Longest Events By Sport

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 24, 2010

Longest Events By Sport

Tennis (11 hours, 5 minutes)

John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battled before an appreciative crowd for 11 hours, 5 minutes, interrupted by a bathroom break after their first six hours and also by two suspensions of play due to darkness. After play resumed on the third day, the gallant pair went their final 20 games and 65 minutes before Isner prevailed, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. Of note is that the scoreboard gave out before the players did. Here are some other events that hold the record for their respective sport.

NFL (2 overtimes)

A playoff classic in K.C. that lasted a record 82 minutes 40 seconds before Garo Yepremian's 37-yard field goal gave the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 win. Of particular bitterness for the home crowd was the fact that Chiefs kicker Jan Stenerud missed a 31-yarder with 35 seconds left in regulation and then had a 42-yarder blocked in the first OT.

NBA (6 overtimes)

In a season that hastened the arrival of the shot clock, Indianapolis and Rochester, led by Bob Davies (pictured), went a total of 78 minutes -- and took only 23 shots in the six extra periods -- before Indy came out on top, 75-73.

Baseball (8 hours, 6 minutes)

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets in 25 innings on Sept. 11, 1974, but the White Sox and Brewers own the mark for longest game in terms of time -- 8 hours 6 minutes, interrupted by a 12.59 a.m. curfew. The next day, Harold Baines (pictured) hit a home run that gave the White Sox a 7-6 win. On May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Robins went 26 innings against the Boston Braves but that game was declared a 1-1 tie. Both starting pitchers in that one, Joe Oeschger (Boston) and Leon Cadore (Brooklyn) threw complete games.

NHL (6 overtimes)

And you thought the days of the neutral zone trap were stultifying. The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons remained scoreless for 116 minutes 30 seconds before rookie Mud Bruneteau ended the misery by beating Montreal goalie Lorne Chabot off a pass from Hec Kilrea. (Ebbie Goodfellow pictured)

Golf (72 holes)

Tied at 282 after 72 holes of regulation in 105-degree heat in Toledo, Billy Burke and George Von Elm (pictured) took not one, but two extra days to decide a winner. In 1931, the U.S. Open's playoff consisted of a 36-hole format. And after those 36 holes, both golfers stood at 7-over 149. That forced another 36-hole playoff, in which Burke shot 148, one better than Von Elm's 149.

College Basketball (6 overtimes)

The longest NCAA game of the shot clock era lasted three hours 46 minutes in New York's Madison Square Garden, with Syracuse winning 127-117 over UConn. Six players registered double-doubles in the Big East Tournament quarterfinal match, and eight fouled out before the proceedings came to a close at 1:22 a.m. Playing without a shot clock, Cincinnati and Bradley slogged through an NCAA Division 1 record 7-OT game on Dec. 21, 1981, before Cincinnati won 75-73.

College Football (7 overtimes)

Arkansas has been involved in two of the three NCAA football games that have gone seven OT, most recently downing Kentucky 71-63 in Lexington. The Razorbacks piled up 605 yards of total offense (334 rushing; 271 passing) to Kentucky's 506. The game ended with Arkansas recovering a fourth-down fumble by Kentucky's Jared Lorenzen on the Razorback five-yard line. Two years earlier, Arkansas went seven OT vs. Ole Miss, on Nov. 1, 2001, winning 58-56.

College Baseball (25 innings)

The Texas-Boston College NCAA regional contest went for 7 hours 3 minutes in Austin before the Longhorns came out with a 3-2 win. Reliever Austin Wood tossed 12-1/3 innings of no-hit ball for the victors, who prevailed on Travis Tucker's single through a drawn-in infield.

College Hockey (5 overtimes)

After 150 minutes and 22 seconds of play, Quinnipiac's Greg Holt gave his Bobcats a 3-2 win over Union College at 1:03 a.m. The teams took a combined 130 shots in the game, with Bobcats goalie Dan Clarke setting an ECAC tournament record of 73 saves while holding Union scoreless the final 140.40 after it had led 2-0 in the first period.

USFL (3 overtimes)

With Steve Young calling the signals, and throwing three touchdown passes, the Los Angeles Express of the USFL fought the Michigan Panthers for 93 minutes, 33 seconds before prevailing 27-21. This one set the mark for the longest pro football game played in the United States.

Minor Leagues (8 hours, 25 min.)

The two teams began on a cold night at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and play had to be suspended at 4:09 a.m. with the score tied at 2-2. The game, which ultimately lasted 8 hours 25 minutes, could not be resumed until June 23 when Dave Koza drove in Marty Barrett for a 3-2 Pawtucket Red Sox victory. Notable participants in the contest were Cal Ripken Jr. (Rochester) and Wade Boggs (Pawtucket), who is seen in this photo.

Cricket (43 hours, 16 minutes)

A truly timeless test match in Durban that ended in a draw only because of heavy rain and the fact that the last ship to England was about to set sail and the British team didn't want to miss it.