What are the Best Sports Movies

What are the greatest sports movies of all time? Below to the left are the top sports movies of all time categorized by sport. To qualify, each movie had to be previously ranked in an official top sports movie list such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Palm Beach Post, etc. ²²

The most popular sport theme in Hollywood films of the 20th century appears to be baseball, with basketball, American football, football (soccer) and boxing in a plentiful selection of films. Track and field, horse racing, auto-racing, golf, ice hockey and wrestling have also proven to be popular sports themes. ⁸

The top 10 sports movies listed below hit either four or five of these factors. Or if they hit only three, they hit No. so hard it makes up for not including factors four and five. But first, an explanation of what these factors are, and why they matter. ¹³

It used to be easy to come up with a top 10 list of sports movies because there weren't that many of them. Then along came Rocky, and that opened the floodgates. Now they put out a new version of the same story once a month -- heroic underdogs with no shot miraculously win in the end. It's all very inspirational. ³⁰

Disagreement always arises when one compiles lists of the top 20, top 25 or top 50 films of any genre - and sports movies are no different. There are major similarities in the various lists that follow, but they do exhibit distinct differences as well. ⁸

Brian's Song - The best football movie. Heavily drenched in that made-for-TV atmosphere, but nonetheless a classic. The Old Yeller for grown men. ¹¹

Included was the year the movie was first released, two of the movie's stars and the sport the movie featured. Films marked with a ranking number (#) are rankings from the magazine's earlier list of the Top 20 Sports Movies (published February 6, 2001). ⁸

Possibly the most recognizable play in sports history. Without a doubt it changed the face of movie hockey forever. That is, until the Iceland National Team decked every last one of those Ducks. Not to mention the racially questionable "Oreo Line." If you can't figure out why it was called the Oreo Line, you need to think a little harder. ²⁶

There's not an ounce of sentimentality in this comedy about a team of foul-mouthed misfits and their alcoholic manager, and that's what makes it great. One by one, 'Bears' takes aim at three sacred institutions -- sob-story sports flicks, treacly kids movies and the hell that is Little League -- and the result is a down-and-dirty delight. ²

Hoosiers (1986) Even on a list of non-high school sports movies, this one might end up No. . Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, small-town Indiana basketball, a great underdog story. It should be illegal for a high school sports fan not to enjoy this movie. ²¹

Two movies are guaranteed to make men sob: 'Old Yeller' and this made-for-TV biopic about Brian Piccolo, a football player with cancer (James Caan), and his roommate, Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams). It's not just about sports, it's about an extraordinary friendship -- and you'll need a whole box of Kleenex for the end. ²

How is it possible that "Cinderella Man" is not on this list? Not only is it an excellent sports movie, it is also an excellent period movie and drama in general. ¹

In the event of a tie, the higher spot was given to the movie that was named on the most ballots. This occurred at No. where "The Bad News Bears" and "Chariots of Fire" both garned 60 points. "Bears" earned the higher ranking because it was picked by eight voters, while "Chariots" was only named by seven. ⁹

Golf – "Caddyshack” (1980) – The funniest sports movie ever made and one of the funniest films EVER! Perhaps the most quotable films ever produced … if you're a guy. ¹⁷

Comparing the two versions, every performance in the original was superior. Eddie Albert destroys a worn-out looking James Cromwell as the wickedly evil Warden. The late, great Michael Conrad couldn't have been better as Nate Scarboro – it's simply not possible – so seeing Reynolds playing that same role was morbidly depressing on about eight different levels (see the Pacino analogy above). ⁵

All these posts and no one even mentioned "The Program"? So sad, that movie defines the Student-Athlete in College. Why is Caddyshack there? Plus if there gonna put a movie about billiards on this list then "Rounders" should have also made this list. This was a great movie about Texas Hold 'Em way before the whole Hold 'Em craze. ¹

Not a sports movie, you say? Well, name one other film that features a Japanese drag-racing Howard Cosell impersonator, a big wet smooch at Dodger Stadium's home plate, and a climactic ski race in which a lovable loser (John Cusack) goes up against both the local legend and a psychotic bike-riding paperboy on the formidable K12 — on one ski! And of course, this underrated teen gem also shares the most basic of sports film themes — it's all about the underdog. And what best-of list can't use a good underdog? ¹⁵

Jackie Gleason -- playing against sitcom type -- brought depth and darkness to his role as a champion pool player, staring down his own mortality in the pretty-boy face of his upstart challenger, Paul Newman. It's one of few sports movies that isn't about winning the "big game" It's about the decision to surrender to the game. ²