Sports have become a pinnacle of American entertainment throughout the last two centuries. Of course, when more sports games are played, records are made or broken. So today we are looking at the greatest records in sports history and which are the least likely to be broken.

First, we will look at the NBA. In the 1950s-70s, the Celtics may have had one of the greatest winning NBA teams of all time, a team built by Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, and Sam Jones, who won 11 NBA championships in 14 years, eight consecutively. The longest streak of NBA championships since then was the Chicago Bulls’ two three-peats in the 1990s. 

On the topic of basketball, between 1955 and 1957, the UCONN Huskies women’s basketball team won 145 consecutive victories and have racked up 11 championships.

Just after the NFL’s tenth anniversary, the Chicago Bears had one of the most embarrassing seasons for a football team, finishing their season with seven wins, one loss, and six ties. Granted, it was 1932, and overtime was not yet a thing. Since the introduction of overtime, there have only been five seasons when the NFL had two ties. The Colts were the only team that came close to having a two-tie season in 2022, but ended up losing in the last seconds of overtime.

In 1890, when Major League Baseball was just starting, arguably one of the greatest pitchers, who even has an award named after him, entered the league. Cy Young pitched from 1890 to 1911. Throughout an average major league season, pitchers would pitch the time equivalent to about three complete games. Cy Young had 749 complete games in his career, whereas the second-place pitcher is 110 games behind the record. To put how mind-blowing of a statistic this is into your head, 91.9% of Cy Young’s starts were all complete games. However, in today’s games, there are more relievers, and pitchers are held to pitch counts to keep fresh for the 162-game season.

On the other hand, this record I’m about to talk about is in reaching distance by one of the NHL’s current players. In 1980, Wayne Gretzky made his way up to the NHL. The Edmonton Oilers took a chance on Gretzky after he played on three different teams throughout the 1979 season. You could say it was a good choice because over the next three seasons, Wayne Gretzky racked up 512 points (which is goals and assists combined), and he would eventually leave the Oilers and finish his career in the 1999 NHL with the New York Rangers. Throughout Gretzky’s career, he has obtained 2,857 points in just 19 years in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin is the closest (who is not retired) to breaking the record.

In my opinion, the most unbreakable record is the Celtics eight straight championships. Although it was long ago, in the mid-1900s, it is a true achievement to win that many championships. Without those wins, the Celtics would be in second place by nine wins and they are currently tied for first with 17 NBA championships. The Celtics’ championship wins are so mind-blowing because throughout the two decades, the Celtics won 65% of all of the championships and played in 70% of those championships for those 20 years. If you compare those to other NBA teams, the only team coming close would be the 1990s Chicago Bulls.

In conclusion, the world of sports is full of amazing records that have had fans in awe for decades. From the Boston Celtics’ uncontested 11 NBA championships to the UCONN Huskies’ women’s basketball team’s 145 consecutive victories, these achievements show the pinnacle of athletic success in their respective eras.