussion should include records that are debatable…since, of course, part of the fun is seeing if anyone will challenge the record. Some of my favorites: Most consecutive America’s Cups: 25 I think it says something that this isn’t one of those records you see Americans fixate on that much. It’s an elitist sport to begin with, and the fact that the current Cup holder only has to beat one opponent to keep it takes some of the shine off. No, this can never be challenged, it’s a different world now; _3_ in a row would be an incredible feat. Biggest fourth-round deficit overcome to win a major: 10 strokes Lost in Paul Lawrie’s insane, world-turned-upside-down victory is that for all the unbelievable breaks he caught, he still wouldn’t have won if Justin Leonard hadn’t found the burn on 18 _twice_. This was just one of those magical, once-in-a-lifetime days; it’d be almost sacrilegious if someone were to break this. 6 strokes would be pretty impressive. Longest play: 109 yards There were a number of others who flirted with this magic number (I think someone had a 107 yard return on Monday Night Football just a couple seasons prior). It was probably just a matter of time before someone was in the perfect place at the perfect time against the perfect caught-sleeping kicking team. Since Cromartie caught the ball so far back, this one’s safe even by unofficial part-yard standards. Longest UFC match: 36 minutes, 6 seconds. This would be, of course, the infamous war between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock at UFC 5. The incredible thing was that it was originally slated for 30 minutes and then was extended _three times_. First a 5-minute “overtime” got added, then someone tacked on an extra minute in desperation (hey, those were strange times), then referee John McCarthy for some reason allowed it to run on for six additional seconds before calling it. UFC 5, incidentally, was the first one to have time limits. Most Makuuchi championships: 32 Put Roger Federer into Mike Tyson and you’ll have some idea of how ridiculously dominant Taiho was. He averaged nearly 3 championships _every year_ he was in the top division. The next two dai-yokozuna megastars, Takanohana and Asashoryu, didn’t come close: 22 and 25, respectively. Hakuho has 23 so far, but he came up well short in the recently-concluded January tournament, and how has a serious rival in Harumafuji. He has the best shot at the record, but that it’s stood so long just tells you how much effort, ability, and, yes, luck sustained excellence requires. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/53 "2013-01-29T13:57:59Z")
The way the role of the NFL quarterback is changing I don’t see Favre’s consecutive start record broken any time soon/ ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/54 "2013-01-29T14:13:51Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > It was broken in 1991. > Mike Powell has held the record almost as long as Beamon did. More on Beamon’s record: Beamon held the record for a little less than 23 years (18Oct68 to 30Aug91). Jesse Owens held the record for over 25 years (25May35 to 12Aug60). And Powell’s record is of legal drinking age in the US, having just passed it’s 21st year. I don’t see anyone breaking that in the next few years. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/55 "2013-01-29T14:37:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I haven’t seen mention in this thread of Bob Beamon’s Long Jump record. Sure, someone might break it tomorrow,\*\* but will anybody else keep it for _45 years!_\*\* > [@mcgato](#): > > More on Beamon’s record: > Beamon held the record for a little less than 23 years (18Oct68 to 30Aug91). > Jesse Owens held the record for over 25 years (25May35 to 12Aug60). > > And Powell’s record is of legal drinking age in the US, having just passed it’s 21st year. I don’t see anyone breaking that in the next few years. And **Elmer** was partly right. It’s still the Olympic record. ---
**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 29, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/56 "2013-01-29T15:10:07Z")
Given that managers no longer own baseball teams, I’d say that Connie Mack’s records of 50 consecutive seasons managing one team, and 52 seasons managing in total, are pretty safe. As well as the associated records for games managed, games won, and games lost. I also think it unlikely that anyone else will manage past the age of 87 years, although Jack McKeon seems determined to give that one a run. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/57 "2013-01-29T18:18:38Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > The way the role of the NFL quarterback is changing I don’t see Favre’s consecutive start record broken any time soon/ Well, not any time soon because nobody is close to it right now, but it’s breakable. I’ll echo what I recall Bill James’s argument being about this; it is foolish to think that a person cannot, through determination and luck, beat a record that was set through determination and luck. There’s no reason to believe Brett Favre or Cal Ripken were superhuman. They were tough athletes who got lucky. It is perfectly plausible that another QB or baseball player, who is tough and fit, could get lucky for just one game longer. Records that are TRULY unbreakable are records that were set when the conditions of the game resulted in different statistical standards, like baseball’s various pitching records that defy the ability of a modern pitcher to pitch that much, or Gretzky’s scoring records where he was in on more goals in a year than some \*\*whole teams \*\*score these days. Those records, or Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record, cannot be broken the way those sports are played now because the sports have changed to the point that those statistical benchmarks are too different from what exists now. It isn’t a coincidence that Gretzky piled up all the scoring records exactly at the time that the NHL saw more goals scored overall than it ever has, or that Jack Chesbro won 41 games in a time when pitchers frequency won more than 30. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/58 "2013-01-29T19:02:43Z")
Well put RickJay. Eli Manning’s got the longest active streak at 135 and is 165 starts away from Favre’s mark. It’s difficult, but not insurmountable. Flacco’s at 80. ---
**Author:** ![Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambihelical_Hexnut)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/59 "2013-01-29T21:37:09Z")
Raymond Ceulemans won 21 UMB Three-Cushion Billiards world championships. He won 17 titles in 18 years between 1963 and 1980 (every year except 1974), and then added titles in 1983, 1985, 1990 and 2001 to make him a world champion in five different decades. No other player has ever won more than 4 world championships. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485/60 "2013-01-29T21:57:36Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > The record for most pitching victories in a season is 59\* by [Charlie (Old Hoss) Radbourn](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/radboch01.shtml) in 1884. That mark is now so incredible that it almost seems like something from a tall tale or an ancient legend passed down orally from storyteller to storyteller through the mists of time. This is what I came into the thread to post. Not only a record that won’t be approached; no one’s even gotten to half that record in nearly 45 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-records-that-will-not-be-broken/648485.md?page=4)