Earlier today ESPN released a controversial list of the 11 most unbreakable records in sports. But while there’s no objective way to rank a record as being unbreakable, there’s one thing ESPN didn’t do: Explain why each record made the list.
So we polled some members of The Spun and Sports Illustrated to find out which records they consider to be the most unbreakable in professional sports.
Here are The Spun’s most unbreakable records in sports as explained by its writers:
Andrew Holleran: Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive MLB games played
Explanation: “I remember being at Camden Yards during the 1995 season and being in awe at how much of a buzz there was inside the park. It was so cool. But given how much rest and “load management” are being prioritized by training staffs these days, no one is ever going to come close to this one.”
Kameron Duncan: Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game MLB hitting streak
Explanation: “The variance in what batters face from day-to-day when it comes to break and velocity is too great for that level of consistency in today’s game.”
Hunter Hodies: Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 NHL points
Explanation: “Just look at how far he is ahead of everyone. It will never be touched.”
Dan Lyons: Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive MLB games played
Explanation: “I can’t imagine a team allowing anyone to get near Ripken, and baseball has changed so much to gear towards power that getting hits in 56 straight games seems like (DiMaggio’s record) may not fall. But I’d probably lean Ripken of the two.”
Matt Audilet: Wilt Chamberlain’s 50.4 PPG in the 1961-62 NBA regular season
Explanation: “It seems like every NBA record these days begins with ‘first player since Wilt Chamberlain.’ But, there’s one Wilt record that will never be topped: 50.4 points per game in a full season. Chamberlain holds four of the top-five spots on the all-time (points per game) list, rivaled only by Elgin Baylor’s 38.3 ppg in the same 1961-62 season. And since the addition of the three-point line in 1979-80, Michael Jordan is the closest player with 37.1 ppg (1986-87).”
Chris Rosvoglou: Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game MLB hitting streak
Explanation: “I feel like today’s generation of hitters are not nearly as consistent when it comes to hitting for average. And the longest streak post-2000 is 38 games so it’s still 18 away from DiMaggio.”
Kevin Parrish Jr: Wilt Chamberlain’s 50.4 PPG in the 1961-62 NBA regular season
Explanation: “I think it’s pretty impossible for anyone to average 50.4 points during the regular season. Michael Jordan, the greatest scorer ever in my opinion, didn’t average more than 37.1 points during a regular season in his career. And that is remarkable in itself. I think for someone to average 50.4 points during the modern era, they would have to take quite a boatload of shots to even come close to that. I don’t think the record ever gets broken.”
Tzvi Machlin: Hakuho Sho’s 45 top division sumo championships
Explanation: “Unlike most other sports, the rules of professional sumo wrestling in Japan have not changed in generations and are more unlikely than any other sport to ever be changed. That’s what makes winning 45 championships (while only a few wrestlers have won more than 15 in the entire history of sport) so impressive. It’s such an unreachable benchmark that the notion of approaching it impossible and the sport will never change to make it easier for someone to do it.”
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As you can see, there’s quite a bit of love for the baseball icons Cal Ripken Jr. and the late-great Joe DiMaggio, along with Wilt Chamberlain and his incredible NBA dominance.
What do you think are the most unbreakable records in sports?
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