Hardest recorded shot?

[hitz14 0]

Wow.  That is fast.  I heard of some kid being able to throw a baseball like 160mph though.

that site says that the fastest pitch ever was 100.9mph. 160km would make sense but 160mph, thats 59 more than the reported record

that site is obviously not true about the fastest pitch because ive seen Randy Johnson and Jon Rocker throw harder than 101mph in a game.

[Michael9 57]

ok even if the fastest pitch is 101mph or even around 106mph or so. i would highly doubt it would be around 160mph

[Tanner23 0]

Wow.  That is fast.  I heard of some kid being able to throw a baseball like 160mph though.

that site says that the fastest pitch ever was 100.9mph. 160km would make sense but 160mph, thats 59 more than the reported record

im sure some one had pitched faster than 100 mph but 160 i dont belive it

[J-Shera 0]

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/f...-baseball.shtml

[Tanner23 0]

Well i geuss i am wrong :lol:

[MDE3 0]

I believe the year was 1996 when Hull(57 years old) came out in street shoes at the end of the hardest shot competition and took two shots....one was recorded at 115 mph(by recollection, however maybe that was where the 118.4 mph shot was recorded as referred to in the link above), the other one missed the net and shattered the glass....He used a borrowed wooden stick.

He may have been clocked higher than that at another time....and his shot speed in that 1996 demonstration was probably not "official" because he was not actually a part of the competition.

Given that information, it is not inconceivable that on skates and skating at almost full speed his shots might have approached 130 mph.

[MDE3 0]

There was also the story of Jacques Lemaire when he was coaching in New York getting really PO'd at the team shooting and coming out to demonstrate a wrist/snap shot...dinging the golaie betwen the eyes and dropping him like a stone....

Someone else referred to the physique of Bobby Hull....who was definitely ripped at 195 lbs....That physique was reportedly not from body building, but from the work on his farm in Belleville Ont.

In fact so many of the older players owed their conditioning to hard physical labor on farms, or as lumber jacks cutting and loading pulp wood or trees for lumber in the off season, or fishing or mining, before they made it to the NHL....That kind of physical labor was far more intense than any gym style workout would be. Consider the fact these guys were throwing 90 lb hay bales and wrestling steers (they tend to get a little ornery when you are trying to make them into "steers"..they seem to know what you have in mind...), or tossing 200 lb logs , or packing 50 lb boxes of dynamite up hills for 10 - 15 hours a day....Makes that three hour workout in the gym seem a little like a picnic.

PS: for those of you who don't work around a farm...a steer is a bull that has been neutered....when you herd an 800 lb yearling into the barn to snip off his cohones, they tend to get a little feisty.....personal experience here.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

I read in a book that bobby hull use to shot 115mph.. can't remeber which thought

I've heard up to 130 on Hull but they're all estimates.

Exactly! I seem to have to remind everyone of that whenever the subject comes up.

[PBRyan 0]

Mark Wohlers (baseball, obviously) has hit 103 mph in a game

[J-Shera 0]

Its in the link i posted on page 2.

[2048 0]

In fact so many of the older players owed their conditioning to hard physical labor on farms, or as lumber jacks cutting and loading pulp wood or trees for lumber in the off season, or fishing or mining, before they made it to the NHL....That kind of physical labor was far more intense than any gym style workout would be. Consider the fact these guys were throwing 90 lb hay bales and wrestling steers (they tend to get a little ornery when you are trying to make them into "steers"..they seem to know what you have in mind...), or tossing 200 lb logs , or packing 50 lb boxes of dynamite up hills for 10 - 15 hours a day....Makes that three hour workout in the gym seem a little like a picnic.

Amen Amen Amen.

When I was working at a small garden center 2 yrs ago, I was in the best shape of my life and in better shape then when I tied lifting. God knows I didn't do all the stuff you mentioned above, but I love that kind of training Rocky 4 style. Those guys will always have more strength then the zombies in the weight room 4 hrs a day on all the supplements. Good analogy MD3

That's because the guys in the weight room for 4 hours are idiots. More than 45 minutes and you're doing nothing. Some people actually say that you're hurting yourself if you go longer than that.

[Dave 1]

More than 45 minutes and you're doing nothing. Some people actually say that you're hurting yourself if you go longer than that.

I second that, both parts.

I guess I'd better not start another workout discussion here...

