The Classic Sports Films to Watch in 2020
I’ve grown up watching sports themed films almost my entire life, but more than that, sports in general have been apart of my life since I don’t know when. Some of my earliest family memories are watching the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium in the 1990s. Since sports has been such a big part of my growing up, it is really no shock that my Dad made sure to introduce me and siblings to some classic sports films growing up. With how 2020 has shaped up to be, we need some classic feel good sports films in our lives to watch. With that being said, here is a list of some excellent feel good sports films that give you all the feels.
Baseball
The Pride of the Yankees [1942] — I feel like this was one of the first baseball films I ever watched. I was nine or ten years old, and it made me a big 1927 Yankees fan. This film was a jumping point for me, it made me curious to learn more about baseball players and the history of the game. Anyways, this film covers the life story of New York Yankees first base player, Lou Gehrig and his battle with ALS.
It Happens Every Spring [1949] — A college chemistry professor, Vernon Simpson (Ray Milland), invents a substance that keeps insects away from wood. But after a baseball crashes through the window and gets coated in the fluid, Simpson discovers that the ball repels wood. To further his experiment, Simpson tries out as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals and becomes a master of the screwball, propelling him into the spotlight as a star player, much to the confusion of his fiancée, Deborah (Jean Peters). [expert taken from Google] A fun lighthearted baseball film, that is especially fun if you are a fan of classic Hollywood films.
The Stratton Story [1949] — This fact-based sports drama chronicles the life of famous pitcher Monty Stratton. Stratton (James Stewart), a star athlete, loses his leg when his hunting rifle misfires during a wilderness outing. Initially, Stratton's career is derailed, and he wallows in the depth of depression; however, with the encouragement of his loving spouse, Ethel (June Allyson), he decides to get back in the game. Equipped with a prosthetic leg, Stratton eventually works his way back to pitching in the minor leagues. [expert taken from Google]
The Jackie Robinson Story [1950] — The Jackie Robinson story was my second baseball film that I watched, I remember watching it for the first time the same weekend I watched, The Pride of the Yankees. This film and story opened my eyes to racism, something I had never noticed before. While this film features Jackie Robinson playing himself in this film, it doesn't go into as much detail as the film, 42 — this is because they couldn't show everything that Jackie went through on film yet.
Angels in the Outfield [1951] — A newspaper reporter, Jennifer Paige (Janet Leigh), is investigating the Pittsburgh Pirates' losing streak. The team is led by manager Guffy McGovern (Paul Douglas), whose swearing and fighting hinder his team's progress. Meanwhile, an orphan named Bridget White (Donna Corcoran) has been praying for the team, and her pleas are answered by an angelic voice. The angel begins urging Guffy to be kinder in return for helping the Pirates win, but the playoffs test the manager's temper. [expert taken from Google]
The Winning Team [1952] — In 1908 Nebraska, young Grover Cleveland "Alex" Alexander (Ronald Reagan) saves to buy a farm for himself and his fiancée, Aimee (Doris Day), but also longs to realize his dream of playing baseball. His pitching skills win him a position on an Illinois team, but an injury almost ruins his chance. Once he recovers, he and Aimee wed, and he returns to baseball and begins an increasingly successful career -- until he's diagnosed with epilepsy, which he struggles to hide from the public and Aimee. [expert taken from Google]
Field of Dreams [1989] — When Iowa farmer Ray (Kevin Costner) hears a mysterious voice one night in his cornfield saying "If you build it, he will come," he feels the need to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, Ray builds a baseball diamond on his land, supported by his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan). Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the crops to play ball, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. But, as Ray learns, this field of dreams is about much more than bringing former baseball greats out to play. [expert taken from Google]
The Sandlot [1993] — When Scottie Smalls (Thomas Guiry) moves to a new neighborhood, he manages to make friends with a group of kids who play baseball at the sandlot. Together they go on a series of funny and touching adventures. The boys run into trouble when Smalls borrows a ball from his stepdad that gets hit over a fence. [expert taken from Google]
The Rookie [2002] — A true story about a coach who discovers that it's never too late for dreams to come true. Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. [expert taken from Google]
Moneyball [2011] — Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A's, one day has an epiphany: Baseball's conventional wisdom is all wrong. Faced with a tight budget, Beane must reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs. Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane prepares to challenge old-school traditions. He recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labeled as flawed, but have game-winning potential. [expert taken from Google]
42 [2013] — In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), legendary manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, defies major league baseball's notorious color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team. The heroic act puts both Rickey and Robinson in the firing line of the public, the press and other players. Facing open racism from all sides, Robinson demonstrates true courage and admirable restraint by not reacting in kind and lets his undeniable talent silence the critics for him. [expert taken from Google]
Million Dollar Arm [2014] — In a last-ditch effort to save his career, sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) plans to find baseball's next star pitcher. He heads to India to find a cricket player whom he can nurture into a major league star. With the help of a scout (Alan Arkin), J.B. finds teens Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma), who haven't a clue about baseball but throw powerful pitches. As the boys adjust to American life, J.B. learns valuable lessons about teamwork and family. [expert taken from Google]
