Hi, What's the greatest record in any sport? Perhaps I'm biased as an Australian, but I can't see any contender to Sir Donald Bradman's test 99.94 run average. To put this in perspective, the next closest test run average is Steve Smith with 63.24. This would be like someone beating Michael Jordan's 30.24 PPG career average with a 47.8 PPG career average. Or shooting 158 points in a game to beat Wilt Chamberlain's record. Or someone winning 31 grand slams to best Federer's 20. I also like that he didn't get the 100 average, he was 4 runs short. It leaves the record open, though it is highly unlikely it will ever be broken. Any suggestions?
Snooker is a brilliant sport which unfortunately does not provide much opportunity for sport destroying records. You hit a 147 break and you've shot perfection, you can't get much better. It'd be like if cricket had a rule that all test batsmen retired at their century.
I was just making a silly pun between record: a sporting achievement and record: a musical recording, which I realise a) may not translate around the world and b) really dates me. It's still a fun little song though.
I've got another great record! Only one male player has ever achieved a calendar year grand slam in the open era. That is, winning all 4 tennis grand slam championships one year. Rod Laver, another great Australian sportsman. And he did it twice! Once in the amatuer era, once in the (current) open era. It's a unique record and extremely difficult to do. Rafael Nadal famously won the French Open, US Open, and Wimbeldon, but dropped out of the Australian Open that year due to knee injury. I still feel that a 100 test batting average will simply never be equaled, and while two calendar year grand slams is unprecedented, it is within the realm of possibility for greats in the sport - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have all won 3 grand slams in a year - Federer 3 times. The best test batsmen in 70 years have pleataued in the 50s for batting average, a select few get into the 60s. That still leaves 50% to improve.
Joe Dimaggio's 54 game hitting streak. The single hardest thing to do in all sport is hit a baseball. It comes at you as a fastball a slider, a sinker, off speed, curve ball, knuckleball, spitter, you never know which one and it you are good enough to make contact, there are 9 guys whose job it is after you hit it to make sure you are not successful. Most games you only get 4 attempts. Not to mention over the course of multiple games you have travel, different start times, different lighting, different backgrounds, different umpires some that may even be so bad they take the bat out of you hands calling off the plate pitches strikes. Deal with all of that and get a hit in 55 straight games against major league pitchers to break the record. I believe it is one record that never gets broken.
Usain Bolt. 3x100m Olympic golds 3x200m Olympic golds World and Olympic records at both distances. 11x World champion (6x200m + 5x100m) No one has ever dominated sprinting like Bolt.
2 footballing records that I can't see ever being broken are: Alan Shearer's 260 Premier League goals. That's 13 years of scoring 20 goals a season in the best footballing league in the world. Unreal longevity. Cristiano Ronaldo's currently record of 94 international goals, he will hit 100 by the time he retires and that is just insane. I wouldn't have either of these down as the most impressive sporting achievement of all time but certainly are top tier records within Football/Soccer. I would probably opt for Phelps' Olympic record. Bradman's test average is pretty incredible though! (Not bitter about the ashes at all by the way).
I was surprised that no one mentioned Serena who has 23 major tiles, eclipsing the men... Or Tiger Woods epic run of wins during his career... One hopes that their accomplishments might also deserve some mention....
The new 16 yo girl may very well surpass Serena. As for Tiger, that is an accomplishment that will be tough to beat. But he shows how hard it is to be the best and be consistently healthy for as long of a stretch as Cal Ripken Jr. Imagine Tigers wins if he didn't get hurt.
Of course neither of the things that you mentioned are "records". Margaret Court has 24 Majors and Jack Nicklaus has more Majors than Tiger. Just saying.
Arizona Cardinals future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has caught a pass from 21 different starting quarterbacks all while playing for only one team. That's a lot of different QB's especially for Fitz being in his 16th season. Imagine if Fitz had a Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing him the ball for his entire career like Jerry Rice. He would own every single NFL receiving record. The Arizona Cardinals 21 starting QB's since '04 that Fitzgerald has caught a pass from. Kurt Warner Carson Palmer Josh McCown Derek Anderson Brian Hoyer Matt Leinart Blaine Gabbert Drew Stanton Kevin Kolb Matt Barkley Mike Glennon Tim Hasselbeck John Skelton Brett Hundley Brian St Pierre Logan Thomas Josh Rosen Kyler Murray Max Hall Richard Bartel John Navarre
147 is beatable in Snooker. If you start from an opponent's foul giving you a free ball it is possible to add 8 points to 147 = 155 total break.
IMO, Gretzky is the GOAT in hockey, then Mario Lemieux. Howe and others played in an era with really slow defenses and out of shape goalies. In the Gretzky/Lemieux era, that's when everyone was agile, in shape, and FAST.
Don't tell that to Yvan Cornoyer, Maurice Richard, Frank Mahovlich, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Hull or Bobby Orr!
That brings up a debate, the same year Ted Williams hit .406, the last player to hit .400. Most likely neither record will ever be reached, 54 games or another hitting .400. Joe won the MVP that year. Another record, team, is no team will ever win 5 consecutive world series either. 1949-53 New York Yankees. Amazingly after a years absent, 1954, the Yankees were back in the world series another 4 straight years. They followed that up taking a break in 1959, then 5 more straight world series. 14 world series appearances in 16 years. They won 9 of the 14. In major sports, I can't see any team winning their championship five straight times. Super Bowl, NBA, NHL.
In August 1986 Mundus and Donnie Braddick, using 150 pound test line, the pair reeled in a 3,427 pound Great White Shark, the largest fish ever caught by rod and reel.
Well, there's Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 made in 5 mins and 8 seconds. That's going to be a hard one to beat. Ronnie also holds the record for the most maximum breaks scored in competitions at 15. Also, the rocket holds the record for the most century breaks and is the only player ever to score over a thousand centuries. Next nearest is 775.
