The Most "Unbreakable" Records in Sports

Baseball
Baseball is a game of history. To some fans, statistical records mean more than world series championships. For years, Babe Ruth's home run record seemed untouchable, until Hank Aaron came along. Then, even that record was shattered with the advent of the steroid era. If you took a poll at ballparks around the country, most fans would probably mention DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak or Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games played as the least likely records to fall. While those certainly deserve mention, there is one record that stands above them all. From 1890 to 1911, Denton "Cy" Young won 511 games as a major league pitcher. Of course, Young also lost 316 career games, another unbreakable record. In the modern day baseball era of relief specialists, setup men and closers, an elite pitcher is lucky to ever reach 20 wins in a single season. By comparison, it would take a pitcher 26 seasons of 20 wins or 21 seasons of 25 wins to eclipse Young's all-time win mark.

Basketball
Wilt Chamberlain holds the two most impressive records in NBA history, neither of which is likely to be broken. Chamberlain recorded 100 points in a single game during the 1962 season. Equally as impressive was the 55 rebounds he recorded in a single game just two years before. Chamberlain was one of the first true giants of basketball. He had very few players that rivaled him in height, unlike the NBA of today which is littered with seven-footers. With today's parity in size and athleticism, Chamberlain's accomplishments seem fairly safe among the sport's elite records.

Football
Careers in the NFL are often shortened or abruptly ended by injury. Despite playing one of the most dangerous positions in the game, Jerry Rice served as the NFL's model of consistency for 20 seasons. In 303 career games, Rice amassed 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards. Neither record is likely to be broken. In addition to Rice's incredible talents, he also had the benefit of catching passes from one of the NFL's all-time greatest quarterbacks in Joe Montana, and his not too shabby understudy, Steve Young. Rice's individual season accomplishments may fall one-by-one to NFL superstars, but the likelihood that his career efforts are ever matched is next to none.

Hockey
There is a reason that Wayne Gretzky was nicknamed "The Great One." During the mid-1980s, Gretzky put together some of the most incredible seasons that hockey has ever seen. As a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky scored 92 goals during the 1982-1983 season. The closest challenge to Gretzky's record was Gretzky's own attempt in 1984-1985, in which he scored 87 goals. By comparison, Sidney Crosby, one of the NHL's premier scorers and leader for the 2009-2010 regular season, put only 51 shots into the net this season. Perhaps even more stunning than Gretzky's goal record is that he shared his success with his teammates as well. In 1985-1986, Gretzky put together a 215 point season, far exceeding even the noblest competition. His season included only 52 goals, but were accompanied by an astonishing 163 assists; 49 more than any other player in history.

Unbreakable Sports Records, Incredible Records,The World Almanac

Hockey Records and Rankings, NHL Records,Hockey Hall of Fame

Cy Young, Cy Young Statistics,Baseball Reference

NFL Records, Receiver Records,NFL.com

Jerry Rice Profile, Jerry Rice Career,NFL.com

NHL Leaders, Player Stats 2009-2010,NHL.com