Records Are Meant To Be Broken

[braumeister]

Wow, that's really cool! From what I've read he was almost the perfect athlete... his size, he could bench between 500-600 lb, I think a 6'6" high jump (I saw a basketball picture of him in midair where it looked like he could touch the top of the backboard... I think around a 48" vertical)... plus he was a track star as well (both sprinting and distance).

Also a genuinely nice guy. When I was on the UCLA faculty, he would occasionally walk into the office and say "I need someone to play handball with. Who's up for it?"
Well, who wouldn't be?

 

[JoeWras]

Gretzky is still the more balanced scorer. Ovie has a lot of skills too, but he also has this "one weird trick" that is his specialty where he hangs out above the face off dot during a power play and uses his incredible one-timer shot to score. He would play the full two minutes because he literally didn't skate around. (Other players have to change out due to fatigue.) The shot is nearly unstoppable, and he is truly a master of it like nobody else. As a fan of the Hurricanes, I hated this, while also admiring it. I saw a lot of games live during his prime and watching him do this was both amazing and disheartening.

Ovie also benefits from 3 on 3 overtime. Gretzky didn't have that. That rule came to be nearly 20 years ago, just in time for Ovie.

The Oilers (Gretzky's team) would intentionally goad other teams into penalties where both teams got penalized and the 2 players came off the ice, giving a 4 on 4 or 3 on 3 situation to open up the ice for Gretz. Today, there have been various changes in the rules that make intentionally creating that less likely.

The upshot? The rules changes slightly benefit Ovie. However, Ovie has to deal with the incredible improvement of goal tending and larger goalie equipment since Gretzky's time. You watch the old films and the goalies look tiny, and they play a different style that is easier to exploit.

In the end, both are incredible players.

 

[mistermike40]

Since we're talking about Ovie and Gretzky's goal-scoring feats, we should at least mention Mike Bossy. He still leads in goals scored per game, and scored almost 600 goals in only 10 seasons (and had just turned 30 years old). He scored over 50 goals every year he played except his last (in which his career was cut short due to a back injury). And in his last (abbreviated) season he still scored almost 40 goals.

Sports are filled with "what ifs", but if Bossy had stayed healthy he would've scored many more goals than anyone else. The league's most elite sniper ever.

 

[JoeWras]

Sports are filled with "what ifs", but if Bossy had stayed healthy he would've scored many more goals than anyone else. The league's most elite sniper ever.

Yeah. Also for NHL defense, Bobby Orr comes to mind. An incredible career cut short.

For the NFL, I think Gale Sayers. Incredible career, but just like Bobby Orr, those damn knees.

 

[Dtail]

Yeah. Also for NHL defense, Bobby Orr comes to mind. An incredible career cut short.

For the NFL, I think Gale Sayers. Incredible career, but just like Bobby Orr, those damn knees.

Loved seeing the tapes of Sayers. He would have been something like Barry Sanders.

 

[Dtail]

Since we're talking about Ovie and Gretzky's goal-scoring feats, we should at least mention Mike Bossy. He still leads in goals scored per game, and scored almost 600 goals in only 10 seasons (and had just turned 30 years old). He scored over 50 goals every year he played except his last (in which his career was cut short due to a back injury). And in his last (abbreviated) season he still scored almost 40 goals.

Sports are filled with "what ifs", but if Bossy had stayed healthy he would've scored many more goals than anyone else. The league's most elite sniper ever.

Yup would have had a chance at the all time goals record.

 

[FI FELLOW]

Have to second Cy Young. 511 wins as a pitcher boggles the mind. If you win 20 games every year, for 25 straight years, you'll still be 11 wins short!

 

[Gumby]

In terms of records, Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak MLB record will be tough to break, given how specialized pitching has become. No one has come closer than 44 in the modern era, or 45 all time (fun fact, after the game that ended that streak, he had a 16 game hitting streak).
.....

I suspect no one will ever top Ted Williams' lifetime On Base Percentage record (0.4817).

 

[gayl]

Know nothing about hockey but --
NBA all-time 3-point leaders

• Stephen Curry, 4,000
• James Harden, 3,124
• Ray Allen, 2,974
• Damian Lillard, 2,794
• Klay Thompson, 2,667 (missing splash brother)
• Reggie Miller, 2,560
• LeBron James, 2,542

But Steph is still below his coach's % (Steve Kerr 45.4%, Steph just 42.4%)

 

[Texas Proud]

Have to second Cy Young. 511 wins as a pitcher boggles the mind. If you win 20 games every year, for 25 straight years, you'll still be 11 wins short!

Yea... but he was starting over 40 games a year for like 15 years... and a high of 55..

OHHH, what about his 749 complete games You do not get that by all of baseball in a few years...

Just looked... a total of 14 by ALL teams 2020.... 33 in 21... even a few years back it was less than 200 a year...

 

[jollystomper]

Know nothing about hockey but --
NBA all-time 3-point leaders

• Stephen Curry, 4,000
• James Harden, 3,124
• Ray Allen, 2,974
• Damian Lillard, 2,794
• Klay Thompson, 2,667 (missing splash brother)
• Reggie Miller, 2,560
• LeBron James, 2,542

But Steph is still below his coach's % (Steve Kerr 45.4%, Steph just 42.4%)

This record had me thinking about the history of 3 point shooting in the NBA, and my nerd mind went to look for data regarding the trend. I found a site with historical NBA stats nicely available for download (NBA Stats (1947-present)) and extracted data on 3 point shots attempted and made since the 1979-1980 NBA season (when the 3 point shot became a permanent fixture). I have attached a chart showing the trend. It is easy to see the huge jump over the years in three point shots attempted. 3 point shots made has risen but not as rapidly, remaining roughly in the 34-36% range as a percentage of free throw attempts.

The three point shot was adopted across all of college basketball in 1986-1987, and internationally in 1986-1987. Given is rapidly growing use, coupled with what some feel is a decline in basketball defensive skills - or maybe because the 3 pointer is harder to defend - Curry's record might not be all that unbreakable in the future, as the use of 3 point shots becomes even more prevalent. But that is just my theory .

 

[Music Lover]

It's not a record but I doubt that baseball will ever see another one-handed ball player like Jim Abbott. He pitched for 10 years and even got 2 hits in 21 at bats.

 

[Gumby]

It's not a record but I doubt that baseball will ever see another one-handed ball player like Jim Abbott. He pitched for 10 years and even got 2 hits in 21 at bats.

In June 1991, I watched him start for the Angels in Fenway Park. It is a testament to dedication and hard work that he overcame his lack of a right hand. Roger Clemens pitched for the Red Socks that day.