1. Boxing: Andy Bowen vs. Jack Burke
Total Time: 7 hours, 19 minutes
11 hours of tennis is obviously difficult, but it’s got nothing on 7-plus hours of the sheer physical pain that is boxing. The longest boxing battle on record took place in New Orleans on April 6, 1893. Andy Bowen and Jack Burke came into the ring with the hopes of earning the lightweight championship, which had been left
available courtesy to the retirement of the former champ, Jack McAuliffe. At the time, boxing was still enough of an underground sport that there was no such thing as a judge’s decision—one combatant had to be knocked out or “throw in the towel” before the match could be deemed ended. This regulation set the setting for the most devastating boxing battle of all time. Burke and Bowen fought, and in what was regarded to be a pretty level battle, proceeded to beat up on one another for 110 three-minute rounds.
By the time the bell rang for the 111th, nearly 7 hours had elapsed and both men were so punch drunk that they couldn’t even move out of their corners. Seeing that things were getting out of hand, the referee ultimately called the match a no contest. By that point, the epic match had already taken a severe toll on the two fighters. Burke had shattered every bone in both of his hands, and continued to go into semi-retirement. Bowen, however, was slain in the ring in his very next battle.
2. Tennis: Isner vs. Mahut
Total Time: 11 hours, 5 minutes
It may only be a few days old, but this duel between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in the first round at Wimbledon has already entered the record books as one of the most renowned tennis matches of all time. The American Isner and the Frenchman Mahut started their match in the early evening of June 22nd. Both players began well, and the match was knotted at two sets apiece until it had to be interrupted due to darkness. Day two of the event opened with the fifth set, however after 12 games the competitors remained level at 6-6.
Any other set would have been resolved by a tiebreak, but the rules stipulate that in the fifth set, play must continue until a player wins by two games. Incredibly, neither player could manage to break the other’s serve, and after almost 118 games of extra play, the match remained tied. Play was again interrupted for darkness just after the nine-hour mark, only to continue the following morning.
After a further 20 games, Isner eventually managed to break Mahut’s serve, and went on to win the match with two perfectly placed passing shots. The Isner-Mahut match shattered a lot of tennis records. Not only did it beat the record for the longest match in history at 11hrs, 15 minutes (the previous record was just a little more than half that), but Isner also smashed the record for most aces in a match with 113.
Both guys were noticeably weary by the time the long match eventually concluded, and a doctor has since warned that both men would suffer from tendinitis and other medical illnesses as a consequence of their suffering. With this in mind, it’s perhaps not surprising that Isner went on to lose to his next opponent in straight sets.
3. Basketball: Rochester Royals vs. Indianapolis Olympians, Syracuse vs. UConn
Total Time: Six overtimes, 3 hours, 46 min
It may be surprised to read that the longest NBA game on record concluded with a score of 75-73, but that’s precisely what occurred in 1951 when the Indianapolis Olympians bested the Rochester Royals after six overtimes. Perhaps not surprisingly, the contest wasn’t the most exciting game ever witnessed. Supposedly, there were just 26 shots throughout the course of the whole six overtimes, and most of the supporters had departed by the time the game eventually concluded.
A more recent marathon basketball game happened place only last year, when Syracuse and UConn battled through a six overtime showdown during the Big East tournament. The game lasted over 4 hours, and it wasn’t until 1:30 in the morning that Syracuse ultimately managed to win the game 127-117. The numbers from the game were astounding. Not only did the teams score a combined 244 points, but nearly 100 of those came in overtime.
Six players managed to achieve double-doubles, and many more than that fouled out throughout the course of the six overtimes. Amazingly, Syracuse vs. UConn isn’t even the longest game in collegiate history. That distinction goes to a game between Cincinnati and Bradley from 1981, which managed to go to seven overtimes. That game was before college basketball used a shot clock, so even though it was longer, the Syracuse/UConn was definitely a more significant (and physically grueling—one player claimed that by the end of the game he couldn’t even feel his legs) accomplishment. (Image: 1950-51 Rochester Royals.)