Lee Clark’s side passed the previous Football League record
of 42 but could go only one game further before they were beaten 2-0 by League
One leaders Charlton.
With the run now at an end, we take a look at some other
outstanding streaks in the world of sport, and some that you may have missed...
American Samoa, 17 year losing streak
The lowest team in Fifa’s world rankings ended a run of 30
defeats last week when they beat Tonga 2-1. It was the small
nation’s first victory for 17 years.
Caltech basketball
team, 26 year losing streak
The Caltech men’s
basketball team ended a 26-year losing streak that had spanned 310 games when
they beat Occidental 46-45 in February this year. The team play in the Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Cal Ripken, Junior,
2,632 consecutive games
Ripken spent his entire 21-year baseball career at
Barlitmore Orioles, and the moment he passed the 56-year-old record of 2,131
games was later voted the ‘Most Memorable Moment’ is MLB history.
Martina Navratilova,
74 match winning streak
Martina Navratilova is quite simply the greatest women’s
player to ever pick up a tennis racket. The Czechoslovakian won 18
Grand Slam singles titles in her career, along the way setting a record of 74
matches undefeated. Across her long career, she went 17 straight years with a
Grand Slam victory, either in singles, doubles or mixed-doubles.
Lance Armstrong,
seven Tour de France titles in a row
Lance Armstrong won seven-straight Tour de France titles
between 1999 and 2005, a remarkable achievement that was made all the more
incredible due to the serious health issues the American cyclist had suffered.
Gambler, 26 bet
winning streak
An anonymous gambler was on a 26 bet winning streak. Placing
large bets on likely outcomes, the 33-year-old turned £8,500 into £161,000. He
announced his last stake would be placed on Novak Djokovic (who was on a 43
match winning streak of his own) to beat Roger Federer at the 2011 French Open.
Djokovic lost and the anonymous gambler threw £120,000 away. Yet the gambler
was still up on his original stake and, according to William Hill, had set a
world record for the longest winning sequence of bets.
Chris Dudley, 13
straight missed free throws
The NBA journeyman set an NBA record in 1990, proving that
13 is indeed unlucky for some.
Michael Williams, 97
straight free throws made
In contrast to Chris, Michael Williams made free-throwing
look easy – shooting 97 in a row in 1993 to claim the NBA record.
Arsenal's 49-game win
streak,
Between 7 May 2003 and 16 October 2004 Arsenal were
unbeatable, going 49 league games without defeat and with it setting a record
for the longest streak since the Football League began. The previous record of
42, which has now been surpassed by Huddersfield, had been set by Nottingham Forest in the late 70s.
Roger Federer, 23
consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearances
Among a multitude of records that have seen Roger Federer
labelled the greatest player of all time, it is his 23 consecutive Grand Slam
semi-finals, spanning a period of five-and-a-half-years the demonstrate his
consistency and sheer brilliance.
Edwin Moses, 122
straight hurdle wins
While setting the world record in the 400 metre hurdles on four occasions and
winning the Olympic gold medal twice, Edwin Moses won an incredible 122 races
in a row over a period that spanned nearly a decade between 1977 and 1987.
Wilt Chamberlain, 126
games over 20 points
Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain went through an
incredible 126 games scoring 20 points or more. The four-time MVP also holds
the record for more most consecutive 30+ points games, 40+ points games and 50+
points games.
Paul the Psychic
Octopus, eight game predicting run
Paul the Psychic Octopus was busy predicting games during
Euro 2008 but he became a worldwide phenomenon during the 2010 World Cup. The
eight legged sea creature correctly predicted the winner of Germany’s seven matches at the tournament as
well as the outcome of the final, which was won by Spain.
Home run catches,
three catches
A 17-year-old Baltimore fan was thrust
into the national spotlight after he caught a home run ball in three straight Orioles
matches during August of this year. After catching the balls in the left field bleachers of Camden Yards and
with luck clearly on his side, Tim Anderson said if he were old enough, he
would have bought a lottery ticket.
