The NBA had a crazy year from 1961-62. The defense playing practically disappeared and the number of possessions each team had per game sky-rocketed. Beyond Wilt Chamberlain, almost no one gained anything more from this offensive boom. Unless you were Oscar Robertson. His triple-double average was buoyed by the fact that the team points per game average that year (118.8) was the highest in the league’s history.
Of course, we will never see that little emphasis placed on defense ever again, so the probability of a player being able to maintain that kind of output for an entire season is non-existent.
JOHN HAVLICEK
Being such a high level of competition, you never know what’s going to happen in an NBA game where so many things can tip the tide of an assumed victory. The Boston Celtics only needed to inbound the ball and let the final five seconds play out to secure a 110-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals on April 6, 1965. However, Bill Russell would cause turnover after passing a ball that struck a wire, giving the 76ers a final opportunity to win it.
Havlicek pulled a trick out of his sleeve as he guarded Chet Walker. He spun around and leaped at the exact moment the ball was thrown inbounds, tipping it to his teammate, which secured a Boston victory. The Celtics went on to beat the Lakers in the Finals.
CAL RIPKEN, JR.
Nobody thought Lou Gehrig’s record would be broken. It had withstood generations of baseball players without being threatened. His record for playing consecutive games is 2,130, and it remained untouched for 56 years.
Then came Cal Ripken Jr., nicknamed “The Iron Man,” a shortstop for Baltimore. The two-time (AL) MVP is featured in this photograph when the Angels faced the Orioles on Sept. 6, 1995. He jogs around the crowd that congratulated him for breaking Gehrig’s record, surpassing it by 502 games.
JUAN MARICHAL
Avid baseball fans don’t have to watch a game to appreciate Juan Marichal. Just watching him train, winding up for a right-handed pitch can be entertaining enough. Marichal is known for his pinpoint accuracy. However, it is his high leg kicks, perhaps the highest in Major League history, that immediately distinguishes him from his peers.
This picture was taken on August 8, 1970, of the San Francisco Giants, who he played, for thirteen years.
JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE
By simply judging this photograph, one would not know that Jackie Joyner-Kersee used to suffer severe asthma. But her discipline and dedication as a track and field athlete would help her overcome this and many other obstacles. She is ranked among the greatest athletes in long jump and heptathlon.
On Sept. 29, 1988, the four-time Olympic gold medalist leapt 7.40 meters to set what was then an Olympic record in long jump before an ecstatic crowd in Seoul, Korea. There were many rumors at the time linking her to supposed illegal substance use, but investigations would never prove any such claims.