Unbreakable Sports Records

Records are made to be broken, but in some cases, it’s just not going to happen. This can be due to a number of factors such as shortened career longevity of players/coaches, better competition and changes in sports.

We have comprised a list of sports records that have a snow-cone’s chance in hell of ever being broken.

Record: Most Years Coaching (College Football)

John Gagliardi, Head Coach (1949 – Present)

Gagliardi has been coaching college football since Harry S. Truman was President – 63 years and counting! Gagliardi is the “Winningest coach in college football history” and was the first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006). His records will most likely never be broken (unless The Highlander is looking for a career change). The closest active coach to Gagliardi is Joe Paterno of Penn State at 46 years.

Record: Most Career Wins (Major League Baseball)

Cy Young, Pitcher (1890-1911)

Cy Young, short for “Cyclone Young” (a nickname his competitors gave him) holds the all-time records for career wins (511), innings pitched (7,355), games started (815), and complete games (749). In honor of his accomplishments, baseball created the Cy Young Award for pitching excellence in his honor. Of course, his accolades happened long before black and hispanic players were allowed to play, so the stats are fairly slanted… but it’s still quite the accomplishment. The closest players of our generation to his record for wins were Greg Maddux (355) and Roger Clemens (354) - both have retired.

Record: Most Goals, Assists and Points in a Season/Career (National Hockey League)

Wayne Gretzky, Center (1978-99)

Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky had 92 goals in the 1981-82 season. He also set the records for assists (163) and points (215) in the 1985-86 season. Oh… and we can’t forget to mention he also has the all-time career records in goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). Surprisingly, more teams didn’t try knocking his head off. He was in only 3 fights his entire career.

Record: Most Years Coaching for a Single Team (National Football League)

Tom Landry, Head Coach (1960-88)

Landry became the Dallas Cowboys’ skipper upon their conception in 1960 and didn’t stop for 29 years, winning Super Bowl VI and XII while developing the modern-day 4-3 Defense. In today’s era, Bill Cowher set the “Gold Standard” of coaching longevity with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years, still far from Landry’s mark.

Record: Most Consecutive Games Played (Major League Baseball)

Cal Ripken, Jr., Shortstop/3rd Base (1981-2001)

The “Iron Man” broke Lou Gehrig’s illusive record of 2,130 consecutive games played in 1995, which stood for over 56 years. He then continued the streak until 1998 when he finally took a vacation, crushing the record by playing 2,632 games in a row, a streak lasting over 16 years. No active player is remotely close to this record. I guess they don’t make baseball players like they used to. Wussies.

Record: Most Consecutive Starts by a Quarterback (National Football League)

Brett Favre, Quarterback (1991-2010)

“The Gunslinger” started 297 straight regular-season games, a streak that began in September of 1992 and ended in December of 2010. Peyton Manning had the best shot among active players but it ended recently at 208 consecutive starts. Manning passed the reigns down to his brother Eli, who will have to start every game for the next 12 seasons and still fall short of Favre.

Record: Most PGA Tour Wins in a Year

Byron Nelson, Professional Golfer (1935-46)

“Lord Byron” knocked out 18 wins in one season, dominating the field like no other. Even Tiger Woods in his prime could only muster up 9 wins (half of Nelson’s accomplishment). This is undoubtedly due to course difficulty and the raised level of competition in today’s game… or that hat.

Record: Consecutive Games with a Touchdown Pass (National Football League)

Johnny Unitas, Quarterback (1956-73)

“The Golden Arm” had at least one touchdown pass in 47 straight games starting as a rookie in 1956 and ending in the 11th game of the 1960 season. Brett Favre’s 36-game streak from 2002-04 is the closest since.

Record: Most Wins in a Season (Major League Baseball)

Al Spalding, Pitcher (1871-77)

In 1875, Spalding set the mark at 54 wins in a season, beating his total of 52 from the previous year. Nowadays, players are wimps and pitch about half as much. So, it looks like Albert’s record is safe. Also, you may recognize his name plastered across everything from baseball mitts to basketballs. He was quite the businessman, starting his own sporting equipment company after he was finished sitting down frustrated batters.

Record: Most Points Scored in a Game (National Basketball Association)

Wilt Chamberlain, Center (1959-73)

“Wilt the Stilt” scored 100 points in a single game. The closest player to ever remotely threaten his record was Kobe Bryant with 81. What’s even more impressive is that Chamberlain also claimed to have had sex with over 20,000 women, which if true, makes him the best “scorer” of all-time.

Record: Most Stolen Bases in of All-Time (Major League Baseball)

Ricky Henderson, Left Fielder (1979-2003)

“The Man of Steel” has by far the most stolen bases in MLB history with 1,406. Number two on the list is still 500 off his mark and of all active players, Juan Pierre is closest with 527. Yea, Henderson was THAT good.

Record: Longest Hitting Streak (Major League Baseball)

Joe DiMaggio, Center Fielder (1936-51)

“Joltin Joe” knew how to hit a baseball. He got a hit in 56 straight games, 11 more than the number two player (Willie Keeler, 1896-97). Pete Rose came pretty close, if you call 12 games away as being close. If ol’ “Charlie Hustle” couldn’t do it, it’s not going to happen.