Esther Vergeer,
Wheelchair Tennis
Since 2003, Esther Vergeer has 413 consecutive wins. The 29-year-old from the Netherlands
won 37 Grand Slam singles titles and five titles at the Paralympic Games,
including the doubles competition. It is considered the most dominant
professional sporting achievement of all time.
Jim Rome,
interviewing 20 people called Rex
Jim Rome is a sports radio talk show host in the United States.
On his regular weekday broadcast in 2009, he interviewed at least one person named "Rex"
for 20 straight shows.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, 39 consecutive cuts
With 18 titles to his name, Jack Nicklaus ensured he made the cut 39
consecutive times in major championships. So when the potential heir to his
thrown, Tiger Woods, reached the same number in 2006, it seemed inevitable he
would surpass the record. Yet it was not to be. After the death of Woods'
father, the American took a nine-week hiatus from the tour. He returned for the
US Open, but missed the cut, and tied with Nicklaus' record.
Kansas City Wizards,
10 and half hours without a goal
Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards went over 10 and
half hours, 637 minutes to be exact, without scoring a goal. This goalless
spell covering 1998 and 1999 coincided with the team having their lowest
attendance in franchise history.
Sir Steve Redgrave, five golds at five Olympics
Sir Steve certainly earned his knighthood. The rower put together a run of gold
medals in five successive Olympic Games. Starting back in 1984 in Los Angeles, and then at Seoul,
Barcelona, Atlanta
and finishing in Sydney
in 2000, the achievement stands alone. Sir Steve is well remembered for when
after winning gold in 1996, he said if anyone found him close to a rowing boat
they could shoot him. Thankfully they didn't and he was back at the next
Olympics to do it all over again.
Bill Bergen, 45 consecutive
hitless at-bats
The defensive catcher was notoriously useless when on the offensive. Among his
embarrassing batting records was a run of 45 consecutive at-bats without a base
hit. Bergen set
the record in 1909, yet incredibly it was broken this year by Eugenio Velez, a
fellow Brooklyn Dodgers player.
Frankie Dettori, seven wins
Pint-sized Italian and general cheeky chap Frankie Dettori put together a
memorable run at Royal Ascot in 1996. On a seven-race card, he was to ride
every winner of the day. His achievement cleaned out the bookies and even
halted the BBC Final Score program when it was delayed so that they could show
live coverage of his success.
Julio Cesar Chavez , 87 fight winning streak
In a career spanning 25 years, Julio Cesar Chavez earned the right to be
considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. The Mexican's
incredible punching power and relentless stalking of opponents, not to mention
becoming world champion on six occasions, mark him down as one of the greatest
ever boxers. During that 25 year career, Chavez went on a 13-year streak in
which he won all of his 87 fights.
Jose Mourinho, 150 games unbeaten
One of the most incredible streaks belongs to manager Jose Mourinho. Spanning
150 matches between 2002 and 2011, the Portuguese did not lose a single league
home match. The record spanned four clubs, Porto,
Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid – and was finally ended in April when his
current club were beaten by Sporting Gijon at the Bernaneu.
Jahangir Khan, 555 match winning streak
Pakistan's
Jahangir Khan holds what many consider to be the longest winning streak in
professional sporting history. Between 1981 and 1986, the squash player entered
555 matches. He won all of them. During his career he won the World Open six
times and the British Open a record ten consecutive times. Khan is pictured
here carrying the Olympic torch before the 2008 Beijing Games.
Robert Dee, ‘world’s worst tennis player’
British youngster Robert Dee went on a record-breaking run of 54 straight-set
losses on the international professional circuit. He did not win a single match
during his first three years on the circuit, touring at an estimated cost of
£200,000. In 2008 his awful run ended at the Reus
tournament near Barcelona
as he beat an unranked 17-year-old, Arzhang Derakshani, 6-4, 6-3. However he
lost in the second round. When Dee was
labelled the 'world's worst tennis player' by several news outlets he attacked
in a manner he never managed on the tennis court and threatened legal action.
However a judge upheld comments made by The Daily Telegraph and Dee had to face up to yet another defeat.
Comments