Wimbledon Epic Ignites Memories of Marathon Sports Events

Decades from now, for all we know, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut may end up sharing a space in the trashbin of history, forgotten by all but the tennis cognoscenti.

While the sporting public may not remember the men, they'll never forget the 183-game, three-day, 11 hour and five minute match at Wimbledon that ended Thursday with Isner winning the fifth set 70-68.

Their epic goes atop a list of the longest and most memorable events in sports history:

Baseball

April 18, 1981

The Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League played the longest game in professional baseball history, a 33-inning, 8-hour, 25-minute affair that was suspended at 4:07 a.m. and picked up two months later when the Red Wings came back to Pawtucket. The Red Sox won, 3-2, on an RBI single that scored Marty Barrett. Two future Hall of Famers played in that game, Wade Boggs of Pawtucket, and Cal Ripken, Jr. of Rochester, who knew something about playing baseball for a long time. (Pictured above: Pawtucket's Dave Koza, left, gets a pat on the head from Mike Smithson after Koza drove in the winning run.)

May 8, 1984

Tom Seaver earns the win in relief in the longest, extra-inning Major League game in history, a 25-inning contest won by the Chicago White Sox over the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6. The teams combined for 43 hits as Harold Baines hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 25th.

Basketball

June 4, 1976

The Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns staged one of the greatest games in NBA history, in Game 5 of the league championship series. The Celtics had led by one on a baseline jumper from John Havlicek that appeared to end the game. in double overtime. However, referees ruled there was one second left, and Phoenix guard Paul Westphal called a timeout the Suns didn't have. Boston sank the free throw for the technical foul, but Phoenix was allowed to inbound at midcourt. Gar Heard caught the inbound pass and sank a jumper at the buzzer to force a third overtime. The Celtics would go on to win the game and championship, but the game became an instant classic.



March 12, 2009

When fans poured into Madison Square Garden for a Thursday night quarterfinal game in the Big East men's tournament, they had no idea that they would still be in the arena into Friday morning. Yet, it took six overtimes for Syracuse and Connecticut to decide the matter, the second-longest game in NCAA Division I history. Orange guard Jonny Flynn scored 34 points and dished out 11 assists in 67 minutes to lead Syracuse to a 127-117 win.

Football

December 25, 1971

The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs staged a playoff thriller on Christmas Day. The game, the longest in NFL history, extended into a second overtime, Chiefs kicker Jan Stenerud, a future Hall of Famer, missed a 31-yard field goal with 35 seconds left in regulation, then saw a 45-yard field goal blocked in the first overtime. Garo Yepremian hit the game-winner midway through the second overtime.

December 24, 1977

In what would be the last playoff game the Baltimore Colts would play before moving to Indianapolis in 1984, the Oakland Raiders scored 43 seconds into the second overtime on a 10-yard Ken Stabler touchdown pass to Dave Casper to advance to the AFC Championship Game.

A special commendation goes to the University of Arkansas, which has played in three of the four longest games in college football history, all seven-overtime contests. The Razorbacks have won all three extended contests.

Hockey

March 24, 1936

The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons played into the sixth overtime of a playoff game, with Detroit's Mud Bruneteau scoring the winner in a 1-0 contest. The winner came at 16:30 of the period, meaning the two sides were 3:30 away from having played the equivalent of three consecutive games.

April 18, 1987

Kelly Hrudey turns aside a record 73 Washington Capitals shots, as the New York Islanders win the longest Game 7 in NHL history, a 5-4 decision in a game that extended into the fourth overtime period. The game, which began the night before Easter, ran so long that concession stands at the Capital Centre re-opened after midnight.