Top 33 sports streaks article

[DobbsRover2]

Not sure if anyone on the BY brought this up back in late March when the Miami Heat's attempt to break the LA Laker's NBA record 33-game winning streak ended, but ESPN had an article by Doug Williams about his picks for the top 33 streaks in sports history (not including any that required security officials to chase some naked person around a ball field). Things were kind of busy back then, shortly before the Baylor-Louisville game broke, among many other things.

UConn's 90 game streak was #15 on the list, a ways behind #9 for the UCLA men's 88 game streak. However, if you look at this list and rate them by the likelihood of them being broken instead of whatever merits you laud on the accomplishment, I would have to say that I can more easily imagine the 90-game win streak being broken (say by a Husky team in 2015-16) than some of the other listings that are rated further down than UConn, say #22 OK football's 47 consecutive wins or #24 Martina Navratilova's 74 wins in a row. Just awesome achievements all the way around except for maybe #33, the Santa Claus killer.

 

[meyers7]

That #1 is a tough one. 3 no-hitters in a row??? That would be crazy. Only 5 players have ever thrown more than 2 no hitters in their career. Only 4 have thrown 2 in the same season. Ryan only had 7 in 27 years. Yea that one's not gonna happen.

 

[bballnut90]

Penn State volleyball winning 109 in a row (with 3 championships) should definitely be on this list. North Carolina soccer should be much higher IMO-winning 204/205 is simply ridiculous, more deserving than many on this list, although these feats are all pretty astounding.

 

[Icebear]

Did Trinity make it for their consecutive wins in squash?

 

[reno tony]

Alexander Karelin, Greco roman wrestler didn't lose a match in 13 years and didn't give up a point in 6 years. Finally lost to Rulan Gardner in the Olympics gold medal round 1-0.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Trinity is #31. The streak ended last year.

Re the UNC soccer streak, I didn't realize that their only loss in 205 matches was to UConn.

Cael Sanderson was 195-0 in college wrestling. That's a tough one to top.

One of my favorites was Edwin Moses' 10-year streak in the 400 hurdles. That's insanely consistent over a very long time in that sport. If I recall correctly, he had an advantage--he was able to negotiate the distance between hurdles in 1 stride less than everyone else. That sounds a bit like Usain Bolt.

 

[MilfordHusky]

These streaks are very different. Our streak was 2+ seasons. The UNC and Trinity streaks were like a decade. There were no players responsible for more than 4 years worth. Playing every game in football or baseball over 15+ seasons requires amazing durability over a long, long time. Throwing two no-hitters in a row--as freaky as it is--requires brilliance (and luck) only twice in the span of a single week. The element of time, to me, makes those of much longer duration qualitatively different.

 

[Phil]

That #1 is a tough one. 3 no-hitters in a row??? That would be crazy. Only 5 players have ever thrown more than 2 no hitters in their career. Only 4 have thrown 2 in the same season. Ryan only had 7 in 27 years. Yea that one's not gonna happen.

It is a tough one, but not three, which would be astounding. The record is two. The discussion about three was the observation that it extremely unlikely to be beaten, even less likely than the better know consecutive hit streak.

 

[Phil]

Re the UNC soccer streak, I didn't realize that their only loss in 205 matches was to UConn.

I didn't realize that either, fairly cool.

 

[DobbsRover2]

There are many streaks that could be added to the list, and the UConn women's winning streak in NC games of 8 is another of those hard to conceive ones. In soccer, UNC also has an incredible record for both making it to NCs and winning them, but great as they are, the Tar Heels have still lost 3 title games to go with their 21 victories. And of course soccer is a sport where UConn NC history is the opposite of BB's, as the Huskies have dropped their 4 games, and all to UNC.

 

[huskyharry]

That #1 is a tough one. 3 no-hitters in a row??? That would be crazy. Only 5 players have ever thrown more than 2 no hitters in their career. Only 4 have thrown 2 in the same season. Ryan only had 7 in 27 years. Yea that one's not gonna happen.

Yes, but it was also baseball in 1938. There is no comparison athleticism and talent wise. It will never be broken but the original accomplishment should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[meyers7]

It is a tough one, but not three, which would be astounding. The record is two. The discussion about three was the observation that it extremely unlikely to be beaten, even less likely than the better know consecutive hit streak.

Well the article was about breaking the record. So it would be 3 to break the record. Pretty much impossible.

