Reviews and Comments Reveal
That People in the Know Are Raving About

Shatterproof
The 100 Most Unbreakable Records in Sports and Why

"You can't help but be impressed by the scope of the project and the detail of the research. This book is sure to start arguments in sports bars across the country."

—Tom Barnidge, Contra Costa Times sports editor

"The draw of the book is the why. That's what makes the book so interesting."

— Tommy Braaten, KBUL Radio

"I think it's a great book—interesting, fascinating, cool. Anyone who wants to start great bar conversations really should pick up this book."

— Damon Bruce, KNBR Radio

"Richard Sowers has broken Henry Aaron's home-run record in Shatterproof: The 100 Most Unbreakable Records in Sports and Why. His selections invite sumptuous discussions and comparisons. I learned that, by and large, our sporting heroes were in a rarified zone few of us ever attain."

— Paul Daley, The Lowell Sun

"Sowers' labor of love is "Shatterproof" evidence that he could "Stump the Schwab" and shatter the ESPN guru's unofficial record as the most knowledgeable all-around sports maven."

— Mike Douchant, author of Inside Sports Magazine College Basketball

"I enjoyed this book immensely. It's a great read."

— Tommy Douglas, host of WCLT Radio's The Sportslocker

"The draw of the book is the last word of the subtitle: why. That's what makes the book so interesting."

— Brian George, KWOX/KMZE Radio

"This is a great book, a terrifically interesting book."

— Clint Greenway, KORN Radio

"Richard Sowers has a winner. Do I agree with the "events" he lists? Yes! Do I agree with the "rankings?" Not always! But that's part of what makes this book great. Sports fans love to discuss, if not argue about, history. This book is what sports are all about."

— Eli Gold, voice of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, NASCAR's Motor Racing Network and NFL Radio

"Richard Sowers' latest book is sure to spark arguments from coast to coast. Just the Table of Contents listing the 100 most unbreakable records in sports will start bar fights. But the brilliance of Sowers' book is not in his list. He really shines in explaining why these records are so remarkable. It's in the details, baby! I've grown up hearing about Georgia Tech's 222-0 win over Cumberland College (largest margin of victory), but I didn't know that on the same day Oklahoma beat Southwest Oklahoma, 140-0, or that Tech's win could have been larger had the final two periods not been shortened by half. I've been a sports reporter most of my life. I've been guilty of reading the Table of Contents and nothing more. Don't cheat on this one. Read it all!

— Bill Hartman, WSB-TV sports anchor and reporter

"It's a terrific book, a fun book. I wish I'd had the idea."

— Ron Jacober, KMOX Radio

"Richard Sowers has produced a perfect sports-world vehicle for "ghoul pool" players looking for a new challenge. Think about Ichiro knocking Sisler out of the box, and consider this: Would you take a chance on DiMaggio's 56-game streak going down next? UCLA's 88-game run? Arguably, and that's the point, Shatterproof is the list to work from."

—Bob McCoy, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"If you're looking for a book to talk about with your friends who are sports fans, I highly recommend this book. You can have some really interesting discussions about it."

— Mike Messina, WTAG Radio

"A popular addition to any library's sports reference collection, Shatterproof is an outstanding read for those in high praise of athletic study. Shatterproof lists and analyzes a history of sports ranging from hockey to track and field to golf. Sports analyst Richard Sowers' Shatterproof is the ideal historical guide and enthusiastically recommended to the attention of any and all sports fans."

— Midwest Book Review

"Wow! What a great read! I have been a sports fan as long as I can remember and have argued, and have wagered from time to time, about who did what and when. Shatterproof will be the new 'bible' for sports geeks like me."

— Dale Owens, General Manager of the American Association's Louisville Bats

"In Shatterproof, Richard Sowers has presented more than ample fuel for a multitude of sports discussions. From locker rooms to dorm rooms to bar rooms, athletes and fans alike no doubt will engage in arguments about the author's choices for the most unbreakable records, while radio sports-talk shows have enough ammunition to fire up any audience. But perhaps the most amazing part of Shatterproof, which cannot be argued, is the immense research that must have preceded Sowers' first key stroke. Bravo, Richard, for a great read, and thanks, not just for your rankings, but for the frame of reference for each record and its relation to runners-up, would-be challengers and also-rans."

— Johnny Phelps, former CNN-SI anchor

"The book certainly is great. There were several records that I questioned, but the arguments absolutely do work in their favor. If you want to have something to argue with your friends about, this book is terrific. Get a copy for you and for them."

— Jeff Solari, WZON Radio

"This book offers some pretty surprising—and very convincing—arguments that make it the definitive work about this subject. It is very well researched. Once you start crunching the numbers, the arguments make sense."

— Jeffery Steffen, KEXL Radio

Sports thrive on statistics. Indeed, without statistics, there would be few arguments about sports and certainly far less discussion about the merits of athletes. Author Richard Sowers has exhaustively researched the most distinctive accomplishments of the past one-and-one-half centuries and relates them in Shatterproof: The 100 Most Unbreakable Records in Sports and Why. Would anyone believe that Cy Young's 511 pitching victories rank only 10th on the list? What could possibly be a tougher record to break? Maybe Old Hoss Radbourn's 60 pitching victories in a season. Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games rank only 37. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak? It's No. 29. Most of the toughest records will surprise you, and all will impress you."

— Stan Sutton, former Bloomington Times-Herald sports editor and author of Hoosier Locker Room

"Don't read it. That way, you won't lie awake at night with numbers running through your head, wondering if it really does make sense to compare baseball to basketball to hockey to horse racing to track and field to swimming. Make sure friends don't read it. Their debates will get heated and pointed, and you'll be caught in the middle. Don't let people at opposite ends of the age spectrum read it. Grandpa will love the fact a pitcher from the 1884 Providence Grays ranks ahead of Joe DiMaggio and Wilt Chamberlain, while the kids will think that pitcher's record should be buried with the other dinosaurs. Stay away from it, unless you not only want to spark sports conversation, but be in the middle of a burning discussion!"

— Randy Waters, WXIA-TV sports anchor and reporter

"Richard Sowers not only delivers the most introspective book on the facts behind the greatest sports records, but pulls the curtain back on the whys and why nots of those feats. It's a wonderful, enjoyable read, not only for the armchair jock, but for anyone who is interested in the abnormal accomplishments people achieve."

— H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler Jr., President and General Manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway and Chief Operating Officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

"Now, clearly, you can find an argument about a sports topic or a discussion about a list of records that may or may not ever be broken. Richard Sowers' 100 most unbreakable records in sports touches all the bases and gives the reader an in-depth look at the record, what was going on when the achievement was set and why it will be difficult to break. I can remember in 35 years in this business having all sorts of discussions about what constitutes a record that will never be broken and what might be the 10 or 15 records that likely will stand forever. To come up with a list of 100 records that may never be broken underlines Sowers' clear and present devotion to all sports. Some might argue that obscurity shadows many of the top records on this list, but that's OK. That's why arguing about various sports lists is so much fun. Whether you agree with the list or not, you have to give Sowers kudos for pouring through the history of all sports to come up with the records he considers Shatterproof.

— Larry Wigge, NHL.com columnist

"A 222-point win in football . . . 200 big-league NASCAR wins? Richard Sowers came up with the right word to describe such records: Shatterproof. It's a fun read for every sports junkie."

— Larry Woody, The Nashville Tennessean