Hard Sports
Several years ago in New York a conversation among friends debated the hardest accomplishment in all of sports. I'm sure the 100 yard dash is the hardest athletic event, but this topic focused on mainstream sports. One person vehemently defended the hole in one in golf as the single most difficult event in all of sports. I find sustained performance over time more difficult than a one-time event and a lucky swing of a club does not seem to me to be the premier sports feat. I posed the perfect game in baseball as the hardest accomplishment, given it takes recording 27 outs in order with over 100 pitches thrown over an hour and a half.
2010 notwithstanding, perfect games are rare. In all MLB history there are only 20 perfect games. Since the National League was founded in 1876 this averages to roughly one perfect game every 6.7 years. In contrast, in 2009 alone there were 36 hole in one shots on the PGA Tour. In fairness I have no idea how many swings these golfers are taking every year, but on an annual basis the perfect game seems a much more remarkable feat than a hole in one.
A more rare event is the fabled 100 point basketball performance. Based on the lop-sided scores of those games this feat really seems a gimmick rather than a sustained effort to pursue victory. Given the clock management available in a basketball game, if a team holds a large lead the only reason to keep shooting is to allow a star player to rack up an unbelievable score. It reeks of poor sportsmanship and this is why it's only been done multiple times in amateur arenas. The one time it happened in the NBA it devolved into a series of fouls specifically seeking to put other shooters on the foul line and conversely to slow the clock down to allow Wilt Chamberlain a chance at the record mark.
If I were a football fan I might have posed 200 yards rushing as the best feat. Certainly a lot of physical effort is involved. The line between 160 and 180 and 200 is not so clear. Nevertheless there have been 100 performances of 200 yards rushing since 1960 so that averages to 2.5 per year. More telling is the fact that not all of those star performances lead to a victory for the team. A monumental effort resulting in a loss cannot be the pinnacle of all sports performances.
A more remarkable achievement I found online is a "golden set" in tennis: set won 6-0 without dropping a single point - 24 consecutive points. This has been done once in professional tennis and since it depends on returning as well as serving I find it an impressive combination of sustained performance, skill, and tenacity. The fact it is not more common surprised me, mostly because the points are not reported in tennis scores so sets of 6-0 look perfect when in actuality virtually all have points scored for both sides.
2010 notwithstanding, perfect games are rare. In all MLB history there are only 20 perfect games. Since the National League was founded in 1876 this averages to roughly one perfect game every 6.7 years. In contrast, in 2009 alone there were 36 hole in one shots on the PGA Tour. In fairness I have no idea how many swings these golfers are taking every year, but on an annual basis the perfect game seems a much more remarkable feat than a hole in one.
A more rare event is the fabled 100 point basketball performance. Based on the lop-sided scores of those games this feat really seems a gimmick rather than a sustained effort to pursue victory. Given the clock management available in a basketball game, if a team holds a large lead the only reason to keep shooting is to allow a star player to rack up an unbelievable score. It reeks of poor sportsmanship and this is why it's only been done multiple times in amateur arenas. The one time it happened in the NBA it devolved into a series of fouls specifically seeking to put other shooters on the foul line and conversely to slow the clock down to allow Wilt Chamberlain a chance at the record mark.
If I were a football fan I might have posed 200 yards rushing as the best feat. Certainly a lot of physical effort is involved. The line between 160 and 180 and 200 is not so clear. Nevertheless there have been 100 performances of 200 yards rushing since 1960 so that averages to 2.5 per year. More telling is the fact that not all of those star performances lead to a victory for the team. A monumental effort resulting in a loss cannot be the pinnacle of all sports performances.
A more remarkable achievement I found online is a "golden set" in tennis: set won 6-0 without dropping a single point - 24 consecutive points. This has been done once in professional tennis and since it depends on returning as well as serving I find it an impressive combination of sustained performance, skill, and tenacity. The fact it is not more common surprised me, mostly because the points are not reported in tennis scores so sets of 6-0 look perfect when in actuality virtually all have points scored for both sides.
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