Hockey
The Mighty Ducks [1992] — After reckless young lawyer Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) gets arrested for drunk driving, he must coach a kids hockey team for his community service. Gordon has experience on the ice, but isn't eager to return to hockey, a point hit home by his tense dealings with his own former coach, Jack Reilly (Lane Smith). The reluctant Gordon eventually grows to appreciate his team, which includes promising young Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson), and leads them to take on Reilly's tough players. [expert taken from Google]
Miracle [2004] — When college coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe, the heavily-favored Soviet team. As the U.S. squad tries to overcome insurmountable odds and win the gold medal, the team becomes a microcosm for American patriotism during the Cold War. [expert taken from Google]
Football
Knute Rockne, All American [1940] — Young Norwegian immigrant Knute Rockne (Pat O'Brien) enrolls at Notre Dame University and becomes the first star of its hitherto undistinguished football team, inventing the forward pass among other innovations. Coaching the team after his playing days are through, Rockne turns the school into a football powerhouse thanks in part to freshman halfback George Gipp (Ronald Reagan), whose sudden illness provides the team with its motivation to fight against a bigger, stronger opponent. [expert taken from Google]
Remember the Titans [2000] — In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, an institution revered, each game celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, each playoff distinguished more grandly than any national holiday. And with such recognition, comes powerful emotions. In 1971 high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the local school board was forced to integrate an all black school with an all white school, the very foundation of football's great tradition was put to the test. [expert taken from Google]
Radio [2003] — In a racially divided town, coach Jones (Ed Harris) spots a mentally disabled African-American student named Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr.) near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and principal Daniels (Alfre Woodard) happily notes that Radio's self-confidence is skyrocketing. But things start to sour when Jones begins taking guff from fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship. [expert taken from Google]
The Blind Side [2009] — Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), take him in. The Tuohys eventually become Michael's legal guardians, transforming both his life and theirs. Michael'stremendous size and protective instincts make him a formidable force on the gridiron, and with help from his new family and devoted tutor, he realizes his potential as a student and football player. [expert taken from Google]
Woodlawn [2015] — Following government-mandated desegregation in 1973, Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille) joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Ala. As violence and anger erupt in the city, Woodlawn football coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) allows an outsider (Sean Astin) to speak tohis players. His message of hope and love leads to a spiritual awakening that inspires star athlete Nathan, his teammates and other members of the community to overcome the hate that surrounds them. [expert taken from Google]
Basketball
Hoosiers [1986] — Failed college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to direct the basketball program at a high school in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher (Barbara Hershey) persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a notorious alcoholic. [expert taken from Google]
Soccer
United [2011] — Drama based on the true story of Manchester United's legendary `Busby Babes', the youngest side ever to win the Football League, and the 1958 Munich air crash that claimed eight of them. The film draws on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families to tell the inspirational story of a team and community overcoming terrible tragedy. [expert taken from Google]
Rugby
Invictus [2009] — After his 27-year imprisonment and subsequent election as President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela faces the task of unifying a country divided by race. Only months since the end of Apartheid, divisions still exist between the country's whites and blacks, something Mandela notices during an international rugby match. Realising black supporters cheer on the opposing side when their white Springboks take to the field. [expert taken from Google]
Track and Field
Chariots of Fire [1981] — In the class-obsessed and religiously divided United Kingdom of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart Sybil (Alice Krige) in his single-minded quest. [expert taken from Google]
Unbroken [2014] — As a boy, Louis "Louie" Zamperini is always in trouble, but with the help of his older brother, he turns his life around and channels his energy into running, later qualifying for the 1936 Olympics. When World War II breaks out, Louie enlists in the military. After his plane crashes in the Pacific, he survives an incredible 47 days adrift in a raft, until his capture by the Japanese navy. Sent to a POW camp, Louie becomes the favorite target of a particularly cruel prison commander. [expert taken from Google]
Race [2016] — Young Jesse Owens (Stephan James) becomes a track and field sensation while attending the Ohio State University in the early 1930s. With guidance from coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), Owens gains national recognition for breaking numerous records. After heated debates, the United States decides not to boycott the Olympics in Nazi Germany. Overcoming racism at home and abroad, Owens seizes the opportunity to show Berlin and the the world that he's the fastest man alive. [expert taken from Google]
My To Watch List
The Kid from Cleveland [1949]
Jim Thorpe – All-American [1951]
The Pride of St. Louis [1952]
Rudy [1993]
The Greatest Game Ever Played [2005]
We Are Marshall [2006]
Glory Road [2006]
McFarland, USA [2015]
Readers favorites
Facing the Giants [2006] — This was one of the top submissions when I asked my readers to submit their favorite sports film.