BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
1. Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games
Baseball
Likewise, Ripken set his record in the modern era, and that lends it extra credence in the pantheon of sports accomplishments. Lou Gehrig's "Iron Man" record of 2,130 games was widely regarded as "unbreakable," but Ripken not only passed it on September 6, 1995, he also added an extra 500 straight games before he finally decided to take the pressure off and end the streak. That move, on September 20, 1998, brought to a close a remarkable run that had begun over 16 years earlier on May 30, 1982, and that included a string between June 5, 1982, and September 14, 1987, in which Ripken played 8,243 straight innings.
2. Jerry Rice's 22,895 receiving yards
Football
This record, and the one that follows it for top spot, earn their positions by virtue of the fact that they were set quite recently, and yet are still of mythic proportions. In other words, Rice is playing the same style of game as current players, and yet he's so far above and beyond them that his accomplishments can't be touched.
This is the most iron-clad of Rice's records set during his career that began in 1985, although he also holds the records for most catches with 1,549 and touchdowns with 197. The next-closest player is Tim Brown, who is nearly 8,000 yards behind. Even for a young star like Randy Moss to catch Rice, he'd have to average nearly 1,400 yards per year for the next 10 seasons, at which point he'll be 38. Don't count on it.
3. Cy Young's 511 wins
Baseball
Young had the benefit of pitching from 1890 to 1911, an era in which hurlers could finish what they started. He picked up wins by throwing 749 complete games out of 815 starts on his way to setting a record that will undoubtedly never be topped. In 1903, Young got his 365th win, passing Pud Galvin for the record, and proceeded to add nearly 150 more victories for good measure.
4. John Wooden's 88 straight wins
Basketball
Another relic of a bygone era, this record harkens back to when college players stuck around for four years and turned their programs into dynasties. Under the tutelage of the Wizard of Westwood and with Bill Walton leading the way, the UCLA Bruins won 88 straight games -- between two losses to Notre Dame on January 23, 1971 and January 19, 1974 -- a span that included three of the record seven straight NCAA championships won by UCLA from 1967 to 1973.
5. Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point night
Basketball
Like Gretzky's and some of the other records that follow on this list, Wilt's 100 points in a game will not be challenged simply because the sport has changed so much. In an era in which entire teams often struggle to score 100 points in a game, a repeat of what happened on March 2, 1962 isn't likely.
During the game, Chamberlain also set records for most field goals (36), free throws (28 of 32), points in a quarter (31), and points in a half (59), while breaking his own record of 78 points in a game set earlier that season. Incidentally, Wilt also holds another scoring record (20,000) that's unlikely to be broken, but we'll leave that for another article.
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?feature=sports_unbreakablerecords
Baseball
Likewise, Ripken set his record in the modern era, and that lends it extra credence in the pantheon of sports accomplishments. Lou Gehrig's "Iron Man" record of 2,130 games was widely regarded as "unbreakable," but Ripken not only passed it on September 6, 1995, he also added an extra 500 straight games before he finally decided to take the pressure off and end the streak. That move, on September 20, 1998, brought to a close a remarkable run that had begun over 16 years earlier on May 30, 1982, and that included a string between June 5, 1982, and September 14, 1987, in which Ripken played 8,243 straight innings.
2. Jerry Rice's 22,895 receiving yards
Football
This record, and the one that follows it for top spot, earn their positions by virtue of the fact that they were set quite recently, and yet are still of mythic proportions. In other words, Rice is playing the same style of game as current players, and yet he's so far above and beyond them that his accomplishments can't be touched.
This is the most iron-clad of Rice's records set during his career that began in 1985, although he also holds the records for most catches with 1,549 and touchdowns with 197. The next-closest player is Tim Brown, who is nearly 8,000 yards behind. Even for a young star like Randy Moss to catch Rice, he'd have to average nearly 1,400 yards per year for the next 10 seasons, at which point he'll be 38. Don't count on it.
3. Cy Young's 511 wins
Baseball
Young had the benefit of pitching from 1890 to 1911, an era in which hurlers could finish what they started. He picked up wins by throwing 749 complete games out of 815 starts on his way to setting a record that will undoubtedly never be topped. In 1903, Young got his 365th win, passing Pud Galvin for the record, and proceeded to add nearly 150 more victories for good measure.
4. John Wooden's 88 straight wins
Basketball
Another relic of a bygone era, this record harkens back to when college players stuck around for four years and turned their programs into dynasties. Under the tutelage of the Wizard of Westwood and with Bill Walton leading the way, the UCLA Bruins won 88 straight games -- between two losses to Notre Dame on January 23, 1971 and January 19, 1974 -- a span that included three of the record seven straight NCAA championships won by UCLA from 1967 to 1973.
5. Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point night
Basketball
Like Gretzky's and some of the other records that follow on this list, Wilt's 100 points in a game will not be challenged simply because the sport has changed so much. In an era in which entire teams often struggle to score 100 points in a game, a repeat of what happened on March 2, 1962 isn't likely.
During the game, Chamberlain also set records for most field goals (36), free throws (28 of 32), points in a quarter (31), and points in a half (59), while breaking his own record of 78 points in a game set earlier that season. Incidentally, Wilt also holds another scoring record (20,000) that's unlikely to be broken, but we'll leave that for another article.
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?feature=sports_unbreakablerecords
