The four minute mile.
Brian Laras 375 and 501 in a season
Don Bradman’s entire career
Marciano’s 49/0 record
Nitpick: He wasn’t a great baseball player, though he was at track and football. Made the majors, but was a reserve.
His baseball legacy, IIRC, was driving in the winning run in the Vaughn-Toney double no-hitter
lurker–I’ll give you he wasn’t a baseball all-star or anything. But look at it this way–even in today’s bloated 30 team league, the 25th man on the worst team in the league is one of the 750 best baseball players in the entire world. I think in terms of sheer proficiency, just being able to make it to the Majors is quite an accomplishment.
How about Shackleton, Crean and Wild climbing from one side of South Georgia Island to the other with no maps (the island had not been mapped) , no mountaineering equipment, short rations, and fairly worn down from being trapped in Polar ice for most of the previous summer and winter.
They had to sail 800 miles in a small boat to get from Elephant Island to S. Georgia a few days before the mountain climb. They were some tough cookies.
Survival is an athletic event!
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/football/nfl/legends/ltatdempsey.htm
Here is a picture. Are you implying that hitting a football straight on with a pointed shoe is easier than the blunt shoe Dempsey wore?
I’m of the opinion that his shoe was part of his strength. He didn’t have a ‘mini shoe’ shaped like other kickers. He had a good striking device… he had less chance of hitting off center.
Hitting a football straight is easier when you involve more surface area, as opposed to a narrow front of a shoe.
Soccer style kickers get more control because they hit with a greater surface are than straight ahead kickers.
Dempsey was percieved as having an advantage at the time as well.
Also, “Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints had a club foot. Dempsey was the field goal kicker for the New Orleans Saints. People all over the country and fellow players said it was an unfair advantage. Dempsey had a square toe shoe on his kicking foot. He broke the national football league record for the longest field goal–a long 63 yards at the end of the game to defeat the Detroit Lions. I was in high school then and I kept thinking this was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. It was a victory for the Saints and a very happy Tom Dempsey, smiling ear to ear. I felt good seeing a fellow disabled person perform well at any professional sport.”
As an American cycling fan, I am required to genuflect at the Altar of Armstrong. His accomplishments are incredible, starting with merely surviving. In terms of lifetime achievement, I agree with Tapioca
In terms of sporting accomplishment, though, even Lance recognizes Eddy Merckx’sright to claim the title of greatest cyclist. To use the OP’s criteria of single-season accomplishment, consider the following year, 1974 (parenthetical notes mine):
Most of the accomplishments in that year are impressive by themselves, but to occur in one year is just amazing.
The comment about Mark Spitz winning in different disciplines applies equally to Merckx. Sprinters are usually poor climbers, one-day race specialists usually cannot compete in the 2-3 week Grand Tours, etc. In this one year, Merckx won 2 of the three Grand Tours (no one has won all three in the same year) plus the world championship. Simply amazing.
And Mercks was not a conservative, play-it-safe, wait-for-the-other-guy-to-mess-up racer. He did all this from the front, constantly attacking. No wonder he was nicknamed “the Cannibal”
Wow, what a great thread!! Best read I’ve had in a while.
I agree with whoever said that womens’ records aren’t given much credit. I’m a man however and can’t say that I have much interest in womens’ sports. That’s why when I saw a special on Lynn Hill, she knocked my socks off!! Considered by many to be the best female rock climber in history she holds the world record for free climbing (without the assistance of ropes) The Nose of El Capitan in Yomesite National Park. She climbed this 3000 foot rock face in 1 day (23 hours)!! A world record which has yet to be broken by Man or Woman!!
http://www.girltech.com/Sports/sp_herstory5.html
I think Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing need a mention too.
This won’t come close to the other achievements mentioned (and rightfully so), but I think that Barry Sanders running behind poor offensive lines for years in a tough division was great. He was only 31 when he retired and he had less than 1,000 yards to go before breaking Payton’s record. If Barry hadn’t retired early, he could’ve broken Payton’s record by a few thousand yards.
I know wrestling isn’t popular but how could no one mention Cael Sanderson’s college career. 4 national championships and he remained undefeated. 159-0 i believe. TOP THAT!
Pardon my mistake, Barry had 1,457 yards to go before breaking Payton’s record
For me it was this weekend. My 11 yr old took second in his statewide wrestling tournament and qualified for Top Gun, the national kids wrestling tournament for the best wrestlers from all over and out of the country as well.
I know, I know, only second. But he was on top of his game 100% Sunday, and he never did this well at this huge tournament before. In 5 previous seasons he’s finished fourth at best. Watching him compete is way bettter for me than any pro sports I ever watch. But hey, I’m The Dad.
2nd? Maybe Elway rushing for the touchdown in a Superbowl. That close up of his face showed pure single-minded determination. He was not going to be stopped. Or Lance Armstrong after the surgery. Those two things define athletic competition to me. The “I’m going to succeed and no one is going to stop me” attitude.
Right after he finally lost a match, I remember the commentators saying that no one had even scored a point on him in years, and the only reason he got scored on that time was because the other wrestler was awarded a penalty point.