[hot_shooter 0]

didn't al iafrate fire one at an allstar game in boston i believe, at 117..

it was not officially part of the allstar contest because he was not in it that year but was trying out his shot with the rader on before the event started...

very sure i heard that

[MDE3 0]

Exactly! I seem to have to remind everyone of that whenever the subject comes up.

Actually the shots taken at the all star competition in 1996 were not "estimates"...any more than the shots recorded for the rest of the competition.....

The "guesstimates" of up to 130 mph..during the days before radar guns were being used were in fact just that, but using recorded television footage broken down by frames, might have given a pretty good estimate...maybe +/- 3%...Also given his ability to generate that kind of speed from street shoes at the age of 57....those estimates were not unreasonable.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Exactly!  I seem to have to remind everyone of that whenever the subject comes up.

Actually the shots taken at the all star competition in 1996 were not "estimates"...any more than the shots recorded for the rest of the competition.....

The "guesstimates" of up to 130 mph..during the days before radar guns were being used were in fact just that, but using recorded television footage broken down by frames, might have given a pretty good estimate...maybe +/- 3%...Also given his ability to generate that kind of speed from street shoes at the age of 57....those estimates were not unreasonable.

Wasn't saying that the 1996 allstar games were estimates. Just that those who say Hull was firing 117 or 127 mph slappers back in the 60's or 70's have to remember that all of Bobby Hull's claims to super speed fame were just estimates.

SO, we're saying the same thing, you just missed part of the logic I guess. However, I disagree with you in regards to accuracy. I also have yet to see a reliable source that found Hull shooting one 117mph at age 57 on concrete in his street shoes (unless, perhaps, he was using a plastic puck at significantly lighter weight).

didn't al iafrate fire one at an allstar game in boston i believe, at 117..

it was not officially part of the allstar contest because he was not in it that year but was trying out his shot with the rader on before the event started...

very sure i heard that

No. Iafrate was out injured, and did talk to one of the analysts and demonstrated what to do in a slapshot competition or what not, but he did NOT fire a 117mph slapshot (I seem to recall it was in the 105 range, but am not positive, but in absolutely no uncertain terms did he fire one at 117). At least, pretty sure we're talking about the same one if it was the year Bourque won MVP in Boston Gah-dens.

[jerrysjet 0]

I personnaly spoke with Al Iafrate on the phone a few weeks ago, he is the R&D guy behind Black Beauty Sticks. He said that the highest recorded shot was 106.7 MPH. He said it was done with a wooden stick. Al's boss told me Al routinely clocks in the 108's with their shaft blade combination, he also told me Iafrate's kis shoots around 70 MPH wristers (says a lot has to do with the genes)and of course their product.

[Chadd 916]

I never could find any mention of Hull's actual speed on any reliable website. Several mentioned the 117 or whatever but nothing other than an anecdotal mention of the speed.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

The Legends of Hockey (linked from the Hockey Hall of Fame web site) says the following regarding Hull:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/Legend...&page=bio&list=

Depending on the source, his shot was timed at approximately 120 miles per hour.

This makes me even so much more doubtful. I mean, timed - as in stop watch? A few seconds here and there due to reaction time, and when one would consider the puck starting and stopping can easily make a big difference.

So, I'm with you Chadd - I've seen nothing that has changed my mind on the subject to think of it as being anything more than anecdotal tall tales.

Also, I did a search and could not come up with anything regarding hitting one at 115 (or whatever) at age 57 in street shoes. Sounds to me to be just folklore.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

OK, did some quick math for those who may think that a few fraction of a seconds (stop watch wise) won't make a big difference:

* There are 5,280 feet in a mile.

* Multiple 5280x117 and you say that something going 117mph would cover 617,760 feet in an hour

* Divide 617,760 by 60 minutes in an hour, and that by 60 seconds in a minute, and something going 117mph would cover 171.6 feet per second

* Bear in mind, there are 3 feet in a yard. That means that the puck would cover close to 60 yards in a second (or, almost a 1/3 of the length of a football feild)

* Using this same math, something going 106mph would cover 155.47 feet per second.

* SO, keep in mind that the distance from the blue line to the goal line (and this is off the top of my feeble head, so someone correct me if I'm wrong) is 60 feet. So, had Hull teed one up from the blue line, if going 117mph, it would have crossed the goal line in .35 seconds. If it was going 106mph, it would have crossed in .386 seconds

So, human error (reaction time to start/stop the stop watch) could easily account for the claims of 117mph.

