San Francisco Giants

8 sports records that will never be broken

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images

Here are eight sports records that will withstand the test of time and never be broken. 

They say records are meant to be broken. While that is true, certain records are far more difficult to break than others. There are several records in sports that simply will never be broken. It will be nothing short of a miracle if they are.

Each of the major sports will get at least one record mentioned. Records people thought to be unbreakable have been broken. But consider yourself blessed if you see anyone even come close to topping these timeless records.

Most of these records are unbreakable because the sport in question has evolved. Whatever the reason, these eight records aren’t ever being broken.

8. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game

Many have come close to duplicating or topping Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. However, scoring 100 points in a single game is mind-boggling to this day. Even after seeing Kobe Bryant’s 81 point effort, Chamberlain’s record still appears unbreakable. Before Bryant dropped 81 on the poor Toronto Raptors in 2006, the last person to get more than 70 was David Robinson in 1994. Before that? David Thompson in 1978.

The mere thought of someone dominating enough to get 100 points is ridiculous. Steph Curry would have to hit 34 three-pointers to break Chamberlain’s record. Even if you factor in free throws, let’s say Curry gets 20, that’s still 27 three-pointers. Kobe attempted 46 field goals during his epic evening and made 28 of them. Imagine someone being even more dominant (and perhaps selfish) than that.

With stars resting at the first hint of a blowout, 100 points becomes even more unreachable. Chamberlain was able to score 100 points because at the time, he was as unstoppable as any player to step on a basketball court.

Someone would have to have an extremely historic evening to break what might be basketball’s most unbreakable single game record.

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images

7. Most Sacks In A Single Game

In 1990, Thomas was merciless towards Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg, sending him to the turf seven times. People have come dangerously close to topping the late Derrick Thomas’ record for most sacks in a single game. New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora had six in a game in 2007. Aldon Smith had 5.5 sacks in a game in 2012. Those are the only two other than Thomas himself to come within even 1.5 sacks of his record.

To be fair, there is one factor working to the advantage of pass rushers that makes this record slightly less than impossible to break. The NFL is a passing league. Teams are passing now more than they ever have. That gives rushers more opportunities to get sacks.

Still, the dominance required to sack a quarterback seven times just seems impossible. Teams assign two blockers to guys like J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack. Those gentlemen could beat a guy seven times to sack the quarterback in a game. Too bad they’ll have to beat two guys seven times in order to best Thomas’ record. Thomas has one of the most unbreakable records in sports because of that.

His record is at least plausible to beat. But it would still require one of the greatest efforts in the history of sports to beat.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

6. Most Career Home Runs

It is worth mentioning that at one time, Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs was seen as one of the most unbreakable records in sports. At one point, Babe Ruth’s 715 appeared an unbeatable mark. However, Barry Bonds took it to another level with 762 career home runs. It matters not if he did it clean. What matters is that someone is going to have to hit 763 home runs in order to top him.

Let’s break it down. In order to hit 763 home runs, a player must average 40 home runs a season for 19 seasons. If they average exactly 30 home runs a season, they must do it for 25 seasons and hit 13 more. Even if a player averaged just 25 home runs a season? Assuming they started at the age of 20, they’d have to play until the age of 50 to break it.

Even those who seem like they will break one of the most famous records in sports fall short. It was all but a formality that Alex Rodriguez would break Bonds’ record. A year long PED suspension and injuries caused him to fall short with 696. Ken Griffey Jr. faced injuries. Had he not, he could have feasibly finished with somewhere around 763 home runs. But he finished with 630 home runs.

It appears that Bonds’ record could prove to be unbreakable.

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

5. 90 Straight Wins

When the UCLA Bruins’ men’s basketball team won 88 straight games in the 1970’s, everyone saw that record as unbreakable. Someone forgot to tell the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team because they won 90 straight. Ironically, this record might be beaten by, you guessed it, the Huskies themselves. They are currently at 75 straight wins since 2014.

Let’s say that the Huskies don’t break their own record. Can anyone (other than the Huskies) even come close to touching that mark? Probably not. Basketball is a funny game. Sometimes the best team doesn’t win. That’s what makes basketball such a magical sport. On any given night, the best team in the world can have a terrible night. The worst team in the world can have a perfect night. Just think, the Huskies had bad nights during their 90 game win streak and they still found ways to win.

How does Connecticut do it? They have arguably the most brilliant coach in women’s basketball history. Geno Auriemma is a master recruiter and obsesses over basketball the way that Bill Belichick obsesses over football. He knows his players better than they know themselves and he consistently puts them in situations where they will have success.

Good luck topping the most impressive winning streak in the history of sports.

Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell/Getty Images

4. Career NBA Scoring Record

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished his stellar NBA career with 38,387 points. What makes his record even more impressive is that his career field goal percentage is 55.9 percent. Compare that to Kobe Bryant, who is second on the all-time scoring list. Kobe’s career field goal percentage? 44.7 percent.

The Black Mamba had a great chance of beating Abdul-Jabbar’s record, but injuries killed that chance. LeBron James is on pace to at least make it pretty darn interesting. His career points per game average is 27.2 while Abdul-Jabbar’s is 24.6. LeBron obviously has a chance. But remember, the same thing was said about Kobe. LeBron is one significant injury away from not having a chance. And even if LeBron stays healthy, he’s going to have to continue to be productive for the next seven seasons. He turns 31, so that’s far from a guarantee.

In order to beat Abdul-Jabbar’s record, a player has to not only be a prolific scorer. They have to do it for at least 15 years. Let’s say a player averages Steph Curry’s 30.1 points per game over his career. That would take nearly 13 seasons to top Abdul-Jabbar’s record. But rarely do players end up averaging 30 points a game over an extended period of time.

If LeBron doesn’t break Abdul-Jabbar’s record, it could be a very long time before anyone tops one of the most impressive records in all of sports.

Mandatory Credit: B Bennett/Getty Images

3. Career NHL Points Record

Wayne Gretzky didn’t just beat Gordie Howe’s career point total of 1,850. He shattered it and took it to an impossible to reach level. By the time Gretzky’s career was over, he had 2,857 points. The closest person right now to his record? Former teammate Mark Messier (1,887 points). Even the ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr (1,868) is 10 100 point seasons away from breaking Gretzky’s record.

Will anyone break Gretzky’s record? Let’s see just how impossible that lofty points record will be to break. Say someone averages 106 points per season like Patrick Kane did in 2015-16. They’d have to average 106 points per season for over 26 seasons in order to break Gretzky’s record. Since the 2004-05 lockout, Joe Thornton has the highest single season point total with 125 in 2005-06. If a player averages 125 points per season, it would take them over 22 seasons to break Gretzky’s record.

Gretzky’s record is even more unbreakable once one takes into consideration how much the game of hockey has changed. He played in the 1980’s, when scoring was the norm. Scoring is much harder now than it was 30 years ago. Gretzky’s goal record will be very tough to break as well. But at least Alex Ovechkin has an outside chance of breaking it. Nobody is even close to Gretzky’s record. It’s likely that no one will ever break the most impressive points record in sports.

Mandatory Credit: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images

2. Cy Young’s Win Record

For a variety of reasons, it is unfathomable that any pitcher from here on out is going to come close to topping Cy Young’s 511 career wins. Even Walter Johnson fell short by nearly 100 wins. The only pitchers of the last 30 years to even get half of Young’s wins total are Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite, and Jamie Moyer.

Why is Young’s wins record arguably the most unbreakable record in sports? Because nobody pitches enough to get close to that win total. It’s impressive if a starting pitcher gets 20 wins in a single season. A pitcher has to average 20 wins per season for 26 years in order to break Young’s record. Pitchers only pitch in at most 35 games a year. So in order to win 20 games, a pitcher has to record a win in 57 percent of their starts.

Young set the record by pitching in a lot of games over 22 seasons. He has several other unbreakable records as well. But no record of his is more impressive than his wins record. Young also won a lot of games because he threw a lot of complete games. Today’s pitchers have their bullpens blow leads. Over 90 percent of Young’s career starts were complete games.

Mandatory Credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images

1. Cal Ripken Jr’s Consecutive Games Streak

It’s hard to imagine somebody going to work everyday for 16 years. But that is precisely what Cal Ripken Jr. did by not missing a game from May 29, 1982 to Sept. 20, 1998. Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games. For a variety of reasons, it is the most unbreakable record in all of sports.

First of all, baseball players today are given days off. Injuries happen so teams are very conservative with their stars. Manny Machado of the Orioles was the only MLB player to not miss a single game in 2015. Ripken did that for 15 consecutive seasons.

Secondly, as stated earlier, injuries happen. Players today are more athletic and muscular than in previous years. More muscles means more opportunities for cramps, pulls, strains, and sprains. Even the designated hitter role hasn’t really helped players not miss games.

At one point, Prince Fielder held the active consecutive games streak. Tragically, neck issues forced him to retire. That makes Ripken’s record even more impressive. He might have been lucky, but he avoided injury for such a long period of time, you can’t help but tip your cap. Ripken played each of his 2,632 games at either shortstop or third base, two of the most demanding positions on the baseball diamond.

It will be phenomenal if anyone tops the most impressive record in sports. Though it is worth noting that everyone believed that Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 consecutive games would never be touched. So perhaps records are meant to be broken.

More from FanSided

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from San Francisco Giants Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

San Francisco Giants

Baltimore Orioles

New York Yankees

Major League Baseball