How Impressive are the Unbreakable Records?
I have devoted this re-blog to the records so many people deem unbreakable. My goal is to rank them mathematically by percentage others have accomplished. The closer the next team or person gets to breaking the record, the higher a percentage of the record they will have gotten; thus the more breakable the record is. (Note: A different player or team is used as the next highest mark. ) There are a lot of records on a multitude of lists and I would hope you would have your own opinion on which ones are harder to break. I am basing mine strictly on the math.
The Indefinable:
551 Consecutive Starts by Glenn Hall (502 regular season and 49 playoff)
Unfortunately, this record has no place on the list. Not because of its lack of importance but because I could not find a second place. It deserves to be mentioned because of the toughness of the achievement. Playing this many games of any sport is an accomplishment. Playing this many games as a goalie with pucks flying by your head on a nightly basis is insane. This record will never be broken. Goalies do not even play full seasons anymore. (The record for games in a season is 79.) And yes, he didn't wear a mask for part of his career.
131 Knock Outs for Archie Moore
With boxing law and concussion worries being what the are; half of this would be amazing. It is not a possible thought for anyone who wants to know about their record in their retirement.
The Great One: Wayne Gretzky
Gretzky deserves his own section because he owns the record books. Some say his scoring marks will never be broken but someone will come close. The game changes in cycles and eventually the right kid will be playing at the right time and records will fall. In the meantime, Wayne holds 61 NHL records (a record in itself). Some of the more impressive marks include:
92 goals in a season (93.5%)
215 Points in a season (92.6%)
51 Consecutive game point streak (90.2%)
50 goals in 39 games (88.6%)
163 Assists in a season (70.0%)
2857 Points in a career (66%)
1963 Assists in a career (More points than anyone else) (63.6%)
Wayne could/should have his own list!
The Best of The Rest
Most Career Hits: 4256 by Pete Rose (98.4%)
This percentage reminds me of hand sanitizer. Killing 99.9% of the Earth's Great White Shark population would pretty much ruin all hope for Jaws. Killing 99.9% of the 2 million bacteria on one person's hands still leaves a lot of bacteria. While the percentage here is high, Pete Rose still has 60 more hits than Ty Kobb.
Most Consecutive Games Played: 2632 by Cal Ripken Jr. (80.9% v 84.2%)
Cal Ripken was a special player. He represented himself with class and dignity every time he took the field. As impressive as this streak was, I still though the man was greater. Ripken breaking Gehrig's mark was a great moment for baseball.
Most Points in One NBA Game: 100 by Wilt Chamberlain (81%)
This one is easy to figure out thanks to the nature of the number. The next highest was Kobe and he did it against the Raptors. Wilt also holds the rebound mark at 55 but this one is less impressive as Mr. Russell had 52 so its just 92.7%.
Most Career Wins by a MLB Pitcher: 511 by Cy Young (81.6% v 69.5%)
This one belongs on the not gonna be broken list as well. Between Tommy John surgery and limited pitch counts and a five man rotation, pitchers do not throw as much as they used to. Nolan Ryan pitched five more seasons than Cy young and had 42 less starts. Young averaged 23.2 wins a season for 22 years, that's a lot of balls!
Most Consecutive Games with a Base Hit: 56 by Joe DeMaggio (80.4%)
I believe this is the most romantic streak on the list. People love to dream about how awesome Joe was and put this record ahead of others. While I believe it is an amazing standard, someone will get there. The great thing about this one is how it can sneak up on you. It's fun when someone gets into the 30s and people start to wonder if they can do it.
Most Career Stolen Bases: 1406 by Rickey Henderson (66.7%)
Mr. I am the greatest of all time did have some speed but not a lot of humility. I think base stealing will be important again someday but this record is safe until then. Even with Kansas City winning the Series playing small ball, base stealing is not what it was.
Most NBA Player Championships: 11 By Bill Russell (90.1% v 63.6%)
Mr. Russell and coach Phil Jackson have the same number of rings but Mr. Russell only played in the NBA for 13 seasons. I am sure his 84.6% championship percentage is also on the list of impressive records. He receives two percentages because second place on the rings list is Sam Jones who also played on the Celtics with Mr. Russell. The next non Celtic is Big Shot Robert Horry with seven. (Opps... was that picture a little big. lol)
Most Consecutive Golf Tournament Wins: 11 By Byron Nelson (63.6%)
A couple of years ago, Tiger went on a great run and won seven in a row. He looked unbeatable! Thus I cannot imagine what the competition was thinking when Nelson won 11. The flaws in this streak are the nature of the wins. The first one was the Miami Four Ball Championship where Nelson and Jug McSpaden won the title. Number eleven was the Canadian Open but the streak was broken at the Memphis Open by amateur Fred Haas. (For the record, Jug McSpaden has vaulted onto my list of favorite sports names.)
Longest Tennis Match: 11 Hours and 5 minutes (63. 5 %)
John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahunt at Wimbledon in 2010. While neither player is a legend, this match was every part of legendary. I feel the winner felt like Honey Roy Palmer after he defeated Hammerhead Hagan only to find out he had another opponent waiting in the wings. Second place was 7 hours and 2 minutes.
Most Consecutive Team Titles: 8 by the Boston Celtics (62.5%)
A couple of other teams have had five but they are not worth mentioning; that's right Hab's fans, I went there. I am sure part of the reason the NBA was slow to take off was the Celtics domination of the Championship. But it's not like this team won the titles easily, they were all earned. They did not have special drafting status like some pro sports teams, like first pick of the French Canadian players, but they were just ahead of the game. Trading the Ice Capades for Bill Russell was just a good business move.
Most Career No-Hitters: 7 by Nolan Ryan (57.1%)
Two pitchers have four no hitters. Nolan's last one came against a loaded Blue Jays squad when he was 44. If didn't hurt that he was a beast in the same more as Gordie Howe and Glen Hall. After the beating he put on Robin Ventura maybe he should have been a hockey player.
Ryan pitched for 27 seasons and was not a knuckle baller. He was also Lloyd's favorite pitcher so he earned some points there.
