CAL RIPKEN, JR.
Nobody expected Lou Gehrig’s record to be shattered. It had stood up to generations of baseball players without succumbing. His record for consecutive games played is 2,130, and it has stood for 56 years.
CAL RIPKEN, JR.
Then there was Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., dubbed “The Iron Man.” On Sept. 6, 1996, the Angels faced the Orioles, and the two-time (AL) MVP is featured in this photograph. He jogs around the crowd, which has gathered to congratulate him on breaking Gehrig’s record by 502 games.
Oscar Robertson The Offender
1961-62 was a wild year for the NBA. The defense virtually vanished, and the number of possessions per game for each team skyrocketed. Almost no one benefited more from this offensive renaissance than Wilt Chamberlain. Unless, of course, you’re Oscar Robertson. The fact that the team’s points per game average that year (118.8) was the highest in league history aided his triple-double average.
Oscar Robertson The Offender
Of course, we’ll never see such a low emphasis on defense again, so the chances of a player being able to maintain that level of production for an entire season are nil.
