A couple of Tennis players are getting plenty of, er, Love. The seemingly endless tennis match between America’s Jon Isner and France’s Nicolas Mahut has already gone nearly 10 hours, with the final set itself outlasting any other match in recorded history.
Isner and Mahut aren’t the only athletes who have survived ridiculously long contests, though. For the record, here’s the longest matches, games and events from various other sports.
Baseball
The longest major league game in terms of time was an eight-hour-six-minute contest between the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers on May 8, 1984. That game, however, only lasted 25 innings, which didn’t top the 26 inning record set by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves on May 1, 1920, a game which ended in a 1-1 tie because of inadequate lighting. Both the Dodgers and the Braves had relocated when the White Sox and the Brewers approached their record.
The longest minor league game, though, was a contest between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Redwings, a game that started on April 18, 1981, and ended June 23, 1981, because the umpire called the contest after the 32nd inning ended at 4:09 a.m. on April 19. The game was resumed on June 23 and only lasted 18 minutes. The 19 fans who were still in the stadium at 4:09 a.m. received season passes from the Red Sox.
Basketball
On January 6, 1951, the Indianapolis Olympians, who are now defunct, and the Rochester Royals, who are now the Sacramento Kings, played six overtimes on their way to a 75-73 Indianapolis victory.
Cricket
The world’s longest cricket match lasted from March 3, 1939, until March 14, 1939. The test, between England and South Africa, was called a draw after over 43 hours and 1,981 runs because the English had to catch their ship home on March 15.
Football
The divisional playoff contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day 1971 lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds. Chiefs’ kicker Jan Stenurd had a particularly rough game, missing a field goal attempt to break the 24-24 deadlock with 35 seconds left and having a 42-yard attempt blocked in overtime. His Dolphins’ counterpart, Gero Yepremian, had a slightly better time, missing a 52-yarder in overtime but hitting a 37-yard attempt in the sixth quarter to end the contest.
Hockey
The longest game in NHL history occurred on March 24, 1936, between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons. Lasting 116 minutes and 30 seconds, or nearly two full games-worth, the contest ended after Mud Bruneteau scored its only goal. The longest game in modern times was an inter-state contest on May 4, 2000, between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins that lasted 92 minutes. Keith Primeau scored the game winning goal at 2:35 a.m. in the fifth overtime to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.