It’s tough to dispute, but there is at least one just as good or better, and it didn’t happen in a professional competition. Jesse Owens won four events in 45 minutes at the 1935 Big Ten championships, breaking or tying the world record in each case!! That one is hard to beat.
There’s no real basis for comparing the two achievements, but both were preternatural.
Other amazing ones:
Wilt scored 100.
Daryl Sittler had six goals and four assists in one NHL game.
I made an exception to the one-day rule for this one, since it was so amazing. Pele, at the tender age of 17, scored two goals in the World Cup final for Brazil – after scoring three goals in the semi-final!
Tiger Woods won an 18-hole U.S. Open playoff in 2008 – in an extra playoff hole after the regular playoff, all with a broken leg and a torn ACL. 1
Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths to clinch the Triple Crown.
Honorable mention:
Jim Craig saved 36 out of 39 to win the Miracle on Ice.
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Footnote #1:
There’s often a human story on the losing side of these great accomplishments. That was a tough break for his opponent, Rocco Mediate, who played great. Rocco was 45 at the time, and that was his last hurrah. He barely made the cut in two majors in 2009, failing to finish in the top forty, then never made the cut in another major. Rocco is a very charming, down-to-earth guy, and is now a popular figure with the YouTube golf set. He still has game!
if you want to go with 24 hours but not a single calendar day, Deon Sander hit a MLB homer and scored a NFL touch down
Really tough to compare different sports. Certainly Ohtani’s accomplishment is a great candidate for the title, as are the others you list.
Also I’m surprised Danny “Suits” Sparrow didn’t get a mention!
How could you just pick one day in Danny’s career? People never remember his successes, only his failures, because they were so rare.
The cool thing about Jesse Owen’s accomplishment was that he was at Ohio State University, and the records were set at U of Michigan in Ann Arbor! There’s a plaque honoring Owens at Ferry Field at U of .
I would nominate anyone who was in attendance when Roseanne squawked out the National Anthem, and had the self-control to not kill her on the spot. Other than that, I think what Owens did blows away Ohtani’s performance, and Wilt’s 100 will never be equaled.