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P. 21
SPORTS A21
Thursday 10 September
How a tennis Grand Slam
compares to other rare sports feats
CHRIS LEHOURITES leading the league in aver- Billy Smith of the New York Serena Williams reacts after beating Venus Williams during a
AP Sports Writer age, home runs and RBI — Islanders was given credit quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday,
LONDON (AP) — Two more including Miguel Cabrera for a goal after the puck Sept. 8, 2015, in New York.
wins. in 2012. Williams and Rog- when into the net off an
That’s all Serena Williams ers Hornsby did it twice. opposing player. Associated Press
needs to complete the ___ The most recent came from
Grand Slam, a feat so rare BASKETBALL: Mike Smith of the Phoenix
that it has been accom- In the NBA, there is one Coyotes in 2013 from a shot
plished just six times in ten- mark that stands above all on goal.
nis history. others: Wilt Chamberlain’s Soccer goalkeepers have
Steffi Graf was the last win- 100 points in a game set in a much higher ratio of scor-
ner, taking all four major 1962. ing. Rogerio Ceni of Brazil
tournaments in 1988. The closest anyone has is credited with 130 goals
Williams has already won come to matching that in his career — mainly from
four straight major titles, was Kobe Bryant in 2006 penalties and free kicks.
dating back to last year’s when the Los Angeles Lak- ___
U.S. Open, but she has nev- ers star scored 81 points. GOLF:
er won all four in the same Chamberlain’s feat was no The rarest shot in golf? The
year. fluke. He holds six places in almost-mythical condor.
“I don’t know why it took the top 10 scoring list, and That’s when a player scores
me so long,” Williams said 15 in the top 20. a 4 under on one hole, es-
after winning her quarter- sentially a hole-in-one on a
final match Wednesday Another rarity in basketball par-5.
night. is the quadruple-double. There have supposedly
Williams would be the Only four players have been at least four condors
fourth woman to win the reached double-digits in in history, though none in
Grand Slam, joining Graf, four categories in a game: official tour tournaments or
Maureen Connolly and David Robinson, Hakeem on professionally accred-
Margaret Court. Martina Olajuwon, Alvin Robertson ited courses.
Navratilova once won six and Nate Thurmond. As for golf’s version of the
straight Grand Slam tour- Robinson, Olajuwon and Grand Slam, winning all
naments, but never won all Thurmond all did it in points, four majors in one season,
four in the same year. assists, rebounds and only Bobby Jones in 1930
On the men’s side, Don blocked shots, while Rob- has done it. Back then, the
Budge also won six straight, ertson did it with steals in- four biggest tournaments
while Rod Laver twice com- stead of blocks. were the British Open, U.S.
pleted the calendar-year ___ Open, British Amateur and
Grand Slam but never won FOOTBALL: U.S. Amateur.
more than four in a row. Only seven times has a Tiger Woods did win four
Here’s a look at some rare player rushed for more modern majors in a row,
accomplishments in sports: than 2,000 yards in a sea- but not all in the same year.
___ son — the last coming in He won the U.S. Open, the
BASEBALL: 2012 when Adrian Peterson British Open and the PGA
Throwing a perfect game ran for 2,097 yards. Championship in 2000 and
is the pinnacle of pitching And only one player, O.J. then the Masters in 2001.
and hitting .400 in a season Simpson, managed to run No woman has won four
is the benchmark for bat- for 2,000 yards while play- majors in one year, but
ting, but neither are the rar- ing 14 games. All the others Babe Didrikson Zaharias
est feats in baseball. played in 16 games. won all three majors played
Major league pitchers have The 1972 Miami Dolphins in 1950.
thrown 23 perfect games remain the only pro team ___
and 27 hitters have finished with an undefeated sea- HORSE RACING:
with .400 averages — none son, winning all 17 games The triple crown in horse
since Ted Williams in 1941. they played. racing has only been ac-
Compare that to hitting In college football, Archie complished 13 times, in-
two grand slams in one Griffin stands alone as the cluding this year when
game, something that has only player to win the Heis- American Pharoah won
happened 13 times, the man Trophy twice. the Kentucky Derby, Preak-
last coming in 2009 by Josh ___ ness Stakes and Belmont
Willingham of the Washing- HOCKEY: Stakes.
ton Nationals. Or an unas- Goal-scoring goaltenders The previous triple crown
sisted triple play, which has — now that’s a rarity. came in 1978, when Af-
only happened 15 times. Only 11 goalies have firmed matched the feat
Seventeen hitters have scored in NHL games, the achieved by Seattle Slew a
won the triple crown — first coming in 1979 when year earlier.q
