Unbreakable Sports Records - Part 2

Mike Powell

Is there such a thing as an unbreakable record? From baseball to basketball, Kidzworld looks at some world sports records that will never be broken.

Unbreakable Records - Longest Jump

Record Holder: Former Olympic long jumper Mike Powell.
Record: 29'4.5"
Reason It's Unbreakable: Since Mike Powell broke Bob Beamon's 23 year-old record by 2.5 inches in 1991, nobody has come close to breaking it. The closest anyone has come close to Mike's long jump record happened in June 2007, when Greek jumper Louis Tsatoumas jumped 28' 4". That's over a foot short! Jumping over 29 feet has only happened three times in history. It doesn't look like there is anybody in the world right now that can come close to catching Mike's absolutely amazing leap!

Unbreakable Records - NBA Scoring Record

Record Holder: Former NBA great Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Record: 38,387 career points.
Reason It's Unbreakable: Kareem averaged over 24 points per game for 20 straight seasons! The obvious choice for current players who can score like that are Tracy McGrady[/KWLINK], Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant - but they can't keep up that pace for 20 years. Guards and forwards break down easier and it's rare for them - or anybody for that matter - to even play 20 years in the NBA, let alone average nearly 25 point per game. Kareem played in an era when there weren't a lot of seven footers (he stood at 7'6"), so it was easy for him to dominate during his playing days.

Unbreakable Records - Most Receiving Yards

Record Holder: Former NFL player Jerry Rice.
Record: 22,895 career receiving yards.
Reason It's Unbreakable: Guys like Jerry Rice come once in a blue moon. In Jerry's 21-year career, he was able to consistently put up big numbers until his final playing days. Not many people can average over 1,400 receiving yards per season in their 30s. Even a young star like the Patriots' Randy Moss would have to average over 1,500 yards per season for the next decade to come close, and by then he'd be close to 40. So it's safe to say this record is not getting touched - at least in this lifetime anyway.

Unbreakable Records - Most Consecutive Games Played

Record Holder: Former baseball player Cal Ripken Jr.
Record: 2,632 consecutive games played.
Reason It's Unbreakable: It took 56 years for someone to break Lou Gehrig's record for 2,130 consecutive games played - and that someone was Cal, who broke the record in 1995. Cal is probably the most durable and consistent athlete in sports history. He played 16 straight years without missing a game! Nowadays, people miss games if they have a headache, so this record probably won't be touched for a long time, if ever!

Related Stories:

Unbreakable Sports Records - Part 1

Record Holding Journeymen

Sports Records You Don't Want to Hold