Your Turn: What’s your favorite sports movie?
By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly
We’ve made our picks for our 20 favorite sports movies in the past, but for the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly — The Sports Movies Issue — we want to hear from you.
If you have pride in your Yankees film, if you have a field of dreams out back — or maybe just a sandlot — or if you just like the money shown to you (on DVD, of course), then we want to know about it.
Heck, if you collect items relating to your favorite film, even better … tell us about that, too.
Tell us, in a comment along with your name and location … What is your favorite sports movie … and why?
It can be any sport, any era … we want to know. Make a compelling case and you just might see your response in the next issue.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Body Slam
Mine has to be Cool Runnings.
This movie made such an impact on me when I was young I still use quotes from it to this day!
Cool Runnings was great story that was loosely based on true events with a nice mix of comedy and inspiration.The great thing about this movie compared to other sports movies is that it shows that you dont always have to win the race/game/event to be a winner. Just being able to show up, compete, and earn respect is sometimes a win in itself.
Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! COOL RUNNINGS!
Space Jam :)
jerry maguire..it makes me cry every time i watch it. you complete me
The natural !! Roy Hobbs best fictional character awesome movie plot! Wonder boy FTW!
the waterboy—classic
Favorite sports movie is It Happens Every Spring (1949
Be sure to tell us WHYYYYY!!!!!
‘Eight Men Out’
A interesting “historical” look at the Black Sox scandal. If nothing else, this movie brought to light a story that many people had possibly heard but never really understood.
The portrayal of the relations between players and owners, which is the ultimate disconnect at the heart of this film, as well as the die-hard loyalty of Baseball’s fans is something today’s fans can only imagine. Understanding just how much The Game was woven into the fabric of life at the time is brought out with such ease in this film that it makes one wish that today’s game could capture just a sliver of that magic.
While at times perhaps guilty of romanticizing the story of Shoeless Joe, ‘Eight Men Out’ is a must watch for any fan of historical baseball films.
Exactly the reason WHY it is my choice.
This is a tough one…so many mid century films I enjoyed from the original angels in the outfield to the 1940s and 50s Baseball Movies! The Pride of the Yankees gets ya at the heart strings regardless if you are a Yankee Lover or Hater. His talent was rare and his demeanor is something players today should take a second look at.
Hoosiers
great acting by gene hackmann and barbara hershey and who can forget dennis hoppers performance, loosely based on a true story of the milan IN team in a single class basketball tournament. It is the true david vs Goliath story outside of the bible. Love the scene where they show up at the gym where the finals will be played and he has the player measure the floor to the rim. and the scene int he game where the he tells the team after a timeout with the perennial bench warmer at the free throw line ..when he makes this free throw..! I can watch it a hundred times and still find something new everytime!
facing the giants.
great football movie that is about so much more then football
Tiger Town
Great shots of Tiger Stadium, Ernie Harwell & Sparky Anderson
It has to be Brian’s Song. I remember seeing it as a child and loved it even though the sadness was intense.
Nearly an impossibly difficult question, as I (personally) could easily name 10 of 20 movies that are just baseball.
But, (admittedly excluding A LOT of great sports movies), here is my list of finalists (that I put together in less than 10 minutes of review):
Moneyball 2011
Damn United 2009
Invincible 2006
Cinderella Man 2005
The Greatest Game Ever Played 2005
Lords Of Dogtown 2005
Friday Night Lights 2004
Rookie, The 2002
Knight’s Tale, A 2001
Replacements, The 2000
Bloodsport 1988
Hoosiers 1986
Youngblood 1986
Six Pack 1982
Victory (Escape to Victory) 1981
Breaking Away 1979
North Dallas Forty 1979
Rocky 2 1979
Ice Castles 1978
Bad News Bears, The 1976
My winner: (I pulled an eclectic list, and I’m tempted to go with one of the more underrated on my list, like Rocky 2 or Breaking Away, or the one I was “technically” in, The Rookie, if you count wide-camera shots of fans, but my choice is:) The Replacements, … yes! THE REPLACEMENTS, because it’s actually very re-watchable every time it comes on TV (which is often) and frankly, I can picture myself as one of the characters more readily than any of the other great movies on my list.
*61- performances of Mantle and Maris were scary, down to the swings
and we can forget RUDY!!
There are a lot of good sports movies. My favorite comedy is far and above “Waterboy”, my favorite drama is “any given sunday”.