 

[meyers7]

Re the UNC soccer streak, I didn't realize that their only loss in 205 matches was to UConn.

That surprises me that they were all "wins" as opposed to without a loss. Soccer has lot's of ties.

Cael Sanderson was 195-0 in college wrestling. That's a tough one to top.

Yea, it's kinda difficult than to go better than undefeated for a career (college). You can break it if you wrestle more matches but like 40-0, 39-0, pretty much the same thing.

One of my favorites was Edwin Moses' 10-year streak in the 400 hurdles. That's insanely consistent over a very long time in that sport. If I recall correctly, he had an advantage--he was able to negotiate the distance between hurdles in 1 stride less than everyone else. That sounds a bit like Usain Bolt.

I think it was 13 strides. But he could maintain that the whole way, while others I guess had to change stride late in the race as they tired.

 

[meyers7]

Yes, but it was also baseball in 1938. There is no comparison athleticism and talent wise. It will never be broken but the original accomplishment should be taken with a grain of salt.

Well not sure about a grain of salt, but definitely a freak occurrence.

 

[Geno-ista]

Yes, but it was also baseball in 1938. There is no comparison athleticism and talent wise. It will never be broken but the original accomplishment should be taken with a grain of salt.

Husky Harry- I have always figured the records of each era and the athletes stood on there own and were as relevant as any other records and athletes of any other era. Athleticism and talent are relative and obviously always improving. Dominant athletes and teams of their era should not be minimized at all. You could make the case that because there were less teams before large expansions in most major sports , that the talent pool has actually been deleted in the current eras, and therefore the accomplishments in the "old" days carry even more significance! Smaller ball parks, juiced baseballs, longer seasons skews records totally. But dominant teams and players of each era I think command the same respect. Players like Bobby Orr, or a racehorse likeSecretariat, just owned their sport and were beyond being just great, just like most teams and individuals above. We are splitting hairs- and it's great discussion. Our UConn Women continuing to dominate the way we do, is amazing given the fact that the talent pool is so much larger, almost by the year. As I say that, with more great programs competing heavily now for the championship, 15-20 teams, maybe they are diluting the top talent, and making the accomplishment relative tour earlier greatness. All the great recent WBB players that have won zero or one NC - and we just continually compete at such a high level- it's amazing. Now I'm really off track- sorry! Signing off!

 

[DobbsRover2]

A Secretariat or an Affirmed are truly examples of a champion whose accomplishment was put to the strongest tests, but many streaks -- like #33 in the article -- have certain advantages (the other team is trying to lose) that help the record. There are high school football winning streaks in my state that I know will never be touched not because those teams were necessarily even the best teams of their era but simply that they played in the time before a state championship game was set up, and they were just continuously beating up on weak local teams for many years. And as has been noted before, the UCLA men's BB team's record for consecutive NCs came in an era when the Bruins needed to only take two easily winnable games in the West region before heading to the Final Four. They still had to do remarkably well to win 7 straight NCs, an amazing accomplishment in any conditions, but it's almost unthinkable to win even 3 in a row in the conditions for the current MCBB.

 

[Kibitzer]

The linked article and the comments on this thread got me thinking about two sports achievements that in my view are absolutely untouchable (but not "streaks").

One is Cy Young winning over 500 games. Not only untouchable, but not even remotely approachable. (By the way, a great "win-a-drink-at-any-sports-bar trivia question: "Who is the only pitcher to win 20 games/season in both (American/National) leagues yet never won the Cy Young Award?"*

The other is Wilt Chamberlain's record of playing an average of 48+ minutes per game over an 82 game NBA season. Simply unimaginable, and I think he did it the same season he averaged 50 ppg.

*Cy Young, of course.

 

[meyers7]

One is Cy Young winning over 500 games. Not only untouchable, but not even remotely approachable. (By the way, a great "win-a-drink-at-any-sports-bar trivia question: "Who is the only pitcher to win 20 games/season in both (American/National) leagues yet never won the Cy Young Award?"

Agreed, never gonna happen. 25 wins for 20 seasons just to get to 500. Last person to pitch 1 season with >25 wins was Bob Welch (Dodgers/A's) back in 1990.

 

[Phil]

Well the article was about breaking the record. So it would be 3 to break the record. Pretty much impossible.

Ok, my bad, I thought you had misread it.

 

[meyers7]

Ok, my bad, I thought you had misread it.

Moi? Misread?