I wonder how many people attempted that record must be thousands 
Great point!
Got this from Wikipedia:
Many don't realize that for decades the previous record for shattered panes of glass was held by the father and son duo of Geppetto and Jules Jalsonoe.
Upon arriving in New York during the Great Depression the elder Jalsonoe had little more than the loose change in his pocket when he stepped foot in America. While working various odds jobs for several years and one fortunate break Geppetto was able to save up enough money to buy a small window manufacturing shop from his boss, who had no offspring of his own and had come to identify the young Geppetto as his eventual successor.
By the 1950s Geppetto had expanded not only his business but also his family, as he and his wife had four sons! The three oldest boys showed no interest in the family business but the youngest Jules was the opposite, he was literally fascinated with not only all types of glass but also mirrors.
It was a fateful day on June 6th 1965 when Geppetto and Jules set the long standing record, as they were delivering new window panes to a construction site for the first import car dealership in the community.
As they pulled up and parked next to partially built show room, Jules hopped from his truck seat and began to unfasten the latch that held the panes in place. As Geppetto came around from his side of the truck he heard his son let out a large shout. One of the shop workers failed to strap the panes individually, instead 7 panes were held in place by on single strap.
As Geppetto and Jules fought with all their might to control the tumbling panes, a great terror began to form in the heart of the father. Jules had used his body as leverage against the windows working his way to the center of the shipment, in an attempt to hold them in place.
Instinctively Geppetto moved towards his son, as he knew the center was the weakest spot to secure the windows. Just as he grabbed his son all 7 panes collapsed around the Jalsonoes and instantly killed young Jules in the process. The 7 broken panes stood not only as a world record but aslo as a memorial to young Jules.
A record and memorial that stood until Mike OHearn literally shattered it, by almost tripling the amount.
