Sports Films Based on Real Events and People
A collection of sports films based on real people and events.
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- DirectorRobert TowneStarsBilly CrudupDonald SutherlandMonica PotterThe life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
- DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsChadwick BosemanT.R. KnightHarrison FordIn 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
- DirectorBill PaxtonStarsShia LaBeoufStephen DillaneElias KoteasIn the 1913 U.S. Open, twenty-year-old Francis Ouimet played golf against his idol, 1900 U.S. Open champion, Englishman Harry Vardon.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsKurt RussellPatricia ClarksonNathan WestThe true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
- DirectorSean McNamaraStarsAnnaSophia RobbDennis QuaidHelen HuntBethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, loses her left arm in a shark attack. Unwilling to pay attention to the gravity of her situation, Bethany decides to get back into the ocean and surf again.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsSean AstinJon FavreauNed BeattyRudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
- DirectorJames GartnerStarsJosh LucasDerek LukeAustin NicholsIn 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksGeena DavisLori PettyTwo sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.
- DirectorMcGStarsMatthew McConaugheyMatthew FoxAnthony MackieWhen a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJohn CusackClifton JamesJace AlexanderA dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsBilly Bob ThorntonJay HernandezDerek LukeBased on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff BridgesElizabeth BanksTrue story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsWill SmithJamie FoxxJon VoightA biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.
- DirectorMarc KindermanStarsChris BermanNeil LeiferDave AndersonThe 1958 National Football League championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants is known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played". It was the first (and only) professional football title game to ever result in an overtime, featured 17 men who were ultimately inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and included wild swings of momentum and the Colts execution of their two-minute drill to tie the game in the closing seconds of regulation time. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, ESPN films paired eleven of the games participants with current players from the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants to compare the nature of the sport 50 years later, as well as sportscasters, reporters, photographers, spectators, cheerleaders, majorettes and marching band members who contributed their reminiscences.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsTommy Lee JonesRobert WuhlLolita DavidovichA reporter hired to write the 'official' biography of Ty Cobb discovers just how dark the baseball legend's real story is.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweRenée ZellwegerCraig BierkoThe true story of James J. Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer, who returned to the spotlight to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
- DirectorNiki CaroStarsKevin CostnerMaria BelloRamiro RodriguezJim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach, and at his new school he turns seven disappointing students into one of the best cross-country teams in the region.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsMark WahlbergChristian BaleAmy AdamsBased on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsGene HackmanBarbara HersheyDennis HopperA coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
- DirectorEricson CoreStarsMark WahlbergGreg KinnearElizabeth BanksBased on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
- DirectorGary FlederStarsRob BrownDennis QuaidClancy BrownA drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsBilly Bob ThorntonJay HernandezDerek LukeBased on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.