Think also of this - it is a fact that over the years, more and more has become known about nutrition and strength/conditioning, right? We can likely all agree upon that.

Also likely something we can agree upon, the players have gotten bigger and stronger, and equipment lighter, more protective, and better performing - right?

SO, think about it - taking ALL that into consideration (no real radar measurement, less sophisticated equipment (both measurement wise, and stick wise), bigger & stronger players these days, etc), doesn't everyone find it a little hard to believe that no one can beat the 117mph slapper that was measured something like 30-40 years ago?

[sherwood21 0]

Also likely something we can agree upon, the players have gotten bigger and stronger, and equipment lighter, more protective, and better performing - right?

SO, think about it - taking ALL that into consideration (no real radar measurement, less sophisticated equipment (both measurement wise, and stick wise), bigger & stronger players these days, etc), doesn't everyone find it a little hard to believe that no one can beat the 117mph slapper that was measured something like 30-40 years ago?

That all seems to make sense to me.

But..it was measured in 1996 (Hull's 117 slapper), so that wouldn't be quite so long ago :P

[kovalchuk71 212]

OK, did some quick math for those who may think that a few fraction of a seconds (stop watch wise) won't make a big difference:

* There are 5,280 feet in a mile.

* Multiple 5280x117 and you say that something going 117mph would cover 617,760 feet in an hour

* Divide 617,760 by 60 minutes in an hour, and that by 60 seconds in a minute, and something going 117mph would cover 171.6 feet per second

* Bear in mind, there are 3 feet in a yard. That means that the puck would cover close to 60 yards in a second (or, almost a 1/3 of the length of a football feild)

* Using this same math, something going 106mph would cover 155.47 feet per second.

* SO, keep in mind that the distance from the blue line to the goal line (and this is off the top of my feeble head, so someone correct me if I'm wrong) is 60 feet. So, had Hull teed one up from the blue line, if going 117mph, it would have crossed the goal line in .35 seconds. If it was going 106mph, it would have crossed in .386 seconds

So, human error (reaction time to start/stop the stop watch) could easily account for the claims of 117mph.

Think also of this - it is a fact that over the years, more and more has become known about nutrition and strength/conditioning, right? We can likely all agree upon that.

Also likely something we can agree upon, the players have gotten bigger and stronger, and equipment lighter, more protective, and better performing - right?

SO, think about it - taking ALL that into consideration (no real radar measurement, less sophisticated equipment (both measurement wise, and stick wise), bigger & stronger players these days, etc), doesn't everyone find it a little hard to believe that no one can beat the 117mph slapper that was measured something like 30-40 years ago?

I have a headache

[Chadd 916]

Also likely something we can agree upon, the players have gotten bigger and stronger, and equipment lighter, more protective, and better performing - right?

SO, think about it - taking ALL that into consideration (no real radar measurement, less sophisticated equipment (both measurement wise, and stick wise), bigger & stronger players these days, etc), doesn't everyone find it a little hard to believe that no one can beat the 117mph slapper that was measured something like 30-40 years ago?

That all seems to make sense to me.

But..it was measured in 1996 (Hull's 117 slapper), so that wouldn't be quite so long ago :P

Assuming you believe a nearly 60 year old man who hasn't played competitive hockey in a few decades was able to rip a shot that is 10 MPH faster than any current athlete has been able to reach in competition.

[sherwood21 0]

Huh..? I wasn't commenting on his theory, I was saying that it wasn't 30-40 years ago, that it was in 1996...

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Huh..? I wasn't commenting on his theory, I was saying that it wasn't 30-40 years ago, that it was in 1996...

OK, and you're basing this on what, exactly?

Are you talking about Al Iafrate? Because I think that was when he cranked one at almost 106 at the Boston All-Star game (when out injured as a demo).

I don't recall that being when folks said Bobby Hull did it, and if so, you got a reliable link to the story? I mean, if it was in 1996 that is surely on line somewhere.

Just trying to decipher what is fact, folklore, and misunderstandings.....

[Chadd 916]

Huh..? I wasn't commenting on his theory, I was saying that it wasn't 30-40 years ago, that it was in 1996...

I'll go slow so you can keep up.

Bobby Hull was born in 1939 and was 57 years old in 1996.

His last season as a pro was 1979-1980.

In 1996 he was 57 years old and had not played pro hockey in nearly 16 years.

I find it very difficult to believe that he was able to shoot the puck 10mph harder at that age than any current NHL player has been able manage.