How do you pick your favorite sports movie. Is it your favorite sport, your favorite actor or just something else completely.
It compares to saying whats your favorite card in your collection. I can not answer that because it would depend on the circumstance.
There are many sports movies I have yet to see including pride of the yankees.
Racing being my favorite sport I would have to go with Greased Lightning or Heart Like a wheel. Both for the same reason. In a sport dominated by male egos Shirley Muldowney proved she belonged. She won races and championships before Danicas parents were probably even dating. Heart like a wheel captures that journey the highs and lows of here personal and racing life. Both of which interwined maybe too much.
With Greased Lightning we get to learn about Wendell Scott who raced at the highest level in NASCAR when there was still segregation. While no where near as famous as Jackie Robinson he fought the color barrier every time he drove. He was not the first to do so and will not be the last but he is the only African American driver to win in NASCAR. Played by Richard Pryor who did a specatacular job. For this comedian who may be better known for the toy, this was one of his better parts.
wow, what a question. that is like asking “which one of your children do you love the most?”. as much as i would like to say it is “Horse Feathers” by the Marx brothers(“The Four Protagonists”). i would have to say, and some might say i’m crazy, “A League of Their Own” has to be my go to sports movie if i had a choice to only see one sports movie for the rest of my life. Tom Hanks as the drunken coach that is down on his luck and has to manage all the women that drive him bonkers because he has no job. the kid that constantly gets on his nerves. the two sisters on different teams because one of the sisters was not good enough and the last game the older sister lets her younger sister have some fame and win the game. now i know this is probably more of a “chick flick”, but it has to be one of the funniest sports movies of all time. every time i watch this movie i still laugh. as we all know at the end of the movie when the war is over and all the men come home, the women have to go back to what they were doing before the war. they all met several years later to remember the good old days. they played the game one more time and finally saw themselves in the hall of fame. and obviously the tear jerker ending. by the way i did not cry. seriously.
Simply asking, “What’s your favorite sports movie” is just so wide open. Should that mean favorite movie that has something to do with sports, or favorite depiction of sports in a movie, or perhaps movie that most enhanced your appreciation of a sport?
I have an answer for each:
“Field of Dreams” would be my favorite that has to do with sports, although that movie is really more about a son’s relationship with his father than the game itself. The whole movie is great from start to finish, but the ending never fails to bring tears to my eyes every time I watch it: A father and son, long estranged, connecting through the only way they know how, playing a game of catch. Everything else in the movie leads to that moment, and I think it really brings home what makes sports so special, with that connection from father to son.
“Bull Durham” would be my favorite depiction of sports in a movie. Just so many great moments – you feel a part of the team. So many classic lines that I hear quoted all the time, still. Classic conference on the mound. Great characters. As a sportswriter myself, I love the scene where Crash teaches Nuke the importance of knowing his cliches.
A special place should be reserved for “A League of Their Own.” Most appreciate it as a comedy, but it was its serious moments that stood out for me – especially when the telegram arrived, and the women in the locker room knew it likely meant one of their husbands had died in the war. So socially relevant to know that kind of scene happened so often every day during World War II. This was a true underdog movie, too, about an upstart league that would have trouble surviving even today. It brought to life a period of baseball history that many of us might have heard about, but really didn’t know much about at all. I’d love to see a similar movie made about the Negro Leagues – it seems like that would be a very rich topic for both a dramatic social movie, with a great deal of humor in it, too.
The greatest sports movies of all-time are boxing movies, and the heavy-weight champ of all boxing movies is Raging Bull. Scorcese. DeNiro. Prosthetic noses and arterial spray. … That’s entertainment!
The greatest sports movie of all-time is Pride of the Yankees. Lou Gehirg’s life story is so amazing, it was made for Hollywood. Add to that an Oscar nominated Director (Sam Wood, who also directed another great baseball film, The Stratton Story) and a cast that includes several famous baseball players as themselves including Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig, and Bob Meusel and you get an authentic feel of baseball at the time.
On top of that we have 2 Oscar winning actors in Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright who play the Gehrigs with amazing subtlety. Both were also nominated for their roles here, but it was Cooper’s delivery of the “Luckiest Man” speech that steals the show.
This film was the first “complete” sports film in my opinion. It stands the test of time and would be a hit even if it were released as it is today. I loved this film despite my innate hatred of the